As stars in music, acting, sports and entertainment celebrated the best in African-American music and pop culture at the 2015 @BETAwards, a large community of fans had Twitter as their sidekick to share rich commentary and reactions in real time. Periscope also transported viewers from the couch to the ceremony, with live behind-the-scenes action from the red carpet and backstage.
Africa was well represented at the BET Awards by the following artists; our very own Sauti Sol, Eddy Kenzo (Uganda), MZVEE (Ghana), Sarkodie (Ghana), Stonebwoy (Ghana), Fally Ipupa (DR Congo), Cassper Nyovest (South Africa), AKA (South Africa), The Soil (South Africa), Wizkid (Nigeria) and Yemi Alade (Nigeria).
East Africans are particularly proud of Ugandaās Eddy Kenzo for winning the BET Award for Best Artist: International Viewer’s Choice Award. He is the first East African to receive this award. Fans can continue congratulating him via his Twitter handle @eddykenzoficial and follow him for updates on new song releases/ tour dates coming up.
Throughout the evening, fans followed along with all of the biggest moments- as they happened, and this year, performances stole the show. Here are the ones that generated the most conversation on Twitter:
- BET honors Janet Jackson with the Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual Award and tribute
- Battle of the Ballads: K. Michelle, Tamar Braxton and Patti LaBelle perform
- Chris Brown performs with Tyga and Omarion
As stars presented the awards, performed, and took away the trophies, viewers chimed in on Twitter with their reactions and congratulations. The top three most mentioned people on Twitter during the BET Awards are as follows:
- Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ)
- Chris Brown (@chrisbrown)
- Rihanna (@rihanna)
Periscope broadcasts from @BET offered fans an opportunity to join the action from the red carpet and backstage, while a Periscope robot roamed the scene to capture the moments in real-time.
The stars also joined in on the BET conversation as they shared their first-hand experiences with their followers.
The event was colorful but not exiting to some of the artists like Diddy. The hip hop star briefly dropped out of sight as he walked towards the back of the stage, dropping into a hole that was used by Lilā Kim to make her entrance. He soon recovers, with fans offering a helping hand. Elsewhere, awards co-host Anthony Anderson brought on the laughs when he dressed as singer Sam Smith, who won best new artist but didnāt attend the awards show. āSam Smith isnāt here tonight because heās white and he didnāt think he would win at the BET Awards,ā Anderson said as the audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles burst into laughter. āHe didnāt think he could win. But we showed him that we love him, too.ā
