Top Nigerian entertainers including Burna Boy, Teni and Mr. Eazi were among the list of nominees for the 2019 BET Awards announced on Friday in Lagos.
The awards, according to the organisers, celebrate the brightest stars across music, television, film, sports, and philanthropy.
The nominees announced in the Best International Act Award category include Nigerian musicians – Burna Boy and Mr. Eazi – alongside South African Hip Hop rapper, AKA. Also included in the category are Dave and Giggs from the UK with Aya Nakamura and Dosseh from France.
Teniola Apata from Nigeria was also nominated for the fan voted category of Best New International Act alongside Sho Madjodzi from South Africa, Headie One and Octavian from the UK and France’s Jokair and Nesly.
DON’T MISS THIS: FULL LIST OF NOMINEES FOR THE 2019 “BET AWARDS”
BET will honour the Best International Act in-show, along with the viewer’s choice fan voted category Best New International Act during the live red-carpet pre-show.
Hosted by BET in Africa, a subsidiary of the Viacom International Media Networks Africa multimedia entertainment portfolio, the BET Awards, which is in its nineteenth year, continues its reign as the ultimate platform for showcasing the best and most beautiful aspects of the Black experience – celebrating not only the present and future of Black music, but also elevating the culture and being a driving force for social change.
BET Networks recognizes artists, entertainers, and athletes across 20 categories with the 2019 “BET Awards” nominations.
The nominations are selected by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of fans and an esteemed group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, and the creative arts.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, the Executive Vice President and Managing Director, BET International Viacom International Media Networks Africa, Alex Okosi, said: “The BET Awards is a powerful platform for celebrating and elevating black excellence from around the world.
“We look forward to honouring this year’s Best International Act and Best New International Act during the BET Awards main and surround programming that will broadcast to a global audience.”
It will be recalled that the International Act category has honoured previous African winners who have gone on to become trailblazers of Africa’s culture and recognised worldwide for their talents. They include 2face and D’banj in 2011 and Wizkid in 2017 – all from Nigeria, Ghana’s Sarkodie and Stonebwoy in 2012 and 2015 respectively and South Africa’s Black Coffee in 2016.
In 2018, international music sensation, Davido emotionally received his BET Best International Act Award live on stage during the global broadcast of the show with South Africa’s Sjava in traditional Zulu regalia receiving his Best New International Act at the live Red-Carpet Show.
The 2019 BET Awards, billed to hold at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, United States on Sunday, June 23rd is also expected to be premiered live across the continent on BET Africa (DStv channel 129) on Monday 24 June at 19:00 WAT.
The Viacom chief urged fans globally to cast their votes for their favourite nominees as from today on BET.com and via its social media platforms using each artist’s designated hashtag.
Here is the complete list of nominees for the 2019 “BET AWARDS”.
