‘Soul Train Awards’ Emerge From Limbo, Returning This Fall

BET, CBS, and several other networks will air the ceremony in November

A year has passed since BET placed the Soul Train Music Awards on indefinite hiatus, but now that hiatus has ended, thanks to Spotify. The awards show will take place in Chicago, where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train, this fall. The renamed Soul Train Awards will air on BET, CBS, and several other networks at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 27. Performers, honorees, and the host will be announced later.

“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to bring the Soul Train Awards back to the city where it all originated,” Louis Carr, BET’s president, said. “Coming off a landmark year for BET, this return reaffirms what we do best: bringing our community together around the culture and connecting the artists who built this sound to the ones carrying it forward.”

“We’re thrilled the Soul Train Awards are coming back,” Joe Hadley, Global Head of Music Content & Partnerships at Spotify, said in a statement. “It’s a significant moment for R&B and soul, and for Spotify, it’s important to show up where culture is. Bringing Spotify and BET together allows us to extend the impact beyond the awards themselves, creating more opportunities for artists and their music to reach fans around the world.” Spotify, the newly exclusive streaming partner for the franchise, will present the awards alongside Toyota.

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Soul Train premiered in 1971 and aired until 2006. The Soul Train Music Awards premiered in 1987 and ran continuously through 2023. Cornelius, who closed episodes by wishing viewers “love, peace, and soul,” died in 2012.

Scott Mills, the BET CEO who announced the hiatuses for the Soul Train Music Awards and BET’s Hip Hop Awards last summer exited the company in December. “We have a team that’s actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve,” he said at the time.