Actor And Comedian Anthony Anderson To Host 2013 Soul Train Awards In Las Vegas On November 8, 2013

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CENTRIC today confirmed that actor and comedian Anthony Anderson will host the 2013 Soul Train Awards, celebrating and honoring R&B's finest and most soulful artists, at one of the nation's leading mid-size arenas, the Orleans Arena, in Las Vegas, NV. The show taping on November 8, 2013 promises to electrify with soul stirring performances, iconic tributes and a state-of-the-art second stage. The Soul Train Awards will air on CENTRIC and BET on December 1, 2013 at 9PM ET/PT.

"We are thrilled to bring the Soul Train Awards back to Las Vegas with a star-studded lineup that honors and celebrates icons and break-through artists alike," said Paxton Baker, General Manager and Executive Vice President, CENTRIC. "We rolled the dice and hit the jackpot with Anthony as host and are excited to see what magical moments he will bring to the Orleans Arena during this year's Soul Train Awards."

Soul Train Awards host Anthony Anderson's sharp wit and lovable sense of humor will entertain throughout the night. Anderson was recently tapped to host NBC's upcoming family trivia series "Wall of Fame."  He previously entertained fans as the star of "Guys with Kids" and captivated audiences while playing Detective Kevin Bernard on NBC's Emmy Award-winning drama "Law & Order."

The 2013 Soul Train Awards will honor artists in 12 different categories. Hip-hop sensation Kendrick Lamar leads with six nominations across multiple categories, including: Best New Artist, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Tied with five nominations each are Miguel, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Chris Brown and Tamar Braxton.

The Soul Train Awards is directed by Tony McCuin and produced by BET Event Productions and Sunseeker Media. Executive producers of the network telecast are as follows: Paxton Baker, Tami Willis-Arasli, Derek Lewis from Centric; Bart Phillips from Sunseeker and Kenard Gibbs from Soul Train Holdings.

For more information, please visit BET.com/SoulTrain. Follow us at @soultrainawards, @centrictv and @bet.

2013 Soul Train Awards – Nominees & Categories

Best New Artist
Bridget Kelly
K. Michelle
Kendrick Lamar
Tamar Braxton
TGT

Centric Certified Award
Joss Stone
Luke James
Lyfe Jennings
Solange
Stacy Barthe
Talib Kweli

Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance
Break Every Chain - Tasha Cobbs
Confessions - Lecrae
Every Praise - Hezekiah Walker
God Will Make Away - Shirley Caesar
If He Did It Before...Same God - Tye Tribbett
Life & Favor - John P. Kee & New Life

Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
Bad - Wale feat. Tiara Thomas
High School - Nicki Minaj feat. Lil Wayne
Holy Grail - Jay Z feat. Justin Timberlake
Poetic Justice - Kendrick Lamar feat. Drake
Power Trip - J. Cole feat. Miguel
Started From the Bottom - Drake

The Chaka Khan Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Alicia Keys
Chrisette Michele
Fantasia
Janelle Monae
Kelly Rowland
Tamar Braxton

Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Bruno Mars
Charlie Wilson
Chris Brown
John Legend
Miguel
Robin Thicke

Album of the Year
20/20 Experience, The - Justin Timberlake
Good Kid, m.A.A.d City - Kendrick Lamar
Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel
Magna Carta...Holy Grail - Jay Z
The Side Effects of You - Fantasia
Unapologetic - Rihanna

Song of the Year
Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I.
Diamonds - Rihanna
Fine China - Chris Brown
Love and War - Tamar Braxton
Poetic Justice - Kendrick Lamar feat. Drake
Suit & Tie - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay Z

The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter's Award
Crooked Smile - J.Cole (Jermaine Cole, Meleni Smith)
Fire We Make - Alicia Keys feat. Maxwell (Gary Clark Jr., Warren Felder, Alicia Keys, Andrew Wansel)
Lose to Win - Fantasia (Francine Golde, Dennis Lambert, Andrea Martin, Walter Orange, Harmony Samuels)
Love & War - Tamar Braxton (Tamar Braxton, Darhyl Camper Jr., LaShawn Daniels, Makeba Riddick)
Mirrors - Justin Timberlake (James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon, Timothy Mosley, Justin Timberlake)
Q.U.E.E.N. - Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu (Roman GianArthur Irvin , Dr. Nathaniel Irvin III, Charles Joseph II, Janelle Monae Robinson, Kellis Parker Jr.)

Best Dance Performance
Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke
Body Party - Ciara
Fine China - Chris Brown
Q.U.E.E.N. - Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu
Suit & Tie - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay Z
Treasure - Bruno Mars

Video of the Year
Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. (Diane Martel)
Fine China - Chris Brown (Chris Brown, Sylvain White)
Love & War - Tamar Braxton (Walid Azami)
Poetic Justice - Kendrick Lamar feat. Drake (The Lil Homie, Dave Free, and Dangeroo Kipawaa)
Q.U.E.E.N. - Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu (Alan Ferguson)
Started from the Bottom - Drake (Director X)

Best Collaboration 
Alicia Keys feat. Maxwell - Fire We Make
Brandy feat. Chris Brown - Put It Down
J.Cole feat. Miguel - Power Trip
Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu - Q.U.E.E.N.
Miguel feat. Kendrick Lamar - How Many Drinks
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. - Blurred Lines
Wale feat. Sam Dew - LoveHate Thing

Best International Performance (CENTRICTV.com)
Differentology - Bunji Garlin
The Fog - Machel Montano
Next To Me - Emeli Sande
Personally - P-Square
Ur Waist - Iyanya

Best Traditional Jazz Performance (CENTRICTV.com)
George Benson feat. Wynton Marsalis - Unforgettable
Jeffrey Osborne feat. Chaka Khan - Baby it's Cold Outside
Tony Bennett feat. Marc Anthony - For Once In My Life
Nicole Henry - Waiting In Vain
Terence Blanchard - Pet Step Sister's Theme Song

Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (CENTRICTV.com)
Jose James - Trouble
Boney James feat. Rick Braun - Batucada (The Beat)
Michael Buble - It's A Beautiful Day
Dave Koz - Got To Get You Into My Life
George Duke - Missing You

Best Independent R&B/Soul Performance (CENTRICTV.com) 
Ashanti - Never Should Have
Brian McKnight - Sweeter
Kenny Lattimore - Find A Way
Maysa - Love Me Good
Raheem DeVaughn - Love Connection
Ronald Isley - Dinner And A Movie

About CENTRIC
Centric is a 24-hour music and entertainment channel that reflects the lifestyle and sophistication of today's African-American and multicultural adult viewer.  With a finger on the pulse of an ever-changing beat, its compelling music content fuses Soul, R&B, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop, Reggae, Gospel, Jazz, Old School, New School and everything in between with today's hottest artists. It is a unique of mix of music, culture and lifestyle programming that embodies the lives, tastes and aspirations of the CENTRIC viewer. Centric: What's Good.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

About Soul Train Holdings
Soul Train is a registered trademark of Soul Train Holdings, LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Soul Train is the longest running, first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history. During its 37 year run, the show featured such staples as the Soul Train line and performers as important and diverse as: Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Janet Jackson and Beyonce, to name a few. Soul Train Holdings was created following the acquisition of the iconic franchise and catalog of more than 1,100 hours of archival footage from Don Cornelius Productions in June 2008 by InterMedia Partners and Madvision entertainment and is part of Vibe Holdings LLC. Vibe Holdings is a leading multi-cultural media company consisting of treasured and celebrated brands including Vibe Magazine, Vibe.com, Uptown Magazine and Soul Train. VIBE Holdings is owned by InterMedia Partners, Magic Johnson Enterprises and Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies.

About the Orleans Arena
Celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2013, The Orleans Arena, a Boyd Gaming facility located just west of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the nation's leading mid-sized arenas, and was recently ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 5 Internationally among venues of similar size by Venues Today Magazine.  As many as 500,000 people per year enjoy a variety of 200 events annually. These include top concerts by artists like Carrie Underwood, Billy Joel, Van Halen and Blake Shelton. The Orleans Arena also hosted the 2013 Academy of Country Music Fan Jam, headlined by Brad Paisley with support from other chart-topping country artists. The venue offers a diverse calendar of events, from family favorites like Disney Live and Shrine Circus to other unique events like motorsports and mixed martial arts. The arena hosts two NCAA tournaments each year in addition to the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference basketball championships. The arena is home to three sports tenants including the Las Vegas Wranglers professional ECHL hockey team, the Legends Football League and the Las Vegas Legends professional indoor soccer team.  For more information call 702-365-7469, or visit www.orleansarena.com. Stay connected to the Orleans Arena on Facebook (www.facebook.com/orleansarena) and on Twitter and on Twitter (@orleansarena).

SOURCE BET Networks