The 2023 BET Awards Nominees Unveiled

The music industry is buzzing with anticipation as the 2023 BET Awards nominees have been announced, promising an unforgettable night of celebration and recognition of the world’s most talented artists. The ceremony, scheduled to air live on Sunday, June 25, from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, will honor the best in music, acting, and sports.

Leading the pack with a staggering seven nominations is the Canadian rapper Drake, following his back-to-back chart-topping albums last summer. His nominations include best group alongside 21 Savage, best collaboration with Future and Tems for their radio hit “Wait for U,” and album of the year for “Her Loss.”

Memphis rapper GloRilla, the 2022 winner of BET’s breakthrough hip-hop artist of the year, is hot on Drake’s heels with six nominations. GloRilla competes in the best collaboration category twice: once for her feature with HItkidd (“F.N.F. Let’s Go”) and another beside Cardi B (“Tomorrow 2”). She is also up for album of the year for “Anyways, Life’s Great.”

Lizzo and 21 Savage earned the third-highest nominations, up for five awards each. Beyoncé, Burna Boy, Chris Brown, Ice Spice, and SZA follow with four. Cardi B, Coco Jones, FLO, Future, Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar, Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin, and Tems are tied with three nominations each.

Among the nominees, Beyoncé, SZA, and Chris Brown stand out with four nominations each. Their respective 2022 releases, Breezy, Renaissance, and SOS, have been nominated for Album of the Year. Beyonce’s platinum-selling “Break My Soul” has been nominated in two categories: BET Her Award and Viewer’s Choice Award. SZA’s song “Kill Bill,” which reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, has been nominated for the Viewer’s Choice Award and Video of the Year.

The up-and-coming R&B group FLO and Coco Jones, riding the wave of her breakthrough single “ICU,” have received their first-ever nominations, marking a significant milestone in their careers.

2023 BET Awards Full Nomination List

Category	Nominees
Album of the Year	Anyways, Life’s Great, GloRilla
	Breezy, Chris Brown
	God Did, DJ Khaled
	Her Loss, Drake & 21 Savage
	Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar
	Renaissance, Beyoncé
	SOS, SZA
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist	Ari Lennox
	Beyoncé
	Coco Jones
	H.E.R.
	Lizzo
	SZA
	Tems
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist	Blxst
	Brent Faiyaz
	Burna Boy
	Chris Brown
	Drake
	The Weeknd
	Usher
Best Group	City Girls
	Drake & 21 Savage
	Dvsn
	FLO
	Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
	Quavo & Takeoff
	Wanmor
Best Collaboration	“Big Energy (Remix),” Latto & Mariah Carey Feat. Dj Khaled
	“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” Pinkpantheress & Ice Spice
	“Call Me Every Day,” Chris Brown Feat. Wizkid
	“Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” King Combs Feat. Kodak Black
	“Creepin’,” Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage
	“F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” Hitkidd & GloRilla
	“Tomorrow 2,” GloRilla & Cardi B
	“Wait For U,” Future Feat. Drake & Tems
Best Female Hip Hop Artist	Cardi B
	Coi Leray
	GloRilla
	Ice Spice
	Latto
	Megan Thee Stallion
	Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip Hop Artist	21 Savage
	Drake
	Future
	J. Cole
	Jack Harlow
	Kendrick Lamar
	Lil Baby
Video of the Year	“We (Warm Embrace),” Chris Brown
	“2 Million Up,” Peezy, Jeezy & Real Boston Richey feat. Rob49
	“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
	“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
	“First Class,” Harlow
	“Kill Bill,” SZA
	“Tomorrow 2,” GloRilla & Cardi B
Video Director of the Year	A$AP Rocky for AWGE
	Benny Boom
	Burna Boy
	Cole Bennett
	Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
	Director X
	Teyana “Spike Tey” Taylor
Best New Artist	Ambré
	Coco Jones
	Doechii
	FLO
	GloRilla
	Ice Spice
	Lola Brooke
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award	“Bless Me,” Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
	“Finished (Live),” Tamela Mann
	“I’ve Got Joy,” CeCe Winans
	“Kingdom,” Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin feat. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore
	“New,” Tye Tribbett
	“One Moment From Glory,” Yolanda Adams
	“The Better Benediction (Pt.2),” PJ Morton feat. Lisa Knowles-Smith, Le’andria Johnson, Keke Wyatt, Kierra Sheard & Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Viewer’s Choice Award	“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
	“Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
	“First Class,” Jack Harlow
	“Jimmy Cooks,” Drake Feat 21 Savage
	“Kill Bill,” SZA
	“Last Last,” Burna Boy
	“Super Freaky Girl,” Nicki Minaj
	“Wait For U,” Future Feat. Drake & Tems
Best International Act	Aya Nakamura (France)
	Ayra Starr (Nigeria)
	Burna Boy (Nigeria)
	Central Cee (UK)
	Ella Mai (UK)
	Ko (South Africa)
	L7nnon (Brazil)
	Stormzy (UK)
	Tiakola (France)
	Uncle Waffles (Swaziland)
Viewer’s Choice: Best New International Act	Asake (Nigeria)
	Camidoh (Ghana)
	Flo (UK)
	Libianca (Cameroon)
	Maureen (France)
	MC Ryan SP (Brazil)
	Pabi Cooper (South Africa)
	Raye (UK)
	Werenoi (France)
BET Her	“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
	“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” Pinkpantheress & Ice Spice
	“Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
	“Her,” Megan Thee Stallion
	“Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From And Inspired By – Rihanna & Ludwig Göransson
	“Players,” Coi Leray
	“Special,” Lizzo
Best Movie	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
	Creed 3
	Emancipation
	Nope
	The Woman King
	Till
	Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Best Actor	Amin Joseph
	Brian Tyree Henry
	Damson Idris
	Daniel Kaluuya
	Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory Jr.
	Donald Glover
	Michael B. Jordan
Best Actress	Angela Bassett
	Coco Jones
	Janelle James
	Janelle Monáe
	Keke Palmer
	Viola Davis
	Zendaya
Youngstars Award	Akira Akbar
	Alaya High
	Demi Singleton
	Genesis Denise
	Marsai Martin
	Thaddeus J. Mixson
	Young Dylan
Sportswoman of the Year Award	Alexis Morris
	Allyson Felix
	Angel Reese
	Candace Parker
	Naomi Osaka
	Serena Williams
	Sha’carri Richardson
Sportsman of the Year Award	Aaron Judge
	Bubba Wallace
	Gervonta Davis
	Jalen Hurts
	Lebron James
	Patrick Mahomes
	Stephen Curry

The 2023 BET Awards will not only be a celebration of music but also a recognition of actors, films, and sportsmen and women. Voting for the 2023 Viewer’s Choice Awards begins June 8 and ends June 25. The show will broadcast live on the BET Network at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.

Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the night of the 2023 BET Awards, where the stars will align, and the world will celebrate the best in entertainment.