R. Kelly has set a new record for the Soul Train Awards for most nominations by an artist as his two nods push him to a total of 21 over the years. He is up for Songwriter and Album of the Year.
Overall, Usher leads this year’s nominees with five for R&B/Soul Male Artist, Album, Song, Songwriter and Dance Performance. Also receiving multiple nominations were Nas, Tray Songz, John Legend and Estelle.
A few veteran artists made the cut including BeBe Winans, Whitney Houston (both for Gospel/Inspirational Performance), Jimmy Cliff (Caribbean Performance), Tony Bennett and Kenny Garrett (both for Traditional Jazz Artist/Group).
The awards will be held on November 8 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas and shown on November 25 on BET and Centric.
The nominees (with veteran artists in bold):
Best New Artist
Elle Varner
Emeli Sande
J. Cole
Luke James
Robert Glasper
Centric Award
Daley
Esperanza Spalding
Gary Clark Jr.
Leah Labelle
Santigold
Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance
America America – BeBe Winans
I Feel Good - Fred Hammond
My Testimony – Marvin Sapp
Go Get It - Mary Mary
Celebrate - Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks
Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
No Lie – 2 Chainz ft. Drake
Lotus Flower Bomb – Wale ft. Miguel
Daughters - Nas
Mercy - Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz
Leave You Alone – Young Jeezy ft. Ne-Yo
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Beyoncé
Estelle
Keyshia Cole
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Miguel
Robin Thicke
Trey Songz
Tyrese
Usher
Album of the Year
The One - Eric Benet
Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
Life Is Good - Nas
Write Me Back - R. Kelly
Looking For Myself - Usher
Song of the Year
Thank You – Estelle
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) – John Legend ft. Ludacris
Heart Attack - Trey Songz
Stay - Tyrese
Climax - Usher
Lotus Flower Bomb – Wale ft. Miguel
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award
Thank You – Estelle (Writers: Arden Altino, Akene “The Champ” Dunkley, Jerry Duplessis, Doug F. Edwards, Thomas D. Richardson, Aliaune Thiam)
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) – John Legend ft. Ludacris (Writers: Allen Arthur, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Keith Justice, Miguel Pimentel Miguel, Clayton Reilly, John Stephens)
Daughters - Nas (Writers: Nasir Jones, Ernest D. Wilson, Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka)
Share My Love – R. Kelly (Writer: Robert Kelly)
Climax - Usher (Writers: Usher Raymond IV, Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid)
Best Dance Performance
Love On Top – Beyoncé
Turn Up The Music – Chris Brown
Starships - Nicki Minaj
Where Have You Been – Rihanna
Scream - Usher
Best Caribbean Performance
Bajan Style – Cover Drive
SuperHeavy - Damian “Junior Gong” Marley
Rebirth - Jimmy Cliff
Spark Seeker – Matisyahu
Tomahawk Technique – Sean Paul
Best International Performance
Our Day Will Come – Amy Winehouse
Alone Together – Daley ft. Marsha Ambrosius
Next To Me - Emeli Sande
Thank You – Estelle
Somebody (That I Used To Know) – Gotye ft. Kimbra
Nothing’s Real But Love – Rebecca Ferguson
Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group
Impressions - Chris Botti
Seeds From The Underground – Kenny Garrett
The Absence – Melody Gardot
Black Radio – The Robert Glasper Experiment
Isn’t It Romantic – Tony Bennett
Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group
Full Tank – Ben Tankard
DREAMS - Brian Culbertson
Another Country – Cassandra Wilson
Radio Music Society – Esperanza Spalding
Here We Go – Peter White
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