Bruno Mars Kicks Off BET Awards, Beyonce Rules The Night, Chance The Rapper Makes History

Char Little

The BET Awards certainly made for a show to remember Sunday night. Bruno Mars kicked off the show as the opening act from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. He sang and danced to the upbeat and energetic “Perm” from his latest album “24K Magic.”

He also took home his first ever BET Award for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist. He bested Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Trey Songz and Usher. He thanked the network for supporting him since his first single, “Nothin on You” featuring B.o.B.

The host for the evening, actress and comedian Leslie Jones, took the stage after Bruno’s performance. She brought tons of energy throughout the entire show.

As for the first award for the night, Migos took it home for the Best Group Award.

Remy Ma’s win for Best Female Hip Hop Artist was also a talked about moment for the night. It was the first time that Nicki Minaj didn’t win the award in seven years.

Chance The Rapper made history as the youngest recipient of The Humanitarian Award. He was recognized for his achievements as well as how he has given back to struggling communities in his hometown of Chicago. Former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, was featured in the video recognition of the rapper. During his speech he mentioned Chicago Public Schools, the Federal government and the judicial system. He later won the award for Best New Artist.

New Edition was honored for the Lifetime Achievement Award. The group was saluted for their more than 30 years in the music industry. The actors who portrayed the singing group in “The New Edition Story” biopic earlier this year were the ones to give them a tribute as they sang their biggest hits. New Edition hit the stage themselves and performed before the young men who played them joined them for a special performance of  “If It Isn’t Love.”

Other performances included the return of R&B group Xscape, Kendrick Lamar  (who won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist), Big Sean, Tamar Braxton, Migos, and Mary J. Blige.

Beyonce won five awards including Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and Video Director of the Year for her single, “Sorry.” The song also won the Viewer’s Choice award. “Sorry” shared the Video of the Year Award with Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic.” Solange Knowles took home her first BET Award and won the BET Centric Award for her hit single, “Cranes In The Sky.”

Rapper Lecrae took home the award for Best Gospel/Inspirational Artist. He thanked other rappers like Chance for spreading a positive  message in their songs.

Steph Curry won Sportsman of the Year while Serena Williams won Sportswoman of the Year. Taraji P. Henson won Best Actress.

The BET Awards aired live Sunday, June 25 at 8 p.m. ET on BET.