The 2016 Soul Train Awards took over Las Vegas as stars flocked to the west coast for the awards show. Hosted by the Godmother of Soul, Erykah Badu, who also hosted last year’s extravaganza and who added Executive Producer to her titled, emceed the annual awards show at the Orleans Arena.
See Also: Erykah Badu Releases Short Trailer for 2016 Soul Train Awards
Celebrity photographer Juan Anthony snapped pictures of the stars, including Teyana Taylor, Bel Biv Devoe, half of the classic group New Edition, who was promoting their new album in January and BET biopic, Tank, Tamar Braxton, Lalah Hathaway and more.
The annual event honored the best in soul and R&B, featuring moving performances by Anderson .Paak, Bobby Brown, D.R.A.M. MA$E, DRU HILL, Doug E Fresh, India Arie, BJ The Chicago Kid, Guy, Candice Boyd, Carl Thomas, Eric Benét, MAJOR., Ro James, Tito Jackson, V. Bozeman, Wreckx-n-Effect and Yuna.
Jill Scott, winner of the 2015 Lady of Soul honor, presented multi-platinum singer Brandy as this year’s winner, for her twenty two year career in music and Hollywood.
Three time Grammy-award winning producer, song writer and singer Teddy Riley, born Edward Theodore Riley, was also honored with the highly coveted Legend Award, shining a light on his musical accomplishments and creation of New Jack Swing.
Check out pictures from the carpet:
For the second year, the popular segment “Soul Cypher,” featuring a mix of legendary and contemporary R&B and soul singers came together to put their own spin on their R&B classics. Tyrese, Ne-Yo, Angie Stone and the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight performed raw versions of their songs as Badu DJed.
CENTRIC also announced the all-star nominees across 12 different categories, including Drake who leads the pack with 12 total nominations, including two nominations for the highly coveted Video of the Year Award for his feature on Rihanna’s single “Work” and this year’s mega hit “Hotline Bling.”
Beyoncé follows with eight nominations including Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, Album/Mixtape of the Year for her groundbreaking album “Lemonade,” and multiple honors for lead single “Formation” including Song of the Year, and Best Dance Performance. Rihanna, Kanye West, DJ Khaled and Usher also received multiple nominations.
The 2016 Soul Train Awards premieres on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 27 at 8:00pm EST.
Photo credit: Juan Anthony
