BV Entertainment Newswire: Soul Train Awards

Soul Patrol

On March 4, the 20th Annual Soul Train Music Awards will be presented at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Executive produced by ‘Soul Train’ creator and former host Don Cornelius, the show will be hosted by Vivica A. Fox and Tyrese Gibson. Special awards will be presented to Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, and Grammy Award winners Destiny's Child , John Legend and R. Kelly, who led this year’s nominations with three nods. Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, Keyshia Cole, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani, Bobby Valentino, Kanye West and Charlie Wilson, earned two nominations each.

The event will be highlighted by the presentation of the First Annual Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Career Achievements in Song Writing, presented to Jive/BMG recording star R. Kelly, by Wonder himself. In addition, Quincy Jones will present the special award, named in his honor, to Foxx and Destiny’s Child. The 2006 Sammy Davis, Jr. “Entertainer of the Year Award,” will be presented to Legend.

Here’s a closer look at three of this year’s special award honorees.

Legend In The Making

John Legend is riding the wave of long overdue success after years of performing as a neo-soul wunderkind. His story dates back to the mid-1990s when he was tapped to play piano on Lauryn Hill's hit song ‘Everything Is Everything.’ Before then, John Stephens (his real name) was known as a child prodigy who grew up in Ohio where he played piano and sang gospel at the tender age of five. By 16, he was off to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. After college, he relocated to New York City where he started performing at local clubs and independently released his own CDs, garnering a cult following. His name started getting recognition in industry circles as a session musician and in-demand songwriter, leading to collaborations with Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Twista and the then burgeoning Kanye West, who signed Legend to a major record deal -- resulting in the double platinum, double Grammy winning, critically acclaimed opus, ‘Get Lifted.’ “I’m truly humbled by the honor,” Legend told Black Voices. “I know there were other deserving people, and I’m very grateful to Soul Train for naming me Entertainer of the Year. It’s been an incredible ride with a lot of hard work so far, and all the recognition of our work just makes me want to go back and make some more music.”

Gotta Be Destiny

Although Destiny’s Child announced their separation as a group last summer, they continue to shine in the public spotlight, individually and as a collective. The trio, originally a quartet (featuring Latavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett) formed in 1990 in Houston, TX as The Dolls. Years later, they made their recording debut with their Columbia Records self-titled disc, yielding the lone hit song ‘No, No, No’ (remixed by Wyclef Jean). Their 1998 follow-up ‘The Writing Is on the Wall’ produced a string of radio hits, including ‘Bills, Bills, Bills,’ ‘Bug-A-Boo’ and the ubiquitous ‘Say My Name.’ After a messy reshuffling, Destiny’s Child morphed into a trio with Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Hit soundtrack singles ('Charlie's Angels') and television theme songs (‘Survivor’), a best-selling autobiography, a major partnership with McDonalds and Barbie dolls in their likeness followed. Individually, each member released successful solo albums, garnered lucrative endorsement deals (Gap, Dark & Lovely, and Loreal), and have tried their hands at acting in movies and on television. "We are so blessed and honored to receive the Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievement,” Williams told Black Voices. “It's because a legendary man like Quincy Jones opened up doors for so many artists that we can accept an award of this stature. We believe in hard work and our faith that keeps us rooted and grounded. Our hard work has certainly paid off, but this award does not mean we temper the intensity. We will continue to work with passion and dedication. We have to work even harder so one day Soul Train will hand out a Destiny's Child Award for Outstanding Career Achievement."

Foxx Trot

Academy Award winning funnyman Jamie Foxx’s musical dreams finally turned into reality when his critically-acclaimed sophomore disc, ‘Unpredictable,’ landed atop the ‘Billboard’ charts in 2006. In 1994, on the heels of making the nation laugh on the Keenen Ivory Wayans’ series 'In Living Color,' the Terrell, Texas native ventured into uncharted territory with his debut R&B album, ‘Peep This.’ While the album didn’t cause much of a ripple with consumers, Foxx went on to become one to watch in Black Hollywood when ‘The Jamie Foxx’ show hit the airwaves in 1996. Starring roles in the critically savaged slapstick ‘Booty Call,’ and the football flick ‘Any Given Sunday’ followed, opening the floodgates for better roles in critically acclaimed fare, such as ‘Ali,’ ‘Collateral’ and his career-defining role as music legend Ray Charles in 2004. The Soul Train honor follows a string of special awards, including a recent Image Award for Best Male Musical Artist. “It's good to be surrounded by black folks," Foxx said. "Black folks are music."