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Last year at the BET Awards, Chris Brown stomped and bawled his way through an emotional tribute to his idol, the late Michael Jackson. The performance earmarked a yearlong public plea for redemption that had plenty of highs and lows. On Sunday night, it was pretty clear that at least one audience had embraced the singer.
The 22-year-old was the uncontested man of the evening, collecting five trophies, including male R&B artist, video of the year and collaboration for ‘Look at Me Now’ during the telecast, which aired live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
“All my fans are everything to me” – Brown said while accepting the award for male R&B artist. “I know it’s been a long road. I just appreciate every blessing that’s been put in front of me.”
Later, he delivered a dance-heavy medley of tracks from ‘F.A.M.E.,’ his first No. 1 album, and performed alongside buzzy up-and-coming rapper Big Sean. He even chided his own lack of poise when it comes to public speaking, something the audience got a laugh out of, given his meltdown on ‘Good Morning America’ in March.
Although Brown’s appearance made for the rather awkward question of seating arrangements in case Rihanna would make an appearance – she didn’t, despite winning for female R&B artist – their names did cross paths thanks to a major snafu.
As a fan presented the Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award, Brown’s name was called as the winner (the show used tablet computers instead of traditional envelopes to reveal who had won), but then it was quickly changed to Rihanna.
“Well, this is awkward” – said Drake, who emerged from backstage to accept on behalf of the absent singer for their hit ‘What’s My Name,’ amid gasps and muttering from the confused audience.

Chris Brown.

The 2011 BET Awards aired Sunday night, and everyone is going to be talking, tweeting and debating about the winners on Monday morning.
Wait a minute, who are we kidding? This wasn’t the Oscars or Emmys. (Have you ever heard a star introduced as a ‘BET Award-nominated actor?’ Yeah, neither have we.) The moments of Sunday night’s show that will dominate hashtags and watercooler chatter are the ones that vied for their place in Kanye – mic – grabbing, Patti LaBelle – shoe – tossing, Chris Brown – bawling black pop culture history.
And, as usual, most of them didn’t involve the transfer of a silver star on a stick from one brown hand to another.
Instead, our memories of the 11th annual production will, as always, be about the spectacle. (Check out The Root’s picks for most memorable BET Awards moments from past shows.) This year’s program was a two-hour musical reality show with standup comedy commercials, starring the celebs we love or love to hate, against the backdrop of the distinct personality of the network we love or love to hate even more. In this grand tradition, the awards themselves were no more the purpose of the event than a lukewarm cup of coffee or a chicken Caesar salad is the purpose of a much anticipated first date.
So, to dispense with the formalities of a recap – Chris Brown won big, snatching up best male R&B artist and viewer’s choice for the song ‘Look at Me Now’ (we think so, at least … read on for the confusion), and shared best collaboration with Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes for ‘Look at Me Now.’ Diddy Dirty Money took home the prize for best group. The hip-hop artist awards went (surprise!) to Nicki Minaj and Kanye West.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P4ud2bg1Ds

BET has always been full of surprises when it comes to their award show attire, so it’s no surprise that the red carpet was quite unpredictable this year. Tonight, many stars came out to receive awards and honors in the annual BET award show, and attempted to also hit high fashion notes on the red carpet. Surely, the heat in L.A. was definitely a contributing factor to the dress code of the evening, however there were a few artists that fared quite well, dressing for the weather, as well as with a hint of sophistication.
It was clear that many stars chose to go with a casual dress code for the red carpet, many donning dresses that could also be worn straight into the award show after parties. The red carpet was filled with rich colors and mini lengths, although some still opted for floor length gowns, such as the beautiful and talented Estelle. Winners of the red carpet include singer Kelly Rowland (who donned a fiery red mini dress with an oversized ruffle), actress Keke Palmer (who wore a futuristic, metallic body con mini dress), and the talented singer Ledisi (who wore a playfully glamorous sequined off shoulder jumper). Rapper Nicki Minaj decided to downplay her normally outrageous looks this year, by wearing a mini dress that accentuated her curves in a beautifully rich hue of purple,and toned down her wig choice by wearing a more natural black hairstyle. Although her dress wasn’t the greatest, her effort to actually appear normal and without costume should be applauded.
Bruno Mars was among the men who were best dressed. Many opted for a casual blazer or vest with jeans, and of course, BET awards wouldn’t exist without the normal uniform of suits and tennis shoes. Host Kevin hart walked the red carpet in a flattering color scheme, while rapper Nelly stunned in a casual street-meets-red carpet way. Rapper Drake also did well with choosing a simple black for his red carpet look. His style was polished, yet casual.