Jay-Z & Kanye, Beyonce and Chris Brown win big at BET Awards

The stars all came out to shine at last night’s BET Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

The annual BET Awards ceremony which celebrates black musicians, actors and athletes featured performances from some of the biggest names in the black community including Usher, Melanie Fiona, Nicki Minaj and Kanye West flanked by fellow G.O.O.D. music stars Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz. The appearance wouldn’t be the only time West would take the the stage on the night as the rapper also picked up star-shaped gongs for Best Group and Video Of The Year for ‘OTIS’ both efforts from Watch The Throne –his widely acclaimed collaborative project with hip-hop megastar Jay-Z. Other winners on the night included Chris Brown who triumphed in the Best Male Artist category, stirring up contoversy by hinting that his next release ‘Fortune’ could be his last and Beyonce, who was named Video Director of the Year alongside her sister Solange’s boyfriend, video director Alan Ferguson.

The night was also an emotional one as BET paid tribute to fallen icon Whitney Houston, who passed away earlier this year. The late singer’s mother Cissy Houston sang a heart-stopping rendition of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ to visibly moved onlookers, Mariah Carey shared anecdotes about the star saying “I miss my friend. I miss hearing her voice and laughter, but we’ll always have the music. We’ll always have that voice we fell in love with, she inspired us all, we’ll always have my friend Whitney Houston.”  R&B stars Monica and Brandy who were mentored by Whitney performed a medley of her hits before Whitney’s co-stars from the 1995 film ‘Waiting To Exhale’  took to the stage as Chaka Khan rounded out the tribute with one of Houston’s best-loved hits ‘I’m Every Woman’.

The 2012 BET Awards air in the UK on Wednesday 3rd July 2012 at 8pm on Sky channel 187

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