The ceremony heads to Don Cornelius’ hometown, reconnecting R&B and soul’s biggest celebration with the city where its cultural legacy began.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
September 9, 2026
Key Takeaways
- BET will revive the Soul Train Awards on November 27 in Chicago, where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train in 1971.
- The renamed ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET across BET, CBS, and other networks, with Spotify serving as its exclusive streaming partner and co-presenting alongside Toyota.
- The comeback ends a one-year hiatus for the Black music institution, though BET has not yet revealed its host, performers, nominees, or honorees.
BET is putting the Soul Train Awards back on the schedule—and sending the show home for its comeback. One year after the network put the ceremony on indefinite hiatus, the R&B institution returns on November 27 with a new name, a major partnership with Spotify, and its first stop in Chicago, where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train more than five decades ago.
According to <a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/soul-train-awards-return-this-fall-bet-spotify-1235186343/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Vibe, the revived Soul Train Awards will air at 8 p.m. ET across BET, CBS, and several other networks. Spotify has signed on as the franchise’s exclusive streaming partner and will present the show alongside Toyota. The host, performers, nominees, and honorees are still under wraps.
Chicago is not just another host city. Cornelius created Soul Train there in 1971, then took the program into national syndication and built one of the most important platforms in Black entertainment.
For Gen Xers, the show was where soul, funk, R&B, hip-hop, dance, and fashion reached the country without being filtered through mainstream television’s narrow view of Black culture.
“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. He described the revival as a chance to connect “the artists who built this sound to the ones carrying it forward.”
That bridge between generations has powered the awards since their 1987 debut. The ceremony became a room where established giants and emerging acts received recognition from an institution built specifically around Black music.
Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Erykah Badu are among its past hosts, while artists including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson have received major career honors.
Beyoncé holds the distinction of being the show’s most-awarded artist.
The comeback also reverses what appeared to be an uncertain future for one of BET’s signature franchises. Former BET CEO Scott Mills announced last year that both the Soul Train Music Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards had been suspended while the company evaluated where they could “best live as the media climate continues to evolve.”
Mills departed in December, and Spotify’s arrival supplies at least part of the answer: across broadcast television and a streaming platform capable of pushing performances well beyond awards night.
“We’re thrilled the Soul Train Awards are coming back,” Spotify global head of music content and partnerships Joe Hadley said. “It’s a significant moment for R&B and soul.” He added that the partnership would create more opportunities for artists to reach listeners worldwide.
The original Soul Train ended its television run in 2006, but its awards show continued through 2023 before going dark.
