List of 2013 BET Award Nominees:

Full list of 2013 BET Award Nominations:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist:
Beyoncé
Tamar Braxton
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Elle Varner

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist:
Chris Brown
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Justin Timberlake
Usher

Best Group:
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Mary Mary
Mindless Behaviour
Slaughterhouse
The Throne (Kanye West & Jay-Z)

Best Collaboration:
2 Chainz f/ Drake – No Lie
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
French Montana f/ Rick Ross, Drake and Lil Wayne – Pop That
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – Poetic Justice
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy

Best Male Hip Hop Artist:
2 Chainz
A$AP Rocky
Drake
Future
Kendrick Lamar

Best Female Hip Hop Artist:
Azealia Banks
Eve
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Rye Rye

Video of the Year:
2 Chainz f/ Drake – No Lie
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
Drake – Started From The Bottom
Drake f/ Lil Wayne – HYFR
Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake – Poetic Justice
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ Wanz – Thrift Shop
Miguel – Adorn
Rihanna – Diamonds
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie
Kanye West f/ Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy

Video Director of the Year:
A$AP Rocky & Sam Lecca
Benny Boom
Director X
Dre Films
Hype Williams

Best New Artist:
Azealia Banks
Joey Bada$$
Kendrick Lamar
Trinidad Jame$
The Weeknd

Best Gospel Artist:
Deitrick Haddon
Lecrae
Tamela Mann
Mary Mary
Marvin Sapp

Best Actress:
Angela Bassett
Halle Berry
Taraji P. Henson
Gabrielle Union
Kerry Washington

Best Actor:
Don Cheadle
Common
Jamie Foxx
Samuel L. Jackson
Denzel Washington

YoungStars Award:
Gabrielle Douglas
Jacob Latimore
Keke Palmer
Jaden Smith
Quvenzhané Wallis

Best Movie:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
Sparkle
Think Like A Man

Subway Sportswoman of the Year:
Gabrielle Douglas
Brittney Griner
Candace Parker
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

Subway Sportsman of the Year:
Victor Cruz
Kevin Durant
Robert Griffin III
LeBron James
Ray Lewis

Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award:
A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
Drake – Started From The Bottom
Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Drank)
Miguel – Adorn
Rihanna – Diamonds
Justin Timberlake f/ Jay-Z – Suit & Tie

Centric Award:
Tamar Braxton – Love and War
Fantasia – Lose To Win
Miguel – Adorn
Nas – Daughters
Charlie Wilson – My Love Is All I Have

Best International Act, Africa:
2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
Toya Delazy (South Africa)
Donald (South Africa)
Ice Prince (Nigeria)
R2Bees (Ghana)
Radio and Weasel (Uganda)

Best International Act UK:
Marsha Ambrosius
Estelle
Labrinth
Rita Ora
Emeli Sandé
Wiley

Bieber fever hits Cape Town

Bieber fever has hit the Mother City. In just a couple of hours teenagers, moms, dads and other Beliebers will get to see arguably the biggest star in the world performing on the continent for the first time. News24 posted this video on YouTube earlier… Bless them Beliebers. If you’re at the stadium or you’re getting ready to go, be sure to let us know what Justin Bieber’s Believe tour is like. Jozi, Sunday… that’s all!

Bieber, Bon Jovi and the SAMAs – A busy week in entertainment

What’s good friends? It’s Monday morning in my part of the world and it’s going to be a mad busy week. Why? Well here’s a little breakdown of what is crackening this week:

1. The 19th annual South African Music Awards (SAMAs) brought to you by MTN. It all goes down in Sun City this coming Friday and Saturday. Friday focuses on the technical, behind the scenes awards. Now this part of the weekend isn’t televised, but it’s fun and an important night too. I will be there and I’ll bring you some pics, news and highlights from that ceremony.

Saturday evening is the big show. Here’s a list of some of the performers expected to take to the stage:
Dr Thomas Chauke
Zozo
Sangre Superbeat
Toya Delazy
Kabomo
Zonke
ChianoSky
DJ Zinhle
Reason
Proverb
Desmond and the Tutus
The Muffinz
Lira
Vetkuk & Mahoota

Guest presenters include Menzi Ngubane, Sophie Ndaba, Zolisa Xaluva, Thami Mgqolo, Rapulana Seiphemo and Tsholo Monedi. Who will be the big host? The big winners? Find out on Saturday by checking out the live broadcast on SABC1 or follow my tweets (@JasonVonBerg) for details.

2. If the SAMAs aren’t your vibe then maybe Bon Jovi is. The legendary band will be rocking out at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday evening. Bummed to be missing it, but hey the SAMAs have called and I shall answer

3. Justin Bieber! Arguably the biggest name in entertainment at the moment kicks off his first South African tour this coming Wednesday in Cape Town. This will be massive and already Bieber fever has reached a level that nobody can control. If you’re going to be at the CT gig, let us know what it’s like. Oh and moms and dads, best you be getting your earplugs sorted ahead of the performance… we’d hate for you to be left hard of hearing afterwards. Sunday evening Jozi gets its chance to see the Biebs. I’ll be there, sadly sans the video camera because Bieber’s camp doesn’t allow for that, but I’ll be snapping some pics for the occasion.

4. Mother’s Day. Don’t forget to shower your mums this Sunday. A good breakfast, a lovely brunch, a delicious dinner… Some nice flowers, a few gifts and lots of love and you’re well on your way to being the kid ever!

Related articles

• Elvis Blue to open for Bon Jovi (jasonvonberg.wordpress.com)
• Van Coke Kartel to open for Metallica (jasonvonberg.wordpress.com)
• How good are the MTN SAMA goodie bags? (jasonvonberg.wordpress.com)
• The A-z of Mtn Sama 19 (jasonvonberg.wordpress.com)

Loving Snoop Lion’s new album

Firstly, welcome to May 2013. Man oh man, this year is flying. I’ve got a lot of things I need to do before we wrap up the first half of the year… I’m sure you do too, so get it going.

Right, back to the post. I’ve been listening to Snoop Lion‘s new material, Reincarnated. It’s not a typical Snoop album, you know the hip-hop vibe. Instead Snoop has taken it to Jamaica, explored his spiritual Rastafarian side and his reggae side. Let me tell you, it’s good. I’m downloaded a few of the tracks from the album off iTunes and I’m getting ready to complete the album. Check out the interview above. It’s great and will give you a better understanding about where Snoop is in his life and what’s next for Snoop.

Snoop is heading out to SA later this month to take back in the MTV Base Africa All Stars. He’ll be headlining the show, but there are a whole host of other massive names sharing the stage with Snoop including Fally Ipupa, Professor, 2Face, Zakes Bantwini and many many more. They’ll be in KwaZulu-Natal, so be sure to get your tickets from computicket.com

Celebs react to the BostonMarathon bombings

Terribly sad news coming out of Boston yesterday. Two explosions went off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three people including an 8 year old and injuring scores more. I was just about to get into bed when I heard about this and seeing some of the visuals coming out of Boston was unbelievable, scary and just so horrendous. Celebs are reacting to the news:

What kind of person comes up with a plan to bomb a marathon of innocent civilians? Sickening.

— Gareth Cliff (@GarethCliff) April 16, 2013

Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) April 15, 2013

Heartbreaking. #PRAY4BOSTON instagram.com/p/YJHc0TBM0D/

— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 15, 2013

So sad I am at loss for words. My heart goes out to everyone in Boston.#PrayForBoston

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) April 16, 2013

What sad news to wake up to. “@cindypoluta: #BostonMarathon 3 people dead including an 8 year old boy and 144 people injured”

— samantha cowen(@samcowen) April 16, 2013

#PrayForBoston folks… Pray for those injured in this senseless and barbaric attack! So, so sad!

Will the real Wolverine please stand up

It has been a while since we last saw Hugh Jackman in his role as Wolverine. Well in the build up to The Wolverine’s big release in July, the star is gearing up for a busy couple of months promoting the film. Jackman was photographed at a zoo in Detroit where he himself was spotting hanging with real wolverines.

I don’t know about you, but the Marvel one looks a lot more vicious than the ones pictured above

The Wolverine is due for release on the 26th of July. Keep up to date with all things The Wolverine by liking them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheWolverineMovie

Pictures: Olympus Has Fallen interviews

All in all a good day. Both Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler were great. Very intelligent, funny, friendly and forthcoming when I interviewed them earlier. This is as part of their promotional tour for Olympus Has Fallen, which releases in South Africa this Friday. More from the interviews later this week.

Olympus Has Fallen premiere in SA

Gerard Butler at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere in South Africa

Boity and Stevel Marc at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere.

Jennifer Su at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere

Francois Hougaard and Gennaro Bonafede at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere.

Dineo Moeketsi at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere.

Farrah Francis, Jess Levitt and Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere in South Africa

Aaron Eckhart at the Olympus Has Fallen premiere in South Africa

 

The stars turned up in their numbers to be apart of the Olympus Has Fallen premiere. The red carpet event was held at the Zone in Rosebank, South Africa on Monday 8 April. Local celebs like Dineo Moeketsi, Boity, Stevel Marc, Francois Hougaard and Jen Su were joined by the stars of the film, Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart. Check out some of the pics above.

Review: Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience

In November last year I felt the need to pull out my Justin Timberlake cds.  Don’t ask me why, but it had been a while since I’d listened to them. The only one I could find was the FutureSex/LoveSounds album, which isn’t a bad thing. And so, once again I became acquainted with this album and it just reminded me of why I dig him as an artist. I managed to find his first solo album, Justified a couple of days later and it feels like just yesterday that it was released. It still fantastic, and I love it just as much as the time I bought it.

Why I suddenly felt the need to listen to these albums again, I have no idea. That was until January when a little teaser clip hit the net of the star sharing his thoughts on why it has been so long since his last release, but the words that echoed through many a Timberlake fan’s ears was “I’m ready”. Perfect timing JT because so were we.

The first single hit the airwaves shortly afterwards called Suit & Tie. It features arguably the biggest name in rap, Mr. Jay-Z.  Despite being met with a lot of mixed reactions, the single still made its way into the top ten on several charts around the globe. Look it’s not my ultimate JT song, but it’s a good first offering. Plus the brother has swag for days, just check out the video to see that. With that, the news of The 20/20 Experience, his third album, was announced.

And cue the promotion for the album. JT’s big return to the music scene included a highly anticipated performance at the Grammys, the Brit Awards, a little intimate and exclusive gig in LA and of course a number of interviews on the various American talk shows circuit. One of the bigger promotional gigs he was involved in was on the hit show, SNL. JT hosted the show the Saturday before the release and let me tell you the brother is one talented man. He’s extremely versatile, funny and an all-round entertainer. In fact, reviews of his hosting duties on SNL were so favourable that there are rumours about the Oscars organising committee bidding for him to host next year’s event. Nice.

Watch Mirrors now:

Anyway, back to the music. I got my hands on the deluxe version on Tuesday and like kids don’t read their birthday/ Christmas cards, I didn’t read anything. All I wanted was the music. And so began another long and happy listening session courtesy of one of my favourite artists. The album’s first song is Pusher Love. It eases you into the album perfectly.

Credit Tom Munro, RCA Records

The long and successful Timberlake/ Timbaland relationship continues into this album and that solid fusion of musical geniuses is notable on songs like Don’t Hold the Wall (Potential single) and Tunnel Vision.

Besides Mirrors, Blue Ocean Floor, Let the groove get in and Don’t Hold the Wall, my favourite track is Strawberry Bubblegum. It’s just one of those incredible songs. Not only does it show off his impeccable vocal ability, but the musicality in this song is commendable too. Just when you think the song is done, the star switches up in a way you wouldn’t really expect. The timing is spot on, the effect is even better and I absolutely love the keyboards.

In short, Timberlake slows it down on this one. Barring Suit & Tie and Let the groove get in, there aren’t many up-tempo dance floor numbers, but you wont be disappointed with the soulful alternatives. Mirrors baby, Mirrors. This isn’t my absolute favourite from Timberlake, but that could change over the next couple of weeks. I do love the new material nonetheless and clearly I’m not the only one. The star was expected to shift around 750 000 copies in its opening week, but that expectation was shot out of the water. The number Billboard is going with at the moment is 968 000 copies, which makes this the biggest opening sales week of 2013. Nice one JT. Now if he could just open up the tickets for his tour… I’m going. The END!

Grab yourself a copy of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience from iTunes or any good leading music store now.

Chris Brown releases Fine China

Chris Brown is working on new music and a sample of the new offering has just been released. It’s his new single called Fine China and you can see the video above. Funky track… Hopefully he’ll be making good music like this to heal his ‘broken heart’, in light of his recent split from Rihanna