2017 Soul Train Music Awards: The Nominees and Winners
Contents
The 2017 Soul Train Music Awards were held on Sunday, November 26, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The awards ceremony was hosted by Erykah Badu and featured performances by a host of R&B and soul music’s biggest stars.
The nominees for the 2017 Soul Train Music Awards were announced in October, with Bruno Mars leading the pack with eight nominations. Mars went on to win three awards, including Best R&B/Soul Male Artist.
Other
2017 Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards event that honors the best in African American music. This year, the awards were held on November 5, 2017, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was hosted by actress and singer Tichina Arnold and comedian Deon Cole.
The Nominees
The nominees were announced on October 17, 2017. The list included Bruno Mars, Solange, Khalid, SZA, and Lil Uzi Vert among others in the R&B/Soul category. In the Hip-Hop/Rap category, the nominees included Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper, andBig Sean.
The awards ceremony was held on November 26, 2017 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and was hosted by Erykah Badu.
The Winners
We’re highlighting all of the winners from the 2017 Soul Train Music Awards!The awards ceremony, which was hosted by Erykah Badu, was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, November 5.
Bruno Mars led the pack with six wins, including Album of the Year for 24K Magic, Song of the Year for “That’s What I Like” and Best R&B/Soul Male Artist. Mars wasn’t able to attend the awards show, but he did send a heartfelt video message to accept his awards.
Here is the complete list of winners:
Album of the Year: Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Song of the Year: Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
Record of the Year: Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B, “Finesse (Remix)”
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award: SZA feat. Kendrick Lamar, “All The Stars”
Best New Artist: Khalid
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist: SZA
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist: Bruno Mars
Best R&B/Soul Group or Band: Migos
Centric Certified Award: Ledisi
Video of the Year: Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year: Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”
Best New Artist
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show that honors the best in Black music and entertainment. It was created by Don Cornelius and is produced by BET Networks. This year, the nominees for Best New Artist are:
SZA
SZA is an R&B singer and songwriter from Maplewood, New Jersey. Born Solána Rowe, she dropped out of college and began releasing music on the independent label Top Dawg Entertainment in 2012. SZA’s debut studio album, Ctrl (2017), topped the R&B and hip-hop charts and earned her five Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist.
Khalid
Khalid (Full name: Khalid Donnel Robinson) is an R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame after his single, “Location”, went viral on social media. The 20-year-old artist was born in Fort Stewart, Georgia, and raised in El Paso, Texas. He began making music in high school with his friend Syk Sense, who would later produce “Location”. Khalid’s debut album, “American Teen”, was released in March 2017 to critical acclaim. It peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Khalid has won numerous awards, including five BET Awards, a MTV Video Music Award, and two Grammy Awards.
Cardi B
Cardi B is an American rapper and songwriter who was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City. She first came to prominence as a cast member on the VH1 reality television series Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2015, and rose to prominence with the release of her debut single “Bodak Yellow” in 2017.
Cardi B’s debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, was released on April 6, 2018. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, making Cardi B the only woman in hip hop history to achieve this feat with a solo album debut. The album was also certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
The nominees for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist are: Ledisi, Mary J. Blige, Solange, SZA, and Ella Mai. The winner of this category is Ella Mai.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (/biːˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say) (born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.[1][2] Their hiatus saw Beyoncé’s theatrical debut in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) and the release of her first solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003). The album established her as a solo artist worldwide, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and earning five Grammy Awards,[3] including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. The album’s fourth single “All Night” made Beyoncé the second artist in history to achieve 80 number ones on Billboard after Madonna.[4][5]
Following the break-up of Destiny’s Child in 2006, she released her second solo album B’Day (2006), which contained hits “Déjà Vu” (featuring Jay-Z), “Irreplaceable”, and “Beautiful Liar”. Beyoncé also continued her acting career with starring roles in The Pink Panther (2006), Dreamgirls (2006), and Obsessed (2009). Her marriage to hip hop mogul Shawn Carter through whom she has three children—Blue Ivy Carter,[6] born January 7, 2012,[7] and twins Rumi Carter and Sir Carter born June 13, 2017[8][9]—influenced both her music and lifestyle.
After giving birth to Blue Ivy in early 2012, Beyoncé put motherhood on hold for a couple of years to focus on business ventures; during this break she released a self-titled fifth studio album—composed almost entirely by herself—that included hits “Formation”,”Sorry”, and “Hold Up”.[10][11][12] Motherhood also had an impact on her music; several critics observed that many songs on Lemonade were about Jay Z’s infidelity.[13][14][15] Her sixth studio album Lemonade was released on April 23 2016.
Solange
The 2017 Soul Train Music Awards will be held on Sunday, November 26, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards show will air live on BET and BET Her at 8 p.m. ET/7C.
This year’s nominees for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist are:
-Solange
-Kehlani
-SZA
-Ledisi
-Mary J. Blige
Solange is a singer, songwriter, model and actress from Houston, Texas. She is the daughter of R&B legend Beyoncé Knowles and Mathew Knowles. Solange began her career as a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child. She released her first studio album Solo Star in 2003. In 2016, Solange released her critically acclaimed album A Seat at the Table. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album.
Kehlani
Kehlani Ashley Parrish,known professionally as Kehlani, is an American singer and songwriter who is currently signed to Atlantic Records. Born and raised in Oakland, California, she first gained attention in 2014 after being featured on the track, ” cardinal Club” by rapper Iamsu!. Soon afterwards, she Released her first commercial mixtape, Cloud 9. The mixtape was heavily streamed online, Which helped Kehlani garner attention from both music critics and record labels. In 2015, she was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards. In 2016, Kehlani released her second commercial mixtape, You Should Be Here which debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 charts. Her debut studio album SweetSexySavage was released in 2017.
Kehlani is often hailed as a “R&B prodigy” by music critics due to her success at such a young age. She has been nominated for several awards including Best New Artist at the BET Awards and Best Female R&B Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards. In 2017, Kehlani won Best R&B/Soul Female Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards.
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
This year’s nominees for Best R&B/Soul Male Artist are: Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Trey Songz, and Usher. These are all very talented artists and it was difficult to choose just one winner. The Weeknd won this award last year and is nominated again this year. I’m sure he is hoping to take home the win again.
Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars continues his hot streak with a nod for Best R&B/Soul Male Artist. The Hawaii-born, Los Angeles-based artist made waves in 2010 with his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which featured the hits “Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade” and “The Lazy Song.” His followup, 2012’s Unorthodox Jukebox, was another huge success, spawning the massive singles “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.” Earlier this year, Mars returned with his third studio album, 24K Magic.
Maxwell
Maxwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 23, 1973, the son of a Puerto Rican mother and African-American father. His parents divorced when he was just three years old and he was raised by his mother in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. Maxwell began singing in his church choir at an early age and by his teenage years he had begun to write his own songs. In 1991, he auditioned for a part in the Broadway musical “The Lion King” but was not cast. Undaunted, he continued to pursue his musical career, eventually landing a record deal with Columbia Records in 1994.
Maxwell’s debut album, “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” was released in 1996 to critical acclaim. The album’s mix of smooth R&B, jazz, and hip-hop influences helped to establish Maxwell as one of the leading voices of the so-called “neo-soul” movement. He followed up with another well-received album, “Embrya,” in 1998 before taking a four-year break from recording. Maxwell returned with his third album, “Now,” in 2001. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to win two Grammy Awards.
In 2009, Maxwell released his fourth album, “BLACKsummers’night.” The album was once again a commercial and critical success, winning two Grammy Awards and earning Maxwell a reputation as one of the best R&B singers of his generation. He has since released two more albums: “blackSUMMERS’night” (2016) and “Night” (2018).
Childish Gambino
Donald Glover, who is also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, rappe producer, and singer. He first came to public attention for his work with Derrick Comedy while he was a student at NYU. Among other things, he is known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community. He later wrote for and starred in the FX comedy series Atlanta, which he created and executive-produced.
Song of the Year
Considering all the amazing music that has come out this year, it’s no surprise that the Soul Train Music Awards had a difficult time narrowing it down to just five nominees for Song of the Year. The nominees are: “The Story of O.J.” by Jay-Z, “Humble.” by Kendrick Lamar, “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars, “Redbone” by Childish Gambino, and “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.
“That’s What I Like” – Bruno Mars
“That’s What I Like” is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his third studio album, 24K Magic (2016). The song was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, John Stephens, and Ray Charles. Production was handled by Mars and The Stereotypes with Paul Epworth serving as a vocal producer. It was released to Contemporary hit radio on February 28, 2017 as the album’s third single.
The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became Mars’ seventh consecutive number-one single on the chart. In Australia and New Zealand, “That’s What I Like” peaked at numbers four and three respectively. In Canada and the United Kingdom, it reached number two and seven respectively. A music video for the song was released on March 1, 2017. It features Mars enjoying various luxury items with several women in various settings such as a mansion and spa. The video won Best Male Video at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.
At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards held on January 28, 2018, “That’s What I Like” won Record of the Year and Song of the Year becoming both Mars’ first wins in those categories; he had previously been nominated eleven times without winning. It also won Best R&B Performance becoming his fourth win in that category, making him the artist with the most wins in that category surpassing Stevie Wonder who has three wins.
“Redbone” – Childish Gambino
Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” was one of the most critically acclaimed songs of 2017. The track peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. “Redbone” was also nominated for Song of the Year at the Soul Train Music Awards, but lost out to Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like.”
“Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran
“Shape of You” is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released as a digital download on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with “Castle on the Hill”. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 2017, becoming Sheeran’s sixth UK number-one single. It also reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 charts. The song was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
