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UPDATE (Sept. 4):<\/strong> Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming & music strategy \t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tBillboard\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\tHere are excerpts from Orlando\u2019s letter:<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tToronto’s Rogers Stadium Heavily Damaged By Massive Storm Ahead of AC\/DC Show\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tMedium Build Hit Rock Bottom. Then He Got Sober and Made His Best Album Yet\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tTLC Issue Statement After T-Boz Misses Dates on It’s Iconic Tour Due to ‘Sickle Cell Crisis’: ‘Her Health and Recovery Remain Our Highest Priority’\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDear Partners,<\/em><\/p>\n After a two-year hiatus, I am thrilled to announce that the \u201cSoul Train Awards\u201d are back and returning to where it all began: Chicago!<\/em><\/p>\n As we celebrate the deep heritage of this franchise, we are also revitalizing it for a new era. This year, we are reimagining the format as a dynamic, two-hour celebration honoring four to five musical icons, spotlighting two fan-voted categories, and featuring marquee performances from artists who have shaped and continue to redefine the sound of R&B and soul.<\/em><\/p>\n Unlike previous years, there will not be an open label submission process for award consideration. This year\u2019s awards will feature a limited fan-voting component. Additional details regarding award categories, nominees, and fan voting will be shared as plans are finalized.<\/em><\/p>\n As we continue to shape this year\u2019s show, labels and management are welcome to share artists for consideration for mainstage performances, Cypher appearances, and BET Amplified stage opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n We could not be more excited to bring this iconic tentpole back to Chicago and bring the beloved franchise back to the culture. Thank you for your continued partnership, and we look forward to collaborating.<\/em><\/p>\n Warmly, PREVIOUSLY (Sept. 3): <\/strong>The Soul Train Awards are making a comeback.<\/p>\n \n\tOn Thursday (Sept. 3), BET announced that the awards show will make its return later this year after a two-year hiatus. The Soul Train Awards presented by Spotify and Toyota will air Friday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. ET\/PT and will simulcast on CBS, BET HER, VH1, MTV2 and LOGO.<\/p>\n \n\tThe taping of the show will take place in Chicago, the city where the late visionary Don Cornelius first created the revolutionary music variety show in 1971. Cornelius, who died in 2012 at age 75, was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.<\/p>\n \n\tThis will be the first time the show has been held in Chicago. It was held in the Los Angeles area from 1987-2007. Since then it has been held in Atlanta, Las Vegas and New York (at the legendary Apollo Theater), as well as a return to L.A. in 2023.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs a Chicago native, I\u2019m proud to bring the Soul Train Awards back to the city where it all originated,\u201d Louis Carr, president, BET said via press release. \u201cComing off a landmark year for BET, this return reaffirms what we do best: bringing our community together around the culture, and connecting the artists who built this sound to the ones carrying it forward.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tConnie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming & music strategy, BET added: \u201cThe Soul Train Awards has always been the home for R&B and soul, and this year we\u2019re reimagining the celebration with a bold new format. It\u2019s about honoring the artists who shaped the genre while reinventing the night for where the music is headed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFull service Emmy-winning production company Jesse Collins Entertainment will work alongside BET to produce the show. \u201cJesse Collins Entertainment is elated to return to produce the show,\u201d said Collins, founder & CEO. \u201cWe are honored to work alongside BET, Spotify and Toyota towards an exciting lineup of unforgettable performances and special moments.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSpotify is the exclusive music streaming partner. Joe Hadley, their global head of music content & partnerships, is excited to see how the DSP can help the artists highlighted during the show extend their reach. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled the Soul Train Awards are coming back,\u201d Hadley said via press release. \u201cIt\u2019s a significant moment for R&B and soul, and for Spotify, it\u2019s important to show up where culture is. Bringing Spotify and BET together allows us to extend the impact beyond the awards themselves, creating more opportunities for artists and their music to reach fans around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe award show\u2019s exclusive automotive partner will be Toyota. Dedra DeLilli, the company\u2019s vp of marketing communications, added, \u201cSoul Train has been a defining force in music and culture for more than five decades, and Toyota is proud to have been part of that legacy for many of those years. We\u2019ve always believed in showing up where culture is being created and celebrated, which is why we are extremely excited to be the exclusive automotive partner for the return of Soul Train Music Awards. We\u2019re proud to help bring this iconic platform back in a way that honors its legacy and the significance it continues to hold today.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2016, BET acquired the Soul Train brand and in 2025 announced they decided to suspend both the Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip-Hop Awards in order to revamp them and adapt to the changing media landscape. \u201cWe have suspended the Soul Train and Hip-Hop award shows,\u201d former BET CEO Scott Mills told Billboard<\/em> in an interview last year. \u201cBut we have a team that\u2019s actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve. They aren\u2019t gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe first Soul Train Awards was held in 1987 and was hosted by Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross, with the last one \u2014 hosted by Keke Palmer \u2014 airing in 2023.<\/p>\n \n\tPerformances, honorees and host details will be announced in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/soul-train-awards-return-bet-air-date-1236325496\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/HER-BET-Soultrain-2020-billboard-1548-1635873368.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard UPDATE (Sept. 4): Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming & music strategyat BET, released an open letter to the industry Friday (Sept. 4) in which she revealed more details of the return of the Soul Train Awards. The two-hour show will tape on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Harris Theater […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2128285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2128285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2128285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2128285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2128285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
at BET, released an open letter to the industry Friday (Sept. 4) in which she revealed more details of the return of the Soul Train Awards. The two-hour show will tape on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Harris Theater in Chicago for airing on Friday, Nov. 27.<\/p>\n\n
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Connie Orlando\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n