Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar are the top music nominees for the 2023 NAACP Image Awards, with five nods each. Chris Brown and Tems are next in line with four nods, followed by Drake with three.
Beyoncé and Lamar are both nominated for outstanding album, for Renaissance and Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, respectively. The other three album of the year nominees are Ari Lennox’s age/sex/location, Brown’s Breezy (Deluxe) and PJ Morton’s Watch the Sun
Mary J Blige received two nominations, including one for entertainer of the year. Notably, all five of the nominees in that marquee category are women. Blige is competing in that category with Angela Bassett, Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis and Zendaya.
Adam Blackstone who won a Primetime Emmy last year as music director of the Super Bowl halftime show, is nominated for outstanding new artist and outstanding jazz album – vocal for Legacy.
The other nominees for outstanding new artist are Armani White, Coco Jones, Fivio Foreign and Steve Lacy, whose “Bad Habit” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks late last year.
In non-music categories, the embattled Will Smith is nominated for outstanding actor in a motion picture for his performance in Emancipation.
Music stars who are nominated in motion picture categories include Janelle Monáe, nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix); Ledisi, nominated for outstanding breakthrough performance in a motion picture for Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story; Yola, nominated in that same category for Elvis; and Cliff “Method Man” Smith, nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a motion picture for On the Come Up.
Music stars who are nominated in TV and streaming categories include Donald Glover (Childish Gambino on records), nominated for outstanding actor in a comedy series for Atlanta;Sheryl Lee Ralph, nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for Abbott Elementary; Queen Latifah, nominated for outstanding actress in a drama series for The Equalizer; Zendaya, nominated in that same category for Euphoria; Cliff “Method Man” Smith, nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for Power Book II: Ghost; Willow Smith, nominated for outstanding host in a talk or news/information (series or special) – individual or ensemble for Red Table Talk; and Jennifer Hudson, nominated in that same category for The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Still more music stars who are nominated in TV and streaming categories include Keke Palmer, nominated for outstanding host in a reality/reality competition, game show or variety (series or special) – individual or ensemble for Password; Lizzo, nominated in that same category for Watch Out for the Big Grrls; Chance the Rapper, nominated for outstanding guest performance for South Side; Billy Porter, nominated for outstanding character voice-over performance (television) for The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder; and Chris Bridges (Ludacris on records), nominated in that same category for Karma’s World.
In addition, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is nominated for outstanding reality program, reality competition or game show (series); Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues for outstanding documentary (film); Sacha Jenkins for outstanding directing in a documentary (television or motion picture) for directing the Armstrong film; and Kasi Lemons for outstanding directing in a motion picture for directing the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The NAACP Image Awards are presented in 10 broad categories – recording, motion pictures, TV & streaming, documentary, writing, directing, literary, podcast, costume design, make-up and hairstyling and outstanding social media.
The NAACP and BET announced the nominees in four categories (outstanding actor in a motion picture, outstanding actress in a motion picture, outstanding international song and entertainer of the year) on CBS Mornings on Thursday (Jan. 12). All nominations can be found on the NAACP Image Awards Instagram page (@naacapimageawards).
Winners will be revealed during the 54th NAACP Image Awards telecast on Feb. 25 on BET. NAACP will also recognize winners in non-televised categories Feb. 20-24, streaming on www.naacpimageawards.net.
ABC and Netflix lead the pack with 28 and 15 nominations respectively, according to BET. Netflix and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lead nominations across the motion picture categories with 15 and 12 nominations respectively. ABC and Abbott Elementary received the most nods in the television + streaming categories with 28 and nine nods respectively. RCA Records / RCA Inspiration received the most nods across record labels (11).
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