Soul Train Awards ’12, hosted by the Original King of Comedy and “Soul Man” actor Cedric “The Entertainer,” is headed to Las Vegas for its annual night of music and honors.  Featuring a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to New Edition and soon-to-be-announced live performances from today’s music superstars, Soul Train Awards ’12 will premiere simultaneously on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 25th at 9pm*.

Every year, Soul Train Awards acknowledges the achievements of today’s most famed entertainers in multiple categories. This year, with two nominations, including Album of the Year, R. Kelly will be the most nominated artist in Soul Train Awards history.  R&B superstar Usher is also making Soul Train Awards history with five nominations including nods for Song of the Year and Album of the Year; surpassing both Michael Jackson and Beyonce in total nominations in a lifetime.

International songstress Estelle leads women in nominations with three nods including Song of the Year for “Thank You” and Best Female Soul/R&B Artist.  Rapper Nas also receives three nominations, including Album of the Year for “Life is Good.”  Singers Trey Songz and John Legend, who received two nods each, will compete in the Song of the Year category with Estelle, Usher, Tyrese and Wale. The late Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse each received a posthumous nomination.  Whitney Houston in the Best Gospel Inspirational Performance category for her collaboration with Jordin Sparks on “Celebrate” from the Sparkle soundtrack, and Amy Winehouse in the Best International Performance Category for “Our Day Will Come.”

The Soul Train Awards is a presentation of Centric and Sunseeker Media and directed by Manny Rodriguez. Paxton Baker, Tami Willis-Arasli, Derek Lewis, Centric; Bart Phillips, Sunseeker Media; and Soul Train Holdings’ Kenard Gibbs will all be the executive producers of the network telecast, along with Cedric Kyles and Eric Rhone.

Soul Train Awards ’12 will air on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 25 th at 9pm*. For more information, please visit www.centrictv.com.  *All times ET/PT

Soul Train Awards ’12 – Nominees and Award Categories  

Best New Artist

Elle Varner

Emeli Sande

J. Cole

Luke James

Robert Glasper

 Centric Award

Daley

Esperanza Spalding

Gary Clark Jr.

Leah LaBelle

Santigold

Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance

BeBe Winans – America America

Fred Hammond – I Feel Good

Marvin Sapp – My Testimony

Mary Mary – Go Get It

Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks – Celebrate

Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year

2 Chainz feat. Drake – No Lie

Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb

Nas – Daughters

Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy

Young Jeezy feat. Ne-Yo – Leave You Alone

Best R&B/Soul Female Artist

Beyonce

Estelle

Keyshia Cole

Mary J. Blige

Melanie Fiona

Best R&B/Soul Male Artist

Miguel

Robin Thicke

Trey Songz

Tyrese

Usher

Album of the Year

The One – Eric Benet

Channel Orange – Frank Ocean

Life Is Good – Nas

Write Me Back – R. Kelly

Looking For Myself – Usher

Song of the Year

Estelle – Thank You

John Legend feat. Ludacris – Tonight (Best You Ever Had)

Trey Songz – Heart Attack

Tyrese – Stay

Usher – Climax

Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb

The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award

Thank You – Estelle (Writers: Arden Altino, Akene “The Champ” Dunkley, Jerry Duplessis, Doug F. Edwards, Thomas D. Richardson, Aliaune Thiam)

Tonight (Best You Ever Had) – John Legend feat. Ludacris (Writers: Allen Arthur, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Keith Justice, Miguel Pimentel “Miguel”, Clayton Reilly, John Stephens)

Daughters – Nas (Writers: Nasir Jones, Ernest D. Wilson, Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka)

Share My Love – R. Kelly (Writer: Robert Kelly)

Climax – Usher (Writers: Usher Raymond IV, Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid)

Best Dance Performance

Beyonce – Love On Top

Chris Brown -Turn Up The Music

Nicki Minaj – Starships

Rihanna – Where Have You Been

Usher – Scream

CentricTV.com awards:

CENTRICTV.com Best Caribbean Performance

Cover Drive – Bajan Style

Damien “Junior Gong” Marley – SuperHeavy

Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth

Matisyahu – Spark Seeker

Sean Paul – Tomahawk Technique

CENTRICTV.com Best International Performance

Amy Winehouse – Our Day Will Come

Daley feat. Marsha Ambrosius – Alone Together

Emeli Sande – Next To Me

Estelle – Thank You

Gotye feat. Kimbra – Somebody (That I Used To Know)

Rebecca Ferguson – Nothing’s Real But Love

CENTRICTV.com Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group

Chris Botti – Impressions


Kenny Garrett – Seeds From The Underground

Melody Gardot – The Absence

The Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio

Tony Bennett – Isn’t It Romantic

CENTRICTV.com Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group

Ben Tankard – Full Tank

Brian Culbertson – DREAMS

Cassandra Wilson – Another Country

Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society

Peter White – Here We Go