It’s that time of year again — award season is in full swing. Of course, we all know the marquee events like the Oscars, Emmys, GRAMMYs, Tonys, and even the Golden Globes. But, in truth, the batch of honor-bestowing ceremonies expands much farther, with events like the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and NAACP Image Awards — just to name a few.
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Today, we’re here to discuss the latter, NAACP Image Awards, and its nominees.
Presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature, leading the way in nominations for the music categories, GloRilla received the most, with six (including Outstanding New Artist). Followed by Doechii, Kendrick Lamar and Usher, who earned four nods each. As well as Beyoncé, who landed three nominations for COWBOY CARTER.
Competing for Entertainer of the Year this year will be, “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, multi-hyphenate superstar Keke Palmer, rapper Kendrick Lamar, comedian Kevin Hart, and NFL hall of famer-turned-broadcaster Shannon Sharpe.
Other standout nominations include, The Piano Lesson, which leads the motion picture categories with 14 nominations, including Outstanding Motion Picture, alongside Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love, Netflix’s The Six Triple Eight, and Universal’s Wicked. While Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist leads across the television categories with nine nominations.
The 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards will broadcast live on February 22 from the Pasadena Civic Center, airing at 8PM on BET and CBS. This year’s theme is set to be, “Our Stories, Our Culture, Our Excellence.” And while a host has yet to be announced, Queen Latifah has taken up the mantle for the previous two ceremonies.
In addition to the main telecast, NAACP will also recognize winners in non–televised categories at the NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors Ceremonies on Friday, February 21, set to stream on naacpimageawards.net.
Check out the recording category nominees below, and the full list of nominees — HERE.
Outstanding New Artist
Doechii (Capitol Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)
Myles Smith (RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment)
Samoht (Affective Music)
Shaboozey (American Dogwood/Empire)
Tyla (Epic Records)
Outstanding Male Artist
Chris Brown (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
J. Cole (Dreamville/Interscope Records)
Kendrick Lamar (pgLang, under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
October London (Death Row Records/gamma.)
Usher (mega/gamma.)
Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
Coco Jones (Def Jam Recordings)
Doechii (Capitol Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)
GloRilla (Collective Music Group/Interscope Records)
H.E.R. (RCA Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“Heart of a Human” — DOE (Life Room Label/RCA Inspiration)
“Live Breathe Fight” — Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)
“Still Karen” — Karen Clark Sheard (Karew Records/Motown Gospel)
“Sunny Days” — Yolanda Adams (Epic Records)
“The Maverick Way Reimagined” — Maverick City Music (Tribl Records)
Outstanding International Song
“Close” — Skip Marley (Def Jam Recordings)
“Hmmm” — Chris Brown feat. Davido (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
“Jump” — Tyla (Epic Records)
“Love Me JeJe” — Tems (RCA Records/Since ‘93)
“Piece of My Heart” — Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz (RCA Records/Sony Music International/Starboy Entertainment)
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
“Alright” — Victoria Monét (RCA Records/Lovett Music)
“Alter Ego (ALTERnate Version)” — Doechii, JT (Capitol Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)
“Boy Bye” — Chlöe (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar (pgLang, under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla (Collective Music Group/Interscope Records)
Outstanding Album
“Alligator Bites Never Heal” — Doechii (Epic Records)
“Cape Town to Cairo” — PJ Morton (Morton Records/EMPIRE)
“Coming Home” — USHER (mega/gamma.)
“Cowboy Carter” — Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
“Glorious” — GloRilla (Collective Music Group/Interscope Records)
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
“Bob Marley: One Love (Soundtrack)” (Tuff Gong/Island Records)
“Genius: MLK/X (Songs from the Original Series)” (Hollywood Records)
“Reasonable Doubt (Season 2) (Original Soundtrack)” (Hollywood Records)
“The Book of Clarence (The Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Geneva Club under exclusive license to Roc Nation Records, LLC)
“Wicked: The Soundtrack” (Republic Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
“Church Doors” — Yolanda Adams (Epic Records)
“Do It Anyway” — Tasha Cobbs (TeeLee Records/Motown Gospel)
“God Problems (Not By Power)” — (Tribl Records)
“I Prayed for You (Said a Prayer)” MAJOR. — (NowThatsMAJOR/MNRK Music Group)
“Working for Me” — Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)
Outstanding Jazz Album
“Creole Orchestra” — Etienne Charles (Culture Shock Music)
“Epic Cool” — Kirk Whalum (Artistry Music)
“Javon & Nikki Go to the Movies” — Javon Jackson and Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson Records)
“On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute” — Matthew Whitaker (MOCAT Records)
“Portrait” — Samara Joy (Verve Records)
Outstanding Soul/R&B Song
“16 CARRIAGES” — Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Coco Jones (Def Jam Recordings)
“I Found You” — PJ Morton (Morton Records/EMPIRE)
“Residuals” — Chris Brown (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
“Saturn” — SZA (RCA Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)
Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
“Mamushi” — Megan Thee Stallion feat. Yuki Chiba (Hot Girl Productions LLC/Warner Music Group)
“Murdergram Deux” — LL Cool J feat. Eminem (Def Jam Recordings)
“Noid” — Tyler, the Creator (Columbia Records)
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar (pgLang, under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla (Collective Music Group/Interscope Records)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Adam Blackstone & Fantasia — “Summertime” (BASSic Black Entertainment Records/Anderson Music Group/EMPIRE)
Leela James feat. Kenyon Dixon — “Watcha Done Now” (Shesangz Music, Inc. under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (US) LLC)
Maverick City Music feat. Miles Minnick — “God Problems (Not By Power)” (Tribl Records)
Muni Long & Mariah Carey — “Made for Me” (Supergiant Records/Def Jam Recordings)
Sounds of Blackness feat. Jamecia Bennett & Buddy McLain — “Thankful” (McLain Music, LLC)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Flo & GloRilla — “In My Bag” (Island Records)
GloRilla feat. Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard, Chandler Moore — “RAIN DOWN ON ME” (Collective Music Group/Interscope Records)
Usher & Burna Boy — “Coming Home” (mega/gamma.)
Victoria Monét feat. Usher — “SOS” (Sex on Sight) (RCA Records/Lovett Music)
Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz — “Piece of My Heart” (RCA Records/Lovett Music)
Outstanding Original Score for Television/Motion Picture
“Challengers (Original Score)” (Milan Records)
“Dune: Part Two (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (WaterTower Music)
“Star Wars: The Acolyte (Original Soundtrack)” (Walt Disney Records)
“The American Society of Magical Negroes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Back Lot Music)
“The Book of Clarence (Original Motion Picture Score)” (Milan Records)