2020 BET Awards Exclusive: Drake, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch Lead Nominees Slate, CBS Airing Show for First Time

Drake, with six nominations, and newcomers Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch, tied with five nominations each, are among the top nominees for the 2020 BET Awards.

Also, in celebration of the award ceremony’s 20th anniversary and BET’s 40th anniversary, the BET Awards will simulcast live (8 p.m. ET) across ViacomCBS networks, including BET and BET HER, and make its national broadcast premiere on CBS on June 28 (8 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT).

Drake’s six nominations include best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Video of the Year and two nods for both Best Collaboration and Viewer’s Choice, for his features with Chris Brown (“No Guidance”) and Future (“Life Is Good”).

In addition to Viewer’s Choice, Megan Thee Stallion’s five nods include Best Female Hip Hop Artist, Best Collaboration, Album of the Year and Video of the Year. Ricch is also a contender in the Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Album of the Year, Video of the Year and Viewer’s Choice categories as well as Best New Artist.

The latter category finds Ricch vying against DaniLeigh, Lil Nas X, Pop Smoke, Summer Walker and YBN Cordae.

Rounding out the top nominees slate with four nods each are Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Lizzo and DaBaby.

All told, the BET Awards recognizes achievements in music, television, film and sports across 21 categories.

This year’s Humanitarian and Lifetime Achievement honorees will be announced soon as will the show’s host and talent participants.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, BET announced on May 20 that it would move forward with airing the BET Awards on June 28. The company’s release stated in part, “Using an array of innovative techniques and artist-generated content, the show will continue, allowing the audience to join in a celebration of black love, joy, pride and power with an all-star lineup.”

The BET Experience — the annual three-day lifestyle event leading up to the awards show — will return in 2021.

Connie Orlando, BET’s executive vp of specials, music programming & music strategy, and Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, are executive producers for the 2020 BET Awards. For the latest news and updates, visit BET.com/Awards.

Here is the complete list of nominees for this year’s BET Awards:

BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST

BEYONCÉ
H.E.R.
JHENE AIKO
KEHLANI
LIZZO
SUMMER WALKER

BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST

ANDERSON .PAAK
CHRIS BROWN
JACQUEES
KHALID
THE WEEKND
USHER

BEST GROUP

CHLOE X HALLE
CITY GIRLS
EARTHGANG
GRISELDA
JACKBOYS
MIGOS

BEST COLLABORATION

CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – NO GUIDANCE
DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND – HIGHER
FUTURE FT. DRAKE – LIFE IS GOOD
H.E.R. FT. YG – SLIDE
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN – HOT GIRL SUMMER
WALE FT. JEREMIH – ON CHILL

BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST

DABABY
DRAKE
FUTURE
LIL BABY
RODDY RICCH
TRAVIS SCOTT

BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST

CARDI B
DOJA CAT
LIZZO
MEGAN THEE STALLION
NICKI MINAJ
SAWEETIE

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – NO GUIDANCE
DABABY – BOP
DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND – HIGHER
DOJA CAT – SAY SO
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN – HOT GIRL SUMMER
RODDY RICCH – THE BOX

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

BENNY BOOM
COLE BENNETT
DAVE MEYERS
DIRECTOR X
EIF RIVERA
TEYANA “SPIKE TEE” TAYLOR

BEST NEW ARTIST

DANILEIGH
LIL NAS X
POP SMOKE
RODDY RICCH
SUMMER WALKER
YBN CORDAE

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

CUZ I LOVE YOU  – LIZZO
FEVER – MEGAN THEE STALLION
HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM – BEYONCÉ
I USED TO KNOW HER – H.E.R.
KIRK – DABABY
PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR BEING ANTISOCIAL – RODDY RICCH

DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD

FRED HAMMOND – ALRIGHT
JOHN P. KEE FT. ZACARDI CORTEZ – I MADE IT OUT
KANYE WEST – FOLLOW GOD
KIRK FRANKLIN – JUST FOR ME
PJ MORTON FT. LE’ANDRIA JOHNSON & MARY MARY – ALL IN HIS PLAN
THE CLARK SISTERS – VICTORY

BEST ACTRESS

ANGELA BASSETT
CYNTHIA ERIVO
ISSA RAE
REGINA KING
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
ZENDAYA

BEST ACTOR

BILLY PORTER
EDDIE MURPHY
FOREST WHITAKER
JAMIE FOXX
MICHAEL B. JORDAN
OMARI HARDWICK

YOUNGSTARS AWARD

ALEX HIBBERT
ASANTE BLACKK
JAHI DI’ALLO WINSTON
MARSAI MARTIN
MILES BROWN
STORM REID

BEST MOVIE

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME
HARRIET
HOMECOMING: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ
JUST MERCY
QUEEN & SLIM

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

AJEÉ WILSON
CLARESSA SHIELDS
COCO GAUFF
NAOMI OSAKA
SERENA WILLIAMS
SIMONE BILES

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
KAWHI LEONARD
LEBRON JAMES
ODELL BECKHAM JR.
PATRICK MAHOMES II
STEPHEN CURRY

BET HER AWARD

ALICIA KEYS – UNDERDOG
BEYONCÉ FT. BLUE IVY CARTER, WIZKID & SAINT JHN – BROWN SKIN GIRL
CIARA FT. LUPITA NYONG’O, ESTER DEAN, CITY GIRLS & LA LA – MELANIN
LAYTON GREENE – I CHOOSE
LIZZO FT. MISSY ELLIOTT – TEMPO
RAPSODY FT. PJ MORTON – AFENI

VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD

CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE – NO GUIDANCE
DABABY – BOP
FUTURE FT. DRAKE – LIFE IS GOOD
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ – HOT GIRL SUMMER
RODDY RICCH – THE BOX
THE WEEKND – HEARTLESS

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT

BURNA BOY (NIGERIA)
INNOSS’B (DRC)
SHO MADJOZI (SOUTH AFRICA)
DAVE (U.K.)
STORMZY (U.K.)
NINHO (FRANCE)
S.PRI NOIR (FRANCE)

VIEWER’S CHOICE: BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL ACT

REMA (NIGERIA)
SHA SHA (ZIMBABWE)
CELESTE (U.K.)
YOUNG T & BUGSEY (U.K.)
HATIK (FRANCE)
STACY (FRANCE)