Eminem, Kanye, Keys and more perform at BET Awards

(AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON)

Hosted by actress and Grammy-winner Queen Latifah, US cable television channel Black Entertainment Television airs its 2010 BET Awards live on June 27 from Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and streamed on BET.com.

Performers on stage include an all-star lineup including Usher, Ludacris, Kanye West, Eminem, Drake, Diddy with Dirty Money, and Alicia Keys.

The 10th annual show recognizes the achievements of entertainers in 19 categories, covering R&B and hip hop musical artists, as well as sports figures, the best international act, and actors. Also, the best movie nominees are Michael Jackson's This Is It, Avatar, The Blind Side, Precious, and Law Abiding Citizen.

The music nominees are led by Jay Z with five nods in multiple categories, from Best Male Hip Hop Artist to Video of the Year. Beyoncé and Alicia Keys follow, sharing some of the same categories including Best Female R&B Artist, Best Collaboration and Viewer's Choice.

A special Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Prince and the Humanitarian Award recipient is singer John Legend for his philanthropic work in Africa.

Other nominees likely to attend the event include Rihanna and Maxwell. Justin Bieber is nominated for Best New Artist, Selena Gomez as Young Star, and Zoe Saldana from Avatar is among the Best Actresses. Other acts performing include Trey Songz, T.I., T-Pain, DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj.

The BET Awards will focus on digital interactivity with features such as the Viewers Choice and "Shine a Light/Local Heroes," in which the online audience can nominate someone making a difference in their community.

For social media: www.twitter.com/BETAWARDS and www.facebook.com/TheBETAwards

http://www.bet.com/betawards

RC