by The 2012 Soul Train Awards was a celebration of R&B/Soul music like no other! Taped at Planet Hollywood Live Las Vegas and simultaneously airing on BET and Centric, the ceremony was hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, who tried to “soul Vegas up” in vignettes throughout the show. This was the first Soul Train awards after the untimely passing of founder/creator Don Cornelius, whose influence on music is still felt till this day. The show was filled with tributes to Cornelius and words from his son Tony Cornelius, a moment symbolizing the passing of the torch.
There were so many great performances. The show opened with a medley of performances by Raphael Saadiq channeling Johnnie Taylor, Leah Labelle’s tribute to Teena Marie with “Square Biz”, Anthony Hamilton sang Bill Wither’s “Lovely Day,” and Fantasia had the auditorium shouting with her Aretha Franklin cover of “Don’t Play That Song For Me.” Charlie Wilson performed his Gap Band hit “Outstanding.” NeYo broke it down with “Let Me Love You” in an all cream ensemble, and Keyshia Cole belted “Trust and Believe” then melted in to “Enough of No Love” minus Lil Wayne. John Legend performed “Tonight (Best You’ve Ever Had)” while seated at the piano surrounded by female dancers. Miguel rocked out with “Adorn,” while Charlie Wilson showed Cedric the Entertainer how to do it old school with his single “My Love Is All I Have.” Elle Varner looked and sounded stunning with her performance of “Refill.” The world got a whiff of what we can expect from TGT (a mega R&B group consisting of Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank) as Tyrese brought out the other two after his performance of “Stay.” X-Factor contestant Marcus Canty would have made Luther Vandross proud with his tribute to Luther Vandross by singing “Never Too Much.” Eddie Levert tributeed his son’s Gerald and Sean with the Levert hit “Cassanova.” Rapper 2 Chainz had the venue hyped with the PG version of “Birthday Song” and “Different.” Stevie Wonder closed the show with “Supersitious.”
New Edition was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for 30-years in the business. After their acceptance speech, they took to the stage to perform a medley of hits such as “Candy Girl,” “If It Isn’t Love,” and “Mr. Telephone Man,” proving they still got it.
The winners of The 2012 Soul Train Awards Winners are:
Best New Artistâ Elle Varner
Centric Award – Leah Labelle
Best Gospel/ Inspirational Performance – Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks’ “Celebrate”
Best Hip Hop Song of the Year â Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz “Mercy”
Best R&B/ Soul Female Artist â Beyoncé
Best R&B/ Soul Male Artist – Miguel
Album of the Year – â¨Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange
Song of the Year – â¨Tyrese’s “Stay”
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award â”Tonight (Best You Ever Had)”: John Legend feat. Ludacris
Best Dance Performance: Beyonce â “Love On Top”
Check out all the hot performances below by scrolling through the playlist:
