An energetic Bruno Mars kicked off the 2017 BET Awards with a fun and funky performance on a night where he could win his first BET Award.
The pop star, whose last album was heavily inspired by ’90s R&B, was full of energy Sunday when he sang “Perm” onstage with six of his backup dancers at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Mars is nominated for five awards — only behind Beyonce, who is up for seven honors and dominated last year’s BET Awards.
Leslie Jones of “Saturday Night Live” fame is hosting the show and offered jokes about contemporary rappers’ names and her age.
Hip-hop trio Migos won best group, the first televised award of the night.
Migos is also nominated for video of the year for “Bad and Boujee.” They will compete with Beyonce’s “Sorry,” Mars’ “24K Magic,” Solange’s “Cranes In the Sky” and Big Sean’s “Bounce Back.”
Mars and Beyonce will also compete for album of the year, video director of the year and the viewer’s choice award. Mars is also nominated for best male R&B/pop artist, going up against Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Usher and Trey Songz.
Beyonce, who reportedly had her twins earlier this month though she hasn’t commented on the topic, is also nominated for best female R&B/pop artist, pitting her against her sister Solange, Mary J. Blige and Kehlani.
Other strong competition Sunday include best female hip hop artist, where rivals Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma will go head-to-head. Minaj has won the honor consecutively since 2010. Other nominees include Missy Elliott, Young Ma and Cardi B.
Nominees for best male hip hop artist are Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper, Future and Big Sean.
Performers include Blige, Brown, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Maxwell, New Edition, Future, Xscape, A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Gucci Mane and El DeBarge.
Presenters include Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Trevor Noah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Issa Rae and Yara Shahidi. New Edition, who had success with their BET biopic this year, will receive the lifetime achievement award, while Chance the Rapper will earn the humanitarian award.
The show is airing live on BET.
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Online:
http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards/
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