BET Awards 2014: Quick Overview

Everyone knows that the annual BET Awards (typically hosted in late June) always deliver amazing performances and most importantly a boat load of surprises. The 14th annual award ceremony (held last night) was no different.

First established in 2001, the BET Awards have celebrated African Americans (as well as several other minorities) for their outstanding performances in various forms of entertainment including music and acting.

For the 2014 ceremony, Beyoncé lead the nominations with 6. Her husband Jay Z racked up 5 while Drake, Pharrell Williams and August Alsina each had 5 nominations. No surprise here: Beyoncé won 3 awards (the most of the night), while Drake, Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj and August Alsina each took home 2. Jay Z took home 1 shared award for his role on Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love". I guess sharing the award won't be a problem since they live together...

But the thing that made this year's BET Awards the most entertaining: the performances.

Among the highlights, Pharrell Williams' show opening performance of "Come Get It Bae" which featured a surprise appearance by Missy Elliot who rapped to her smash single "Pass That Dutch" before helping Williams close out the performance by bopping along to the finishing part of "Come Get It Bae".

Lil Wayne live debuted his latest single "Krazy" before chugging into fellow Tha Carter V track "Believe Me" alongside Drake.  Tha Carter V currently does not have a release date.

Chris Brown (one of a few surprise performers) performed his hit single "Loyal" alongside Tyga and boss Lil Wayne for the first time since being released from jail. His performance (which included an impressive dance routine) was met with a standing ovation, and rounds of applause. Immediately following the finish of his set, Brown dropped his new single "New Flame" in full on the iTunes Store. The track, which feature other BET performers Usher and Rick Ross, currently sits at #95 on iTunes (#8 on R&B/Soul) approximately 12 hours after it was first released. The new track is one of his better tracks, despite being on the simpler side. Usher definitely brought it the hardest, delivering one of his best performances in several years.
 

Nicki Minaj also delivered one of the most interesting sets of the night. She began her short 5 minute set by rapping to "Chi Raq", a promotional single that was released in collaboration with Lil Herb earlier this year, while strapped onto the back of a moving motorcycle. After 45 seconds, the motorcycle retreated behind the side stage and approximately 30 seconds later, Nicki emerged from a mushroom in the middle of a set that was inspired by Alice In Wonderland. She began her performance of "Pills N Potions", a pop tinged rap track, and by the end, had most of the audience (including her boss and mentor Lil Wayne) grooving to the track.

Other notable performances included T.I. and Iggy Azalea's performance of "No Mediocre", and Jennifer Hudson's performance of "Walk It Out" and "It's Your World", which made its live debut last night.

Here's a list of the winners from last night's ceremony:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyoncé

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Pharrell Williams

Best Group: Young Money

Best Collaboration: “Drunk In Love” by Beyoncé featuring JAY Z

Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award: “I Luv This Shit” by August Alsina featuring Trinidad Jame$

Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Drake

Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj

Video of the Year: “Happy” by Pharrell Williams

Video Director of the Year: Hype Williams

Best New Artist: August Alsina

Best Gospel Artist: Tamela Mann

Best Actress: Lupita Nyong’o

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor

YoungStars Award: Keke Palmer

Best Movie: 12 Years a Slave

Subway Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams

Subway Sportsman of the Year: Kevin Durant

Centric Award: “The Worst” by Jhené Aiko

FANdemonium Award: Beyoncé

Best International Act (Africa): Davido

Best International Act (UK): Krept and Konan

Full list of performers:

Beyoncé & Jay-Z

Yolanda Adams

Jhene Aiko

August Alsina

Iggy Azalea & T.I.

Missy Elliot

Drake

Jennifer Hudson

Ledisi

John Legend

Lil Wayne

Nicki Minaj

Lionel Richie

Trey Songz

Robin Thicke

T.I.

Tyga

Usher

Pharrell Williams

Chris Brown

See all the performances (except for the Beyoncé and Jay Z one):

Album Development: Robin Thicke Finalizes "Paula", Michelle Williams Announces New Album

Robin Thicke Finalizes Paula Album
Robin Thicke, perhaps best known for singing 2013's biggest worldwide smash ("Blurred Lines"), has had a tough 2014. He separated from his wife Paula after nearly a decade of marriage in February 2014, and saw a string of newly released singles become commercial failures ("Get Her Back", "Calling All Hearts", etc.). By March 2014, it looked like Robin would float back into the abyss of average pop stars and never be heard from by a wide audience ever again, with all material in release doing minimal damage and no new released planned through the rest of 2014.

Then along came May. Thicke returned to the stage at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18th, 2014. Before his performance of "Get Her Back", hype was at an utter maximum. Unfortunately, the track was considered a dud of self pity and failed to dent any list worldwide (save for a US Billboard component chart). But that didn't stop Thicke. He announced a July 1st release date for his new album and titled it Paula.

It seemed a bit rushed, and I was skeptical of the whole ordeal (I actually though that it would be pushed back from its intended release date due to time constraints). Turns out, I was wrong. The official album cover and track list were unveiled on Wednesday, June 18th, 2014. Looking at some of the track titles, most appear to be direct references to trying to fix a broken relationship (see "Love Can Grow Back" and "You're My Fantasy"). See the full track list below.

1." You're My Fantasy"

2. "Get Her Back"

3. "Still Madly Crazy"

4. "Lock the Door"

5. "Whatever I Want"

6. "Living In New York City"

7. "Love Can Grow Back"

8. "Black Tar Cloud"

9. "Tippy Toes"

10. "Something Bad"

11. "The Opposite Side of Me"

13. "Time of Your Life"

14. "Forever Love"

Michelle Williams Announces New Album
So maybe Michelle Williams has almost always been considered the weakest member of the now defunct '90s/'00s girl group Destiny's Child. Maybe she's been "excluded" from dressing like other members from the group. Maybe that has started an extremely embarrassing Twitter hashtag (#poormichelle). Maybe her face is always covered by a sticker on all of the group's albums, and maybe her recent singles "If We Had Your Eyes" and "Fire" were both completely underwhelming.

I know that sound's like a whole lot of maybes, but one thing is for sure: I'm actually excited about Michelle Williams' just announced 4th studio album, Journey to Freedom. Why? Because of "Say Yes". While her latest venture is actually an adapted form of a Nigerian church anthem, it's absolutely stunning on all levels. Did I mention if features both Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland (the other members of Destiny's Child)? More importantly (and shockingly), Michelle delivers the best vocals of the pack, besting wold renowned Beyoncé and moderate hit maker Kelly Rowland.

Journey to Freedom arrives in stores on Tuesday, September 9th. The album's official album cover was revealed today. See it below.

That's it for this first ever edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!