10 Memorable Moments from This Year's BET Awards

This year marked the 15th annual BET Awards to celebrate the accomplishments of minorities within the entertainment industry. There were many highs and lows of the night, but overall, this was most likely one of the most memorable BET Award ceremonies of all time! In case you missed it, here are our top ten highlights of the night (in no particular order). [caption id="attachment_41483" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 10. Tracee and Anthony Killing the Stage Yet Again For the second year in a row, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson absolutely stole the show as hosts! Whether it was opening with an ode to the Tony award-winning musical Hamilton or Anthony's (umm, not so flattering) version of Janelle Monae's performance attire, the two hosts were sure to provide some well-timed comedic relief for the show. [caption id="attachment_41484" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Photo: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 9. Tina Knowles-Lawson Accepts on her Daughter's behalf While Beyoncé was en route to London for a show, her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson gladly accepted the awards for Best Video and the Viewers Choice Award on behalf of her. She did provide the audience with some down-to-Earth acceptance speeches, thanking the fans for supporting her daughter since she was 15 years old and even leaving with the gem of celebrating artists while they can "still smell the flowers." [caption id="attachment_41485" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 8. Chloe x Halle's Breakout Performance Rising duo Chloe x Halle -- who are signed to Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment -- took the stage with just a guitar and keyboard for an amazing performance. [caption id="attachment_41487" align="aligncenter" width="892"] Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 7. Maxwell's Rendition of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" After performing his latest single "Lake by the Ocean," Maxwell sang his rendition of Prince's classic tune "Nothing Compares 2 U.” Not only did Maxwell pull all the stops to cover the song, but he even added his own twist, "I went to the record store, Apple, Spotify too, and they told me 'Boy you'd better try to make some music, which you can't do – 'cause Prince is the truth!" [caption id="attachment_41488" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 6. Anderson .Paak's Breakout Performance One of the BET Awards' specialties is having a dedicated section for up-and-coming artists to perform. This year, BET gave this platform to singer BiBi Bourelli and Anderson .Paak. While both gave incredible performances, .Paak was something refreshing to the table. Performing his hit single "Come Down," he delivered a funky, energetic show complete with a live band, background vocals and a lot of soul. Midway through the performance, .Paak showed that he isn't just a singer, hopping onto the empty drum set behind him and jamming out. This was definitely a good look for the California native. [caption id="attachment_41491" align="aligncenter" width="851"] Photo: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 5. Bilal's Prince Tribute Hitting the BET Award stage with The Roots, Bilal handed the audience one of the most intense Prince tributes of the night! In a sleeveless white shirt with black pants and suspenders, Bilal came out and performed an emotional cover of Prince's "The Beautiful Ones," really getting into the performance by writhing on stage and belting the song. The performance was almost entrancing to watch and was a highlight of the night! 4. Janelle Monae Prince Tribute Of the many tributes to Prince at the BET Awards, Janelle Monae delivered one of the most electrifying performances of the night. Covering “Delirious,” “Kiss,” “Pop Life” and “I Would Die for You," Monae killed the stage, even donning an all-white replica of The Artist's infamous attire from his 1991 MTV Awards performance . 3. Sheila E's BET Wrapup Performance Spectacular. That's the only way to describe Sheila E's closing performance to the BET Awards and final installment to the tribute for Prince. Sheila E started off drumming away to the tune of "Housequake." She then moved from the drumset to the main stage to sing the 1984 classic "Erotic City." She continued into songs like "A Love Bizarre" and "Soul Salsa" before grabbing a purple guitar to play "Baby I'm a Star" from Prince's movie, Purple Rain as the show's finale. [caption id="attachment_41486" align="aligncenter" width="1062"] Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 2. Jesse Williams' Powerful Speech Of the speeches given in acceptance of many of the awards handed out last night, none was as powerful and as politically charged as Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams and his acceptance speech for the Humanitarian Award. Opening with a slideshow of Williams' journey from teacher, to actor and activist -- with words from the likes of Harry Belafonte, Nate Parker and Debbie Allen -- he took to the stage to deliver a powerful speech that has had everyone talking and tweeting. Some quotable moments included "Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real," and "You’re free, they keep telling us, but she would have been alive if she hadn’t acted so free." Williams was one of the most talked about topics from the night, making sure everyone knew that while he is an actor, he is also a man of the community. [caption id="attachment_41482" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Photo Credit: Paras Griffin/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] 1. Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar "Freedom" performance What better way to kick off an award show than with a "surprise" opening performance by the Queen Bey herself? The buildup to the performance was especially enjoyable, with stars like Tia Mowry talking about how excited for the performance they were and the arrival of Beyoncé's dancers , all lined up in formation. And then there was the performance. After walking out to an excerpt from the late Martin Luther Jr., Beyoncé performed a powerful rendition of "Freedom" from her visual album Lemonade in a pool of water, serving the audience with intense choreography and powerful vocals. But once it seemed like the performance was winding down, it was not over. No one was expecting Kendrick Lamar to emerge from the floor and continue the powerful performance. This was one of the best BET Awards performances of all time and set the tone for the rest of the show.

10 Memorable Moments from This Year’s BET Awards

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