Tori Kelly, Big Sean, Janelle Monae + More Perform at 2015 BET Awards
When BET wanted to celebrate the 15th year of its award show, the network decided to go all out. And they did, especially with the endless list of big performances.
Kendrick Lamar kicked off the night with a lively rendition of "Alright." From standing on cars to all the American flags waving around in the air, it was a great way to get the awards show off to a strong start.
Janelle Monae traded her tailored suits for a more athletic white and black accented pant and crop top number. But stage wear aside, she proved that the crown on her head was quite fitting as she performed "Yoga" where the singer did everything from the moonwalk to a steady tree pose. Right after Janelle finished her song, Jidenna, who's signed to her label, Wondaland Records, performed his hit "Classic Man."
Chris Brown and Tyga took the stage next. Their performance started off with Chris' new track, "Liquor" while a girl danced on him -- literally. Only singing the first verse and chorus, the performance than transitioned to the more upbeat "Ayo." As Breezy sang the chorus and danced, Tyga attacked the stage sharp precision on his lyrical delivery. When you think it's over, Omarion got onstage as his single, "Pose to Be," which features Chris and Jhene Aiko, and started to perform. While the two guys sang their hearts out, Jhene didn't make it and her recording played instead.
The Voice alum Avery Wilson treated everyone to his single "If I Have To." The Weeknd performed "The Hills" but really surprised the crowd when Alicia Keys appeared onstage at the piano singing the first verse of "Worth It." Weeknd came in on the second verse, and the two played off each other. And what was once a solo song naturally turned into a duet.
Celebrating Bad Boy Records 20th birthday, Diddy and the rest of the label family did a special performance and brought us all back to the 90s. Ma$e, 112, Faith Evans performed hits like "Feel So Good," "Love Like This," "I Need a Girl" and "Peaches and Cream." And even Pharrell made a cameo and reminded us that he can spit rhymes as well as he can sing. However, "It's All About the Benjamins (Remix)" was probably one of the performance's highlights because the Queen Bee herself Lil Kim came out to do her verse. It was glorious.
This year, BET honored Smokey Robinson with the Lifetime Achievement Award and a special performance by some notable artists. Tori Kelly paid homage to the legendary R&B artist by performing a soulful version of the Jackson 5's "Who's Lovin' You," which Smokey penned for the group. The tribute continued with Robin Thicke's rendition of "Ooo Baby Baby" and Ne-Yo's toe-tapping cover of "The Tears of a Clown." And after an inspiring acceptance speech, Smokey performed "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Crusin'," which had brought so many in the crowd to start slow dancing. The medley ended with "My Girl" and brought Ne-Yo, Tori and Robin back on the stage -- another big moment of the night.
With Meek Mill now out of jail and getting all snuggly with his boo Nicki Minaj, their performance of "All Eyes on You" clearly got a lot of love. And although it seemed like Chris Brown was playing third wheel, his buttery vocals on the chorus made up for the fact that Nicki and Meek look too cute onstage together.
Big Sean performed a medley of "One Man Can Change the World," "Blessed" and "I Don't F--- With You." And although it seemed like the stage was huge, Sean took advantage of the size by putting some explosive weather scenes behind him and was elevated high above the stage. But before he went into the harder hip-hop track with E-40, he thanked everyone for giving the best year of his life.
The cast of Empire performed the hit songs from their show while K. Michelle, Tamar Braxton and Patti LaBelle combined their strong voices for a jaw-dropping performance. Fetty Wap may have only become a household name over the past few months, but he held it down and got everyone dancing with "Trap Queen."
The 2015 BET Awards were full of so many stage moments this year. Which one was your favorite?
See Celebs on the 2015 BET Awards Red Carpet