The Soul Train Awards are coming back, and BET is giving the legendary franchise a much bigger stage for its return.
BET announced Thursday that the Soul Train Awards will officially return Friday, November 27, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, ending a three-year broadcast hiatus. The comeback will also mark the first time in the show’s history that it airs simultaneously on CBS.
The ceremony will be simulcast across Paramount Skydance cable networks including VH1, MTV2, LOGO and BET HER, giving the revived awards show one of its widest broadcast footprints ever.
This year’s edition is also heading back to where the Soul Train story started.
The 2026 ceremony will be taped in Chicago, the city where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train in 1971 and created one of the most influential platforms in Black music and television history. That homecoming is being paired with a reimagined format designed to connect generations, bringing established honorees together with current breakout artists and placing the history of soul directly alongside the sounds shaping music now.
Jesse Collins Entertainment will produce the event. Spotify is joining as the exclusive music streaming partner, while Toyota will serve as the exclusive automotive partner.
Details surrounding the host, nominees, performers and honorees have not yet been announced, with BET expected to reveal more in the coming weeks.
The Soul Train Music Awards first launched in 1987, with Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick co-hosting the inaugural ceremony in Los Angeles. Created by Cornelius, the awards became a major institution for R&B, soul, hip-hop and Black music at a time when many Black artists were still receiving limited recognition from mainstream award shows.
The franchise later expanded through the Lady of Soul Awards, then entered a new era after BET revived the ceremony in 2009.
Following its recent hiatus, Soul Train is now returning with a broader network reach, a refreshed creative direction and a symbolic trip back to Chicago.
Nearly four decades after the first awards ceremony, the train is officially running again.