It’s time to get back on the Soul Train.
After a three-year break, the Soul Train Awards are returning to BET for a celebration honoring the best in R&B and soul music, the network announced Thursday.
For its return, the ceremony is heading back to where it all began. The 2026 Soul Train Awards will be taped in Chicago, the city where Don Cornelius launched the iconic Soul Train series more than 50 years ago.
“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to bring the Soul Train Awards back to the city where it all originated,” said Louis Carr, president of BET. “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.”
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The last Soul Train Awards aired in 2023, and was hosted by Keke Palmer.
BET confirmed in August 2025 that both the Soul Train Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards had been shelved “indefinitely” as it worked to rethink its broadcast strategy amid the changing digital and streaming landscape. There was even talk of moving the awards to streaming.
According to BET, this year’s Soul Train Awards will celebrate the artists who helped shape Black music while also shining a light on the next generation carrying that legacy forward.
Performers, honorees and a host will be announced in the coming weeks.
Created by Don Cornelius in 1971, Soul Train became a cultural institution. When the final episode of the show’s historic 35-year run aired in 2006, it was the longest first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history. BET acquired the Soul Train brand in 2016.
Cornelius hosted the show, which offered a platform to rising and established Black artists. He famously opened each episode by calling it “the hippest trip in America” and closed with his signature message of “love, peace, and soul.”
After Cornelius stepped down, the program was hosted by actor and entertainer Mystro Clark, followed by actor Shemar Moore, and later actor Dorian Gregory.
Jesse Collins Entertainment is returning to produce the revamped awards. Connie Orlando serves as executive producer for BET, with Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay co-executive producing.
The show will return Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET. For the first time, the ceremony will also be simulcast on Paramount Skydance-owned sister network CBS, along with BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and Logo.
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