Someplace up there, Don Cornelius is celebrating the return of affection, peace and soul: BET is bringing again the “Soul Practice Awards,” three years after the kudocast was placed on hiatus. The revived “Soul Practice Awards” will air Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. on BET and CBS — marking the primary time the Eye community has aired the particular.
The 2026 “Soul Practice Awards” can even be broadcast on Paramount Skydance cable suppliers VH1, MTV2, Brand and BET Her. Jesse Collins Leisure is returning to provide the revived occasion.
The awards present will not be dwell, however it is going to be recorded in Chicago – the place Cornelius first launched the long-lasting music and dance collection “Soul Practice” in 1971 (first on unbiased station WCIU, then in nationwide syndication).
“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to carry the ‘Soul Practice Awards’ again to town the place it was all born,” BET Chairman Louis Carr mentioned in an announcement. “After a landmark 12 months for BET, this return reaffirms what we do greatest: bringing our neighborhood collectively round tradition and connecting the artists who constructed this sound with those that drive it ahead.
The “Soul Practice Awards” broadcast their closing version in 2023, hosted by Keke Palmer. In 2025, then-BET CEO Scott Mills (who left late final 12 months) informed Billboard that the corporate had “suspended” each the “Soul Practice Awards” and the “BET Hip-Hop Awards”: “I might say it is much less about them disappearing and extra about our crew having to reimagine them for this altering media panorama that we discover ourselves in,” he mentioned in an interview with the publication.
In bringing the present again, BET’s Connie Orlando, govt vice chairman of specials, music programming and music technique, mentioned the “Soul Practice Awards” can be “reimagined” with a “daring new format.”
“The ‘Soul Practice Awards’ has at all times been the house of R&B and soul,” she mentioned. “It’s about honoring the artists who formed the style whereas reinventing the evening and the route the music is taking.”
In a press launch, BET described this 12 months’s telecast as mixing “the honorees who outlined the sound with the artists who carried it, celebrating a legacy that has influenced American music since ‘Soul Practice’ first aired in 1971. Performances, honorees and host particulars can be introduced within the coming weeks.”
Orlando serves as govt producer of the 2026 “Soul Practice Awards” for BET, whereas Jesse Collins Leisure, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay additionally function EPs.
Spotify is an unique music streaming associate, whereas Toyota is a key sponsor. Joe Hadley, Spotify’s International Head of Music Content material and Partnerships, known as the return of the Soul Practice Awards “an necessary second for R&B and soul,” whereas Dedra DeLilli, Toyota’s vice chairman of selling communications, added, “We’re proud to assist carry again this iconic platform in a approach that honors its legacy and the significance it continues to carry at this time.” »