Somewhere up above, Don Cornelius is celebrating the return of love, peace and soul: BET is bringing back the โSoul Train Awards,โ three years after the kudocast was put on pause. The revived โSoul Train Awardsโ will air Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. on both BET and CBS โ the first time the Eye network has run the special.
The 2026 โSoul Train Awardsโ will also air on Paramount Skydance cablers VH1, MTV2, Logo and BET Her. Jesse Collins Entertainment is back to produce the revived event.
The awards show wonโt be live, but it will be taped in Chicago โ where Cornelius first launched the iconic music and dance series โSoul Trainโ in 1971 (first on indie station WCIU, then in national syndication).
โAs a Chicago native, Iโm proud to bring the โSoul Train Awardsโ back to the city where it all originated,โ said BET president Louis Carr in a statement. โComing 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.โ
The โSoul Train Awardsโ aired its last edition in 2023, hosted by Keke Palmer. In 2025, BETโs then-CEO Scott Mills (who departed at the end of last year) told Billboard that the company had โsuspendedโ both the โSoul Train Awardsโ and โBET Hip-Hop Awardsโ: โI would say that itโs less about them being no longer and more about our team having to reimagine them for this changing media landscape that we find ourselves in,โ he said in an interview with the publication.
In bringing the show back, BETโs Connie Orlando, exec VP of specials, music programming and music strategy, said the โSoul Train Awardsโ will be โreimaginedโ with a โbold new format.โ
โThe โSoul Train Awardsโ has always been the home for R&B and soul,โ she said. โItโs about honoring the artists who shaped the genre while reinventing the night for where the music is headed.โ
In a press release, BET described this yearโs telecast as blending โhonorees who defined the sound with the artists carrying it forward, celebrating a legacy that has influenced American music since โSoul Trainโ first went on the air in 1971. Performances, honorees, and host details will be announced in the coming weeks.โ
Orlando is exec producer of โSoul Train Awardsโ 2026 for BET, while Jesse Collins Entertainmentโs Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay are also EPs.
Spotify is on board as exclusive music streaming partner, while Toyota is a key sponsor. Spotify global head of music content and partnerships Joe Hadley called the return of the โSoul Train Awardsโ a โsignificant moment for R&B and soul,โ while Toyota marketing communications VP Dedra DeLilli added, โweโre proud to help bring this iconic platform back in a way that honors its legacy and the significance it continues to hold today.โ
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