By Kimberley Richards, HuffPost | The live show concluded a week of non-televised virtual ceremonies leading up to the two-hour special. Usher who has already had a particularly buzzworthy year, having performed the Super Bowl halftime show last month won the award for outstanding male artist on Monday. The “U Don’t Have to Call” singer received a lot of recognition during Saturday night’s ceremony.
As the recipient of the show’s President’s Award, Usher delivered a touching speech onstage accepting the honor Saturday night.
He was also named the 2024 Entertainer of the Year, a designation voted on by the general public. The other nominees in the category were: Colman Domingo, Fantasia Barrino, Halle Bailey and Keke Palmer.
Other recipients of the Image Awards’ special honors include poet Amanda Gorman, who was selected to receive the Chairman’s Award, and singer Frankie Beverly, the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The R&B group New Edition was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame during the ceremony.
Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise cameo in a pre-recorded skit in the beginning of the show, urging attendees and viewers at home to vote in the 2024 presidential election.
“The Color Purple,” a musical adaptation based on the classic Alice Walker novel of the same name, won the award for Outstanding Motion Picture.
Barrino, who starred as Celie in the film, won the Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture award. [Nice to see Fantasia win this award. In case you don’t remember or don’t know, Fantasia was the winner of American Idol’s third season in 2005!] Colman Domingo took home the award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in “Rustin.”
Check out the list of nominees and winners below [We’ve included only music-related awards]:
● Motion Picture Categories
Outstanding Motion Picture – WINNER: “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Other nominees: “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios); “Origin” (Neon)
“Rustin” (Netflix); “They Cloned Tyrone” (Netflix)
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture – WINNER: Fantasia Barrino, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures) || Other nominees: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, “Origin” (Neon); Halle Bailey, “The Little Mermaid” (Walt Disney Pictures); Teyana Taylor, “A Thousand And One” (Focus Features); Yara Shahidi, “Sitting in Bars with Cake” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – WINNER: Colman Domingo, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures) || Other nominees: Corey Hawkins, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures); Glynn Turman, “Rustin” (Netflix); Jamie Foxx, “They Cloned Tyrone” (Netflix); Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – WINNER: Taraji P. Henson, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures) || Other nominees: Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures); Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers” (Focus Features); Erika Alexander, “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios); Halle Bailey, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture – WINNER: Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures) }} Other nominees: Aaron Pierre, “Brother” (Vertical Entertainment); Laya DeLeon Hayes, “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” (RLJE Films); Mila Davis-Kent, “Creed III” (Amazon MGM Studios); Teyana Taylor, “A Thousand And One” (Focus Features)
Awards were also passed out in the following categories:
● Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
● Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
● Television + Streaming Categories
● Recording Categories (lots!)
● Documentary Categories
● Writing Categories
● Directing Categories
● Podcast Categories
● Costume Design, Make-up & Hairstyling Categories
● Outstanding Make-up (Television or Film)
● Outstanding Hairstyling (Television or Film)
● Entertainer of the Year Award – WINNER: Usher
Go here to read the full list of winners and nominees:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/naacp-image-awards-2024-winners_n_65f20aabe4b09953f2f8a5cf
Photo: Usher | From his Facebook page
March 21, 2024| Congratulations| Barb Dye