Sunday night was all about the best and brightest in Black Entertainment and philanthropy.
The 7th Annual BET Honors evening, host4ed by Wayne Brady, was held to salute Aretha Franklin, Berry Gordy, Jr., Ice Cube, the late Nelson Mandela and others for their achievements in their respective fields.
Mariah Carey, who was honored at the 2012 BET Honors, performed her new song ‘You’re Mine’ atop a grand piano. The award winning singer turned up the sex appeal in a plunging black gown designed by Rubin Singer. Upon wrapping up her performance to roaring applause, she was greeted with a big hug from her daughter Monroe.
A huge highlight of the night came when Aretha Franklin’s granddaughter, Victorie Franklin, performed Tamela Mann’s ‘Take Me to the King’ to honor her grandmother. That was followed by a fantastic tribute by Oscar-winning songbird Jennifer Hudson.
For his nearly 30 years in the business, rapper/film mogul Ice Cube was presented with his BET Honor by fellow rapper-actor Ludacris.
Later, the Queen of Soul, took the stage to perform a powerful tribute song in honor of the late South African president Nelson Mandela.
During Berry Gordy, Jr.’s tribute segment, audiences were treated to a medley of hits from the Motown catalog. Tamar Braxton, dressed in a gorgeous purple dress, sang Diana Ross’ classic song ‘Upside Down.’ Janelle Monae gave an energetic performance of The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ and Smokey Robinson performed the tender ballad ‘Tracks of My Tears.’
Check out images from the big night!
