Earlier today, nominees were announced at the official BET Awards '13 press conference in Los Angeles, by BET's President of Music Programming and Specials, Stephen G. Hill; this year's BET Awards '13 host, blockbuster movie star and comedian Chris Tucker; R&B artist Chris Brown; hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar; and singer and television personality Tamar Braxton.

Leading the pack of A-list nominees include, hip hop artist Drake, with an impressive 12 nominations including Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Video of the Year; close behind is breakthrough hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar and rapper 2 Chainz tied with 8 nominations; A$AP Rocky with 5 nominations; while Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Miguel face off with 4 nominations each in the categories of Best Collaboration, Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award and Video of the Year.

In what is sure to be a showdown of epic proportions, this year's Video of the Year Award has a phenomenal line-up of 10 nominees including Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Miguel and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, all vying to get their hands on the sought-after trophy.

During the press conference, Chris Brown was exclusively announced as the first confirmed performer. As an added bonus, R. Kelly is closing the BET Awards '13 and will head over to the Staples Center immediately after to open the BET Experience concert. In addition, a living legend, Charlie Wilson was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award, to honor his four decades in the entertainment industry.

"This year's line-up of nominees and performers is reflective of the variety of fantastic talent that's rocking the world right now," says Stephen G. Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials. "We are especially excited as we move on up to the Nokia Theatre at LA Live. You know how we do. Big thangs shall indeed be poppin'. The BET Awards. Anything Can Happen…and most likely will."

The nominees for the BET Awards '13 include:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist

Beyonce

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 Behavior

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

Quvenzhane 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 Sande

Wiley

This year for the first time, the general public can purchase tickets to the BET Awards with a BET Experience VIP Package, which also includes 3-day tickets to nightly concerts at the Staples Center.

For 12 years, BET Networks has drawn music's biggest talent to be part of the biggest night in music; the BET Awards. This year, the activity and excitement expands with the first ever BET EXPERIENCE AT LA. LIVE! This three-day festival filled with comedy, gospel and soulful music concerts, seminars, film screenings, "106 & PARK" tapings and so much more will build anticipation for the finest BET Awards show yet.

BET.com/BETAwards (http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards.html) is the official site for the BET Awards '13 and features content on nominees and award recipients. The microsite will feature exciting interactive consumer elements and include information for ticket purchase, events, schedules and registration.

BET Mobile will return on June 3^rd with the official BET AWARDS app on iPhone and Android devices with exclusive photo, video and interactive content.

Join the conversation on social media by following BET's multiple social media platforms, dedicated to the BET Awards:

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram : @BETAwards, Use hashtag: #BETAwards

On Facebook: facebook.com/TheBETAwards

On Tumblr: betawards.tumblr.com

*All times are ET/PT

The BET AWARDS '13 will premiere Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 8:00PM BST across BET's international platforms in the UK and Africa.

Stephen G. Hill, BET's President of Music Programming and Specials, Lynne Harris Taylor, BET's Vice President of Specials, will serve as Executive Producers for the BET AWARDS '13, in conjunction with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

About BET Awards:

Established in 2001, the BET AWARDS continues to be one of the most watched awards shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company reaching an average of 7.5 million viewers annually. The franchise remains the #1 program in cable television history, among African-Americans. Each year, the BET AWARDS recognizes the distinguished achievements of artists, entertainers and athletes in a number of diverse categories, including film, sports and music.

About Jesse Collins Entertainment

Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service film and television production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins. Over the past decade, Collins, the company's CEO, has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in the music entertainment arena. Formerly Executive Producer/Executive Vice President of Cossette Productions, Collins has produced award winning television programming including the Grammy Awards, the BET Awards, BET Honors and BET's Rip the Runway and has worked with superstar talent such as Will Smith, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige , Kid Rock, Lil Wayne and many more.

About BET Experience at L.A. LIVE:

The BET Experience at L.A. Live is an exciting weekend consisting of concerts from A-list talent at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, the BET Film Festival, fan festival, live tapings of "106 & Park," The BET GRAMMY® Museum exhibit, Music Matter stage, BET Revealed seminars and the BET Awards. For the first time ever, tickets to the BET Awards show are available to the public through VIP ticket packages. For more information and to purchase tickets to the events, visit www.BETExperience.com.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET operates in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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