The Soul Train Awards Are Making Their Return With Spotify and BET
After a three-year hiatus, the Soul Train Awards are officially making their return.
BET has announced that the celebrated R&B and soul ceremony will return on November 27, with Spotify joining as presenting partner. For the first time, the awards will also be simulcast on CBS, expanding the broadcast beyond BET and its usual network lineup, which includes BET HER, VH1, MTV2, and LOGO.
The comeback will carry added significance as the ceremony heads to Chicago, the city where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train more than five decades ago.
For Spotify, the partnership represents an opportunity to connect the platform’s global audience with one of music’s most influential cultural celebrations.
“It’s a significant moment for R&B and soul, and for Spotify, it’s important to show up where the culture is,” said Joe Hadley, Spotify’s Global Head of Music Content & Partnerships. “Bringing Spotify and BET together allows us to extend the impact beyond the awards themselves, creating more opportunities for artists and their music to reach fans around the world.”
Jesse Collins Entertainment will produce the ceremony, with Jesse Collins and Connie Orlando, BET’s EVP of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy, among those serving as co-executive producers.
The return is also a personal one for BET President Louis Carr, a Chicago native who emphasized the importance of bringing the show back to its roots.
“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to bring the Soul Train Awards back to the city where it all originated,” Carr said. “Coming off a landmark year for BET, this return reaffirms what we do best: Bring our community together.”
Orlando added that the revived ceremony will look to both celebrate the genre’s history and embrace its future.
“The Soul Train Awards have always been the home for R&B and soul, and this year we’re reimagining the celebration with a bold new format,” she said. “It’s about honoring the artists who shaped the genre while reinventing the night for where the music is headed.”
With its return to Chicago and a new partnership with Spotify, the Soul Train Awards are set to enter a new chapter while remaining rooted in the legacy that made the ceremony a defining celebration of Black music and culture.
