Soul Train Awards set to return this fall with Spotify as exclusive streaming partner

A Chicago homecoming for a storied franchise

The Soul Train Awards will be staged in Chicago this fall, marking the first ceremony since BET placed the Soul Train Music Awards on indefinite hiatus last year. The program is set to air at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 27 across BET, CBS and several other networks, returning the show to the city where Don Cornelius launched Soul Train in 1971.

Spotify steps in as exclusive streaming partner

Spotify has been named the newly exclusive streaming partner for the franchise and will co-present the awards alongside Toyota. Joe Hadley, Global Head of Music Content & Partnerships at Spotify, framed the collaboration as a milestone for the genre, saying it is a significant moment for R&B and soul and that bringing Spotify and BET together allows them to extend the impact beyond the awards themselves, creating more opportunities for artists and their music to reach fans around the world. Performers, honorees and the host have not yet been announced.

BET frames the return as a cultural milestone

Louis Carr, BET's president, positioned the ceremony in personal terms, noting that as a Chicago native, he is proud to bring the Soul Train Awards back to the city where it all originated. Coming off a landmark year for BET, this return reaffirms what we do best: bringing our community together around the culture and connecting the artists who built this sound to the ones carrying it forward, Carr said. The awards have been renamed from Soul Train Music Awards to Soul Train Awards.

History of the Soul Train brand and its recent pause

Soul Train premiered in 1971 and aired until 2006, with Cornelius closing episodes by wishing viewers "love, peace, and soul" before his death in 2012. The Soul Train Music Awards debuted in 1987 and ran continuously through 2023, when BET announced a hiatus under then-CEO Scott Mills, who later exited the company in December. Mills said at the time that BET had a team actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve.