Pharrell Williams, Usher, Drake and Lil Wayne are among the first slate of performers announced for the 2014 BET Awards, airing at 8 p.m. June 29.
Jennifer Hudson, Trey Songz and Lionel Richie, who will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, will also perform during the ceremony, the network announced Tuesday.
Beyoncé and Jay Z lead the pack of nominees with five each. Their steamy collaboration “Drunk in Love” is up for a handful of trophies, including the viewers’ choice award and video of the year, along with Beyoncé’s equally R-rated jam “Partition” and videos by Chris Brown (“Fine China”), Drake (“Worst Behavior” ) and Pharrell Williams (“Happy”).
Beyoncé also leads the race for female R&B/pop artist while Jay is up for best male hip-hop artist alongside Future, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
Drake, Pharrell and August Alsina trail the power couple with four nominations each.
Chris Rock will host the BET Awards. The highly rated show, which was launched in 2001, now anchors a three-day festival that takes over L.A. Live on June 27-29.
The BET Experience, now in its second year, will again include concerts, wellness seminars, celebrity panels, exhibits, the network’s popular video countdown show “106 & Park” and a free fan expo at multiple venues at L.A. Live.
OutKast, Maxwell, Jill Scott, Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige, Songz and Hudson will headline.
source: chicagotribune.com
