All BETs on West, Fugees

[KingLouieLouie]

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/21236380

All BETs on West, Fugees

06/29/2005 1:44 PM, E! Online
Josh Grossberg

Kanye West turned out to be the best BET of all.

The rapper-producer was a double winner at Tuesday night's Fifth Annual Black Entertainment Television Awards, picking up prizes for Male Hip-Hop Artist and Video of the Year for his tune "Jesus Walks."

Too bad he was a no-show. He wasn't the only one.

Usher, who won Male R&B Artist, was MIA, as were actors Jamie Foxx and Regina King, who snagged Best Actor and Actress respectively for their performances in Ray; Shaquille O'Neal and Serena Williams, who grabbed Best Male and Female Athletes; and Denzel Washington and wife Pauletta, who were honored with the BET Humanitarian Award.

For those who did make the three-and-a-half hour ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, there were plenty of yuks.

Hosts Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith arrived onstage in a horse-drawn carriage and kept things going with genial banter. And while Foxx didn't make it there in person, the Oscar winner took time out in his videotaped acceptance speech to poke fun at his Collateral costar and presenter Tom Cruise for his exuberant appearance on Oprah Winfrey last month. "I'm jumping up and down on the couch right now in my living room," Foxx quipped.

Among those winners who did show: John Legend, who scored the award for Best New Artist (which West won last year); Alicia Keys, who took home Best Female R&B Artist; and the soon-to-disband Destiny's Child, who picked up the trophy for Best Group. Atlanta-based hip-hop star Ciara, who led the field with four nominations, ended up garnering just one trophy for her collaboration with Missy Elliot on their track, "1, 2 Step." And R&B singer Omarion, late of B2K, was the Viewer's Choice.

The show included several performances, including sets from Stevie Wonder and Legend, who teamed up for renditions of "Ordinary People" and "My Cherie Amour," and Gladys Knight, who, after accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, sang "If I Were Your Woman," "Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye)" and "Midnight Train to Georgia."

But the highlight of the night was the surprise reunion of the Fugees, who kicked the show off with a set of their biggest hits: "Ready or Not," "Fu-Gee-La" and "Killing Me Softly" from their 1996's Grammy-winning album The Score.

After the initial success of that record, the trio of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Prakazrel "Pras" Michel embarked on solo careers with Hill achieving the biggest acclaim, winning five Grammys for her 1998 debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The three patched things up last year, reuniting for a surprise gig in Brooklyn last year for a Dave Chappelle-hosted block party, before resurfacing at the BETs. They've also reportedly been working on a follow up to The Score, something the band hinted at Tuesday night.

"If you want another Fugee album, let me see your hands in the air right now," he said after taking the stage.

Backstage, Pras confirmed that a new album was in the works for release next year, though he and his bandmates still had some other work to do.

"Egos got real big," he told reporters of the group's split. "A lot of wounds is getting healed right now...Tonight was a big surgery."

Here's a recap of all the winners at the 2005 BET Awards:

* Lifetime Achievement: Gladys Knight
* Best Group: Destiny's Child
* Male R&B Artist: Usher
* Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys
* Male Hip-Hop Artist: Kanye West
* Female Hip-Hop Artist: Remy Martin
* New Artist: John Legend
* Gospel Artist: Donnie McClurkin
* Video of the Year: Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
* Actor, Film: Jamie Foxx
* Actress, Film: Regina King
* Male Athlete: Shaquille O'Neal
* Female Athlete: Serena Williams
* Viewer's Choice: Omarion, O

 

[thirty-two]

i love the fugees.. this is awesome news