The Soul Train Awards are going back to where it all began. After a three-year break, the R&B and soul awards ceremony makes its long-awaited return on November 27, 2026. Like most past ceremonies, the return event will be taped. But this time in Chicago, where Don Cornelius first launched the music series Soul Train in 1971.
BET is bringing the awards broadcast back, with the ceremony presented by Spotify and Toyota serving as the primary sponsor. In addition to the homecoming, the Soul Train Awards will also get a wider broadcast. Not only will they be shown on the BET flagship channel, but also on the CBS network for the first time. Additionally, it will air on VH1, MTV2, Logo, and BET Her.
“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to bring the ‘Soul Train Awards’ back to the city where it all originated,” BET president Louis Carr said in a statement, per a Variety report. “Coming 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.”
Soul Train Awards Redesigned To Honor R&B Legacy While Also Looking Toward Bright Future
The Soul Train Awards aired its last ceremony in 2023, hosted by Keke Palmer. After that, then-BET CEO Scott Mills announced that the award show was “suspended”, along with the BET Hip-Hop Awards. In subsequent interviews, he explained that the awards weren’t gone forever, but they were being redesigned for a future return.
Three years later, R&B fans who have been patiently waiting are being rewarded. The reimagined Soul Train Awards will reportedly honor the history of R&B and soul. But it will also look to the future of the genres.
In a press release, BET described the updated ceremony as a blend of “honorees who defined the sound with the artists carrying it forward, celebrating a legacy that has influenced American music since Soul Train first went on the air in 1971.”
The network also stated that more details will be announced in the following weeks. This year’s Soul Train Awards will air on Friday, November 27, 2026, at 8 p.m.
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
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