Here Are Special Award Recipients & Performers for the 2026 Soul Train Awards: Updating List
Billboard ·
The show will be light on competitive award categories but heavy on special awards and performances.
BET is starting to announce the talent that will appear on the 2026 Soul Train Awards . The show, hosted by actor Anthony Anderson , will air on BET on Friday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with a simulcast on CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and LOGO.
Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer Durand Bernarr will receive the Soul Personified Honor and perform on the show. Bernarr will also host the 2026 Soul Train Awards Red Carpet Show: Back on Track . This digital experience is billed as “a reimagination of the traditional red carpet.”
Chaka Khan has already been announced as the recipient of the Classic Soul Honor.
This is the first Soul Train Awards since 2023 and the first ever to simulcast on CBS. The two-hour show will tape on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Chicago. Anderson, best known for his role on ABC’s long-running Black-ish , previously hosted the Soul Train Awards in 2013.
The show will be light on competitive award categories (just two, both fan-voted) but heavy on special awards and performances. In addition, the show will crown the greatest R&B song of the 2020s, according to the fans.
Connie Orlando serves as the executive producer of the 2026 Soul Train Awards for BET. Jesse Collins Entertainment is the production company for the show, with Jesse Collins , Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay also serving as executive producers. Here are award recipients and performers that have been announced so far for the 2026 Soul Train Awards. This post will be updated as additional names are announced.