The 11th BET Awards took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on June 26, 2011.[1] The awards recognized Americans in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian and actor Kevin Hart hosted the event for the first time.[2] The show had an audience of 7.7 million.[3]

11th BET Awards
DateJune 26, 2011
LocationShrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Presented byBlack Entertainment Television
Hosted byKevin Hart
Television/radio coverage
NetworkBET
← 10th · BET Awards · 12th →

Performers

edit

Nominees and winners

edit

Winners are highlighted in boldface

Video of the Year Video Director of the Year
Best Female R&B Artist Best Male R&B Artist
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Best Collaboration Best New Artist
Best Group Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice
YoungStars Award Centric Award
Best Actress Best Actor
Best Movie Best Gospel Artist
Subway Sportswoman of the Year Subway Sportsman of the Year
Best International Act: Africa Best International Act: United Kingdom

Controversy

edit

Following the announcement of the nominees on a special edition of 106 & Park on May 17, 2011, controversy surfaced on some of the categories.[4] Rapper Trina, who released her fifth studio album Amazin in 2010, felt snubbed that she was not included among the nominees for the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist category,[4] taking to her Twitter account to post "f*ck BET......".[5] Two of the artists who were nominated—Nicki Minaj and Diamond— also criticized the nominations via Twitter.[4] Singer Keyshia Cole also felt snubbed for not receiving any nominations, and took to her Twitter account, saying "its like this. Been on the scene 7 years. I was 21 when I got signed. 7 # 1 records. No awards 4 none of them/still touring. It is Wht it is."[5] She also tweeted, "These types of thing R the way they R. I'm not upset about any of it in any way. I hope everyone that goes has a wonderful time."[5]

BET's president of programming, music and specials, Stephen Hill, spoke about the matter in an interview with Billboard.com's The Juice. In response to criticism over Trina for not getting any nominations, Hill said she did not submit a music video during the eligibility period of April 1, 2010 to March 30, 2011.[6] Although she was featured in LoLa Monroe's music video for "Over Time" in November 2010, Hill said being a featured act "doesn't make you eligible".[6] He also responded to Cole's nominations snub, stating "we simply had to go, as we always do, with the artists who got the most votes in that [best female R&B artist] category. The nominations consist of the artists that got the top votes in that category when put to our voting academy. If there is six nominations in a category that means there was a tie."[6]

There was criticism that Beyoncé received a nomination, despite the fact that her last album I Am... Sasha Fierce was released in 2008. Hill stated, "Beyoncé submitted a video for "Why Don't You Love Me" early May of 2010. She submitted one video remaining from her I Am... Sasha Fierce project. That was the last video she submitted and it was submitted during this year's eligibility period. She was voted on the strength of that one video even though the bulk of that project was the year before."[6]

Also, on the night of the award show ceremony, R&B artist Lloyd criticized the show. Feeling snubbed, Lloyd cited on his Twitter page how upset he was that his video, along with his record label mates, Lil Wayne and Young Money had the first R&B single of the Lil Wayne's career to reach number 1 on BET's 106 and Park, for the song "Bedrock", yet were not nominated for an award.

References

edit
  1. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (June 16, 2011). "Beyoncé Set To Perform At 2011 BET Awards". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on June 19, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Bark, Theo (June 8, 2011). "Patti LaBelle to Receive BET's Lifetime Achievement Award". The Boombox. AOL. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  3. ^ TV by the Numbers
  4. ^ a b c "Stephen Hill Speaks on BET Awards Nomination Controversy". BET News. BET Networks. May 20, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Langhorne, Cyrus (May 18, 2011). "Trina & Keyshia Cole Slam Awards Snub, "F*ck BET"". Sohh.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Ramirez, Erika (May 20, 2011). "BET's Stephen Hill Speaks On Trina and the '2011 BET Awards' Nominations". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
edit