Drake handily leads the list of nominees for the 2016 BET Awards with nine nods. Tying for second place are Beyonce, last year’s big winner, and Rihanna with five nominations each. Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown and Future are each up for a quartet of awards.
The nominations, announced Thursday, honor artists, entertainers and athletes in more than 20 categories, as selected by BET’s voting academy—a group of entertainment professionals and fans.
The 2016 BET Awards will take place June 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. They are the centerpiece of the BET Experience, which takes place June 23-26 at LA Live. Events include a series of concerts at Staples Center, featuring 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Usher, Tiller, Katt Williams and Mike Epps over three nights, and the free Fan Fest.
The BET Network airs in more than 90 million households. The BET Awards are the channel’s #1 rated program of the year. Last year’s awards drew 6.5 million viewers, according to Hollywood Reporter, and was cable’s top-ranked awards show of 2015.
It’s been a banner year for Drake, whose new album, Views, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 two weeks ago, selling 1.04 million equivalent albums, according to Nielsen Music. The set sold 852,000 traditional albums, but, more importantly, set a new streaming record with 245.1 million songs from the album streamed in its release week. The Billboard 200 tallies traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums.
Below is a full list of nominees for the 2016 BET Awards:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
ADELE
ANDRA DAY
BEYONCÉ
K. MICHELLE
RIHANNA
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
BRYSON TILLER
CHRIS BROWN
JEREMIH
THE WEEKND
TYRESE
Best Group
2 CHAINZ & LIL WAYNE
DRAKE & FUTURE
PUFF DADDY & THE FAMILY
RAE SREMMURD
THE INTERNET
Best Collaboration
BIG SEAN FT. CHRIS BROWN & TY DOLLA $IGN – PLAY NO GAMES
BIG SEAN FT. KANYE WEST & JOHN LEGEND – ONE MAN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
FUTURE FT. DRAKE – WHERE YA AT
NICKI MINAJ FT. BEYONCÉ – FEELING MYSELF
RIHANNA FT. DRAKE – WORK
Best International Act Africa
AKA (SOUTH AFRICA)
BLACK COFFEE (SOUTH AFRICA)
CASSPER NYOVEST (SOUTH AFRICA)
DIAMOND PLATNUMZ (TANZANIA)
MZVEE (Ghana)
SERGE BEYNAUD (COTE D’IVOIRE)
WIZKID (NIGERIA)
YEMI ALADE (NIGERIA)