Idolator

Nominations for BET's Hip-Hop Awards were announced yesterday, and, unsurprisingly, Lil Wayne walked away with the lion's share of the nods, to the point where I have to wonder if the nomination committee was trying to figure out a way to shoehorn him into the Best UK Hip-Hop Act category. Weezy got 12 nominations; Kanye West, meanwhile, received seven nods, and Jay-Z six. Full slate of nominees after the jump. More »

The list of winners from last night's BET Awards is full of fascination and surprise for any nerd who can't help but care. Did the right "feat. T-Pain" win Best Collaboration? (Yes.) Is Missy Elliott doing better than any female artist who actually released an album in the last year? (Lil' Mama was robbed!) Did UGK deserve "Best Group" and "Best Video" more than Playaz' Circle and Ashanti or was it just a tribute to the passing Pimp C? (Both.) Kanye over Lil' Wayne? (Weezy will have to settle for Viewer's Choice.) Chris Brown over Ne-Yo? (A tragic tear under a tilted hat.) More »

As the MTV Music Awards become clumsier with every passing year in a less-than-subtle expression of how much acknowledging musical accomplishments has become an annoyance for a network that would much rather chase teenagers around with cameras, the BET Awards stand as the only place where you'll see the biggest acts in pop music (Lil' Wayne, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and Nelly are already scheduled to perform) presented with production value and professional competence, acknowledging elders (Al Green and Quincy Jones will respectively receive lifetime achievement and humanitarian awards) without turning into a hoary grandpa fest. "Best Group" seems a little duo heavy, and it's funny to see T-Pain lead the nominations solely on guest spots, but it's refreshing to see a "Best Female Hip-Hop Artist" category. A list of the awards and nominees below. More »

Our TiVo pooped out during last night's BET Awards, but luckily, YouTube has some of the highlights, including Beyoncé's odd homage to Metropolis (or maybe it was Heartbeeps?); 50 Cent getting lost during "Amusement Park," no doubt due to those soul-searching lyrics; and Ne-Yo as center square.