Coldplay‘s songwriting skills landed them the top honors at the 30th annual ASCAP Awards in London on Wednesday.
Bandmates Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman were named the Songwriters of the Year at the ceremony, while their “Viva La Vida” hit won them the Song of the Year award.
Other big winners included Taio Cruz, who picked up the ASCAP Vanguard Award for his record ‘Departure,’ and chart-topping Brits Scouting For Girls won the ASCAP College Award for“Everybody Wants to Be on TV.”
Another 20 song awards were also handed out during the event to honor songwriters – Paul McCartney‘s “Come Together,” U2‘s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and Phil Collins‘ track “In The Air Tonight” were among the tracks recognized.
Nicki Minaj doesn’t even have an album out yet, but she was one of the biggest winners at the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, which were taped on Saturday, October 2 in Atlanta for an upcoming broadcast. The Young Money rapper took home Rookie of the Year, People’s Champ, and Made You Look (style) awards,MTV News reports.
Fitted to kill in a black dominatrix-like outfit, NYC-ish blond bob hairdo, pink nails and lipstick, Minaj grabbed her awards and “ran.” Minaj made sure to thank her “Barbies” as she accepted the award for “Favorite By Fans.”
“Last year, I was here in anticipation of the cypher,” she told the crowd, referring to the artist rap freestyles that run in between the award presentations and performances. “Now I’m here in anticipation of my debut. [‘Pink Friday’, set for release November 23.]
“I’m paving the way for girls,” she continued. “I wanna thank all the girls of hip-hop.”
Jay-Z, who was not in attendance at the awards, was also able to bag three awards. Tied Minaj’s award total, taking home trophies in the categories of Perfect Combo (Alicia Keys duet “Empire State of Mind”), CD of the Year, and Best Live Performer. Other awards went to Rick Ross(Club Banger of the Year and Track of the Year for producer Lex Luger, both for “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)”), Salt-N-Pepa(I Am Hip-Hop), Diddy (Hustler), Swizz Beatz(Producer of the Year), and DJ Khaled(Best DJ).
Now let me remind you, the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards kicked off on quite the high note as Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, and Diddy opened with “B.M.F.,” one of the year’s biggest hits. To the surprise of those in the audience Ross‘ set then segued into an unexpected performance from MC Hammer, who danced frantically with a group of dancers as he performed ‘2 Legit 2 Quit.’
The 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards welcomed a number of newcomer’s including Alabama’s own Yelawolf who performed alongside Big Boi for their hit song “You Ain’t No DJ.”
“I feel overwhelmed, you know, coming out with Big Boi from OutKast and doing our record. I never thought it would lead to here, but I’m taking it in. I’m happy and I’m honored to be a part of it,” Yelawolf explained to The BoomBox.
The Hip-Hop Awards cypher’s proved yet again to be one of the highlights of the show with a number of artists taking part in this Hip-Hop Awards staple. Kanye West gave folks a taste of G.O.O.D. Music with a cypher that featured verses from himself, Common, Big Sean, Pusha T, and Cyhi Da Prynce.Ice Cube and Rev. Run kept it all in the family with a cypher that consisted of performances from Diggy Simmons, JoJo Simmons, OMG, and Doughboy.
More images from the performances below and after the cut.
This year’s 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, hosted by Mike Epps, will air Oct. 12 at 8 P.M. on BET. Will you be tuning in? Which award categories are you most looking forward to seeing televised?
Sunday night marked the 2010 BET Awards, hosted by Queen Latifah, and an all-star roster of celebrities presented, performed, and took home top honors.
Between Prince‘s Lifetime achievement award and Queen Latifah running the show, there was plenty of royalty at last night’s 10th anniversary of the BET Awards. But in the midst of the performances of accolades, the stage was also set for a few big names to make their comebacks.
Jermaine Jackson announced the first return of the evening when he introduced the tribute to his late brother, thanking everyone for their love and support over the past year. He added, “There is one tribute performance we have yet to see…here he is.”
Chris Brown was poised behind the curtain, looking like the silhouette of Michael Jackson himself. Once he came out, there was a palpable moment of tension so strong, it could almost be felt through the TV.
Brown crotch-grabbed and moon-walked his way like a pro through the Michael Jackson songs as a supportive audience cheered him on.
But then the opening bars from “Man in the Mirror” began to play, and we all braced for the irony of the words. Brown got through about one line of the song before his voice started to quiver with tears. After a few heartfelt efforts to regain composure, Brown fell to his knees sobbing and completely gave up trying to sing as the backup track took over.
But Brown wasn’t the only one returning to the stage: Kanye West opened the show on top of a mountain – literally – as he performed his latest single, “Power.” T.I gave an upbeat performance that had the whole crowd moving, and El DeBarge was also a surprising treat as he performed a new song from his upcoming album and a medley of his R&B hits.
Queen Latifah kept the show flowing as she changed outfits about 500 times, and Alicia Keys also had a good night. She won Best Female R&B artist, Best Collaboration for her work with Jay-Z in “Empire State of Mind,” and also fit in two performances: a medley set of her own songs early on in the program, and then she joined in the Prince tribute.
But probably the best Prince performance of the night came from the one and only Patti LaBelle, who sang “Purple Rain” like we’ve never heard it before. LaBelle flicked her shoes off into the audience where Prince picked one of them up and gestured in respect to the diva.
LaBelle came back and joined Chaka Khan on stage to formally present Prince with his Lifetime Achievement Award.
Overwhelmed by the amount of praise coming from the audience, Prince asked everyone to sit down and said he was “speechless.” He started by thanking Jehovah, and then remarked on the future of music. “I do believe the future is in good hands, there is so much talent here,” he said.
Then Prince offered some words of wisdom to the young talent in the room. “I was pretty wild in my younger days and you don’t have to do what I did and you don’t have to make the mistakes I made,” he said. “Thank you for a wonderful night tonight, I’ll never forget it as long I live.”
Trey Songz took home Best Male R&B Artist and Drake won Best Male Hip Hop Artist. Nicki Minaj received the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist and thanked the female rappers who paved the way for her.
Rihanna received the coveted Viewer’s Choice Award for “Hard,” but was not there to accept it. Also not there to accept Awards were Beyonce’ and Lady Gaga, who won Video of the Year for their collaboration in “Video Phone,” and Jay-Z was absent from the show as well.
Chris Brown had the last word, at least for the night. After his Jackson tribute, he was announced as the surprise winner of BET’s Fandemonium award, a prize determined by fan votes, beating out apparent favorites like Justin Bieber, Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj.
Stepping to the stage to receive his trophy, Brown gave a quick acceptance speech. “I let you all down before, but I won’t do it again,” he said. “I promise you.”
Here’s a breakdown of all the winners…
Winners included:
Viewers’ Choice: Rihanna (not at awards ceremony)
Best Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys
Best Male R&B Artist: Trey Songz
Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Drake
Best New Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Group: Young Money
Video of the Year: Beyonce and Lady Gaga for “Video Phone” (not at awards ceremony)
Best Actress: Mo’Nique
Best Actor: Idris Elba
Best Movie: Precious
Sportsman of the Year: Lebron James
Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Prince also won a Lifetime achievement award and John Legend won a humanitarian award.
The show’s top performances were given by Chris Brown, who paid tribute to Michael Jackson and ended sobbing on stage during “Man In The Mirror,” and Patti LaBelle’s cover of “Purple Rain” in honor of Prince.
Below is a video from Chris Brown’s Michael Jackson Tribute:
Alicia Keys Tribute to Prince:
Source: CNN, BET, YOUTUBE
~ “Alicia Keys’ performance had me at the edge of my seat when she climbed on top of her piano. I was so nervous that she wouldn’t fall, even Prince looked nervous. As for Chris Brown, I was so excited to see him perform, and hear how the crowd cheered him on. It was one of the best performances I saw. He really knows how to break down Michael Jackson’s moves. Welcome back Chris Brown.”
There’s much anticipation of Jay-Z’s“The Blueprint 3” album release and benefit concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on September 11. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are set to perform at the 26th Annual MTVVideo Music Awards. They will be performing the ode to New York single “Empire State of Mind” for the first time. The show will air live from Radio City Music Hall on September 13 at 9 p.m.
JNEL & J. Magazine 