New Faces Top 2005 BET Awards Noms

The list of nominations for Black Entertainment Television’s 2005 BET Awards contained a lot of new blood.

The event will air on BET live from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre Tuesday, June 28 at 8 p.m. (EST) and 7 p.m. (CST), and it will be tape-delayed to the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will host the 2005 BET Awards for the first time.

Ciara led all nominees with four nods, and John Legend and Kayne West were also high on the list.

In addition to 14 awards covering the entertainment industry, the network will also honor Gladys Knight with the “BET Lifetime Achievement Award,” as well as Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta, with the “BET Humanitarian Award.”

“Our BET Awards show has been able to produce unique, unforgettable moments every year, and we don’t expect 2005 to be any different,” BET president and chief operating officer Debra Lee said in a prepared statement.

“There’s something special about celebrating the success and achievements of African Americans in such a glamorous and exciting manner,” she added. “We are very proud of the importance that our viewers place on the BET Awards show and for the tremendous viewership we continue to attract.”