Cardi B, Drake & J. Cole Lead The Field: 2019 BET Awards Nominations

The 2019 BET Awards are already penciled in for June 23rd at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. If you’ll recall, last year Drake felt the effects of a double-edged sword at the 2019 gala, after coming away with “Video of the Year” honors and a scathing diss from host DeRay Davis. Suffice to say, Drake let it go unanswered, as he’d once been in that “spiteful” position himself, as the host of the 2014 ESPYS.

But I digress, Drake is back in the leadoff position one year later, with 5 nominations to his name, only surpassed by Cardi B’s haul of 7 BET nominations. Rounding out the rest of the leaderboard sits Beyoncé, J. Cole, and Travis Scott, positioned in a three-way tie with three BET nominations. Worth noting, Pastor Snoop clocks in with high chances of stealing away with “Best Gospel” honors.

“From Michael Jackson and James Brown busting dance moves together to Monique paying homage to Beyoncé in an unforgettable dance number to BET reuniting the Fugees, we have set the tone for what cool looks like,” BET’s Head of Programming Connie Orlando said in the communique that listed the nominations. “This year we are even more so committed to continuing to create the unforgettable moments that have made the BET Awards the preeminent celebration of black culture.”

Check out the shortlist down below.

BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST 

BEYONCÉ

ELLA MAI

H.E.R.

SOLANGE

SZA

TEYANA TAYLOR

BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST 

ANDERSON .PAAK

BRUNO MARS

CHILDISH GAMBINO

CHRIS BROWN

JOHN LEGEND

KHALID

BEST GROUP 

CHLOE X HALLE

CITY GIRLS

LIL BABY & GUNNY

MIGOS

THE CARTERS

BEST COLLABORATION 

21 SAVAGE FT. J. COLE – “A LOT ”

CARDI B & BRUNO MARS – “PLEASE ME”

CARDI B FT. BAD BUNNY & J BALVIN – “I LIKE IT”

H.E.R. FT. BRYSON TILLER – “COULD’VE BEEN”

TRAVIS SCOTT FT. DRAKE – “SICKO MODE”

TYGA FT. OFFSET – “TASTE”

BEST MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST 

21 SAVAGE

DRAKE

J. COLE

MEEK MILL

NIPSEY HUSSLE

TRAVIS SCOTT

BEST FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST 

CARDI B

KASH DOLL

LIZZO

MEGAN THEE STALLION

NICKI MINAJ

REMY MA

VIDEO OF THE YEAR 

21 SAVAGE – “A LOT” FT. J. COLE

CARDI B – “MONEY”

CARDI B & BRUNO MARS – “PLEASE ME”

CHILDISH GAMBINO – “THIS IS AMERICA”

DRAKE – “NICE FOR WHAT”

THE CARTERS – “APESHIT”

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 

BENNY BOOM

COLIN TILLEY

DAVE MEYERS

HYPE WILLIAMS

KARENA EVANS

BEST NEW ARTIST 

BLUEFACE

CITY GIRLS

JUICE WRLD

LIL BABY

QUEEN NAIJA

Dr. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD

ERICA CAMPBELL FT. WARRYN CAMPBELL – “ALL OF MY LIFE”

FRED HAMMOND – “TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS”

KIRK FRANKLIN – “LOVE THEORY”

SNOOP DOGG FT. RANCE ALLEN – “BLESSING ME AGAIN”

TORI KELLY FT. KIRK FRANKLIN – “NEVER ALONE”

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT 

AKA (SOUTH AFRICA)

AYA NAKAMURA (FRANCE)

BURNA BOY (NIGERIA)

DAVE (U.K.)

DOSSEH (FRANCE)

GIGGS (U.K.)

MR EAZI (NIGERIA)

BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL ACT - (FAN VOTED CATEGORY) 

HEADIE ONE (U.K.)

JOK’AIR (FRANCE)

NESLY (FRANCE)

OCTAVIAN (U.K.)

SHO MADJOZI (AFRICA)

TENIOLA APATA (AFRICA)

BEST ACTRESS 

ISSA RAE

REGINA HALL

REGINA KING

TARAJI P. HENSON

TIFFANY HADDISH

VIOLA DAVIS

BEST ACTOR 

ANTHONY ANDERSON

CHADWICK BOSEMAN

DENZEL WASHINGTON

MAHERSHALA ALI

MICHAEL B. JORDAN

OMARI HARDWICK

YOUNGSTARS AWARD 

CALEB MCLAUGHLIN

LYRIC ROSS

MARSAI MARTIN

MICHAEL RAINEY JR.

MILES BROWN

BEST MOVIE 

BLACKKKLANSMAN

CREED II

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

THE HATE U GIVE

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR 

ALLYSON FELIX

CANDACE PARKER

NAOMI OSAKA

SERENA WILLIAMS

SIMONE BILES

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR 

KEVIN DURANT

LEBRON JAMES

ODELL BECKHAM JR.

STEPHEN CURRY

TIGER WOODS

ALBUM OF THE YEAR 

ASTROWORLD

CHAMPIONSHIPS

ELLA MAI

EVERYTHING IS LOVE

INVASION OF PRIVACY

2019 COCA-COLA VIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD

CARDI B, BAD BUNNY & J BALVIN – “I LIKE IT”

CHILDISH GAMBINO – “THIS IS AMERICA”

DRAKE – “IN MY FEELINGS”

ELLA MAI – “TRIP”

J. COLE – “MIDDLE CHILD”

TRAVIS SCOTT FT. DRAKE – “SICKO MODE”

BET HER AWARD

ALICIA KEYS – “RAISE A MAN”

CIARA – “LEVEL UP”

H.E.R. – “HARD PLACE”

JANELLE MONÁE – “PYNK”

QUEEN NAIJA – “MAMA’S HAND”

TEYANA TAYLOR – “ROSE IN HARLEM”