Beyonce, Kanye West Among Winners of BET's SOUL TRAIN AWARDS

Celebrities from music, film, sports and television such as Jamie Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Levert, Billy Crystal, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Melanie Fiona, Jody Watley, Doug E. Fresh, Tony Rock, Luke James, Estelle, Donny and Marie Osmond, Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham, and Tamar Braxton, joined Soul Train in celebrating some of the best musical contributions of 2012.  This year's show honored New Edition with the Lifetime Achievement Award and paid tribute to late Soul Train founder, Don Cornelius.

The contributions Don Cornelius made to music changed the landscape of the industry. As a tribute, the Awards show featured video vignettes from old broadcasts, as well as moving words from his son, Tony Cornelius, and Soul Train standout, Jody Watley, who attributes much of her success to Cornelius and Soul Train.

New Edition, whose career has spanned 30 years, were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and followed their moving acceptance speech with a performance of their hits: "Candy Girl," "Telephone Man," and "If It Isn't Love." Their performance reminded the audience why they fell in love with New Edition from the very beginning.

An always soul stirring performance by the "8^th Wonder of the World," Stevie Wonder, turned into a massive celebration of President-Elect Barack Obama when his hit "Superstition" was followed by a performance of  "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours," which was accompanied by projected photos of The President.

The competition was really tough this year with amazing artists and talent.  The 2012 Soul Train Awards Winners are:

Best New Artist-- Elle Varner ??
Centric Award -- Leah Labelle??
Best Gospel/ Inspirational Performance -- Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks'  "Celebrate" 
Best Hip Hop Song of the Year – Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz "Mercy"
Best R&B/ Soul Female Artist – Beyonce
Best R&B/ Soul Male Artist -- Miguel
Album of the Year -- ?Frank Ocean's Channel Orange
Song of the Year -- ?Tyrese's "Stay"??
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award --"Tonight (Best You Ever Had)": John Legend feat. Ludacris??
Best Dance Performance: Beyonce – "Love On Top"?
CENTRICTV.com: Best Caribbean Performance -- Sean Paul's "Tomahawk Technique"??
CENTRICTV.com: Best International Performance --?Estelle's "Thank You"??
CENTRICTV.com: Best Independent R&B/ Soul Artist or Group -- Eric Roberson??
CENTRICTV.com: Best Traditional Jazz Artist/ Group:?TIE
*The Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio 
*Tony Bennett -- Isn't It Romantic 
CENTRICTV.com: Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/ Group -- ?Esperanza Spalding-Radio Music Society?

The Soul Train Awards is a presentation of Centric Network. Executive Producers of the telecast are: Paxton Baker, Tami Willis-Arasli, Derek Lewis, CENTRIC; Bart Phillips, Sunseeker Media; and Soul Train Holdings' Kenard Gibbs, along withCedric Kyles; Eric Rhone; Doug E. Fresh; and Damien Smith. The Soul Train Awards is directed by Tony McCuin and produced in cooperation with the City of Las Vegas and Clark County Nevada.

Encore presentations of Soul Train Awards 2012 will air:

• Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 7:30pm ET/PT on BET
• Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 9pm ET/PT on BET
• Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 9pm ET/PT on BET
• Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 5:30pm ET/PT on Centric
• Friday, December 14, 2012 at 8pm ET/PT on Centric

For more information, go to www.BET.com/SoulTrain and Tweet on Twitter using: #SoulTrainAwards.

About CENTRIC:
Centric is a 24-hour music and entertainment channel that reflects the lifestyle and sophistication of today's African-American and multicultural adult viewer.  With a finger on the pulse of an ever-changing beat, its compelling music content fuses Soul, R&B, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop, Reggae, Gospel, Jazz, Old School, New School and everything in between with today's hottest artists. It is a unique of mix of music, culture and lifestyle programming that embodies the lives, tastes and aspirations of the CENTRIC viewer: All you. All day. All night.

About BET Networks:
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and Production Company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in theUnited Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

About Soul Train Holdings:
Soul Train is a registered trademark of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Soul Train is the longest running, first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history.  During its 37 year run, the show featured such staples as the Soul Train line and performers as important and diverse as: Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Janet Jackson and Beyonce, to name a few.  Soul Train Holdings was created following the acquisition of the iconic franchise and catalog of more than 1,100 hours of archival footage from Don Cornelius Productions in June 2008 by InterMedia Partners and Madvision entertainment and is part of Vibe Holdings LLC. Vibe Holdings is a leading multi-cultural media company consisting of treasured and celebrated brands including Vibe Magazine, Vibe.com, Uptown Magazine and Soul Train.  VIBE Holdings is owned by InterMedia Partners, Magic Johnson Enterprises and Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies.

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