Soul Train Awards 2026: Tems leads fan-voted nominations, with Tyla also in the running

Tems is the most-nominated artist so far for the Soul Train Awards 2026, with two nods in the show’s new fan-voted categories, and South Africa’s Tyla is also in the running. For the first time, the winners in those two categories will be chosen by the public, and voting closes on Friday 16 October. Here is who is nominated, how to vote from Nigeria or anywhere else, and when the show airs in West Africa time.

By Editorial Team

What we know

• The nominations (FACT). BET announced the first Soul Train Awards 2026 nominees on 5 October, in a press release published through Paramount.
• Tems’s two nods (FACT). Tems is nominated for R&B/Soul Song of the Year for “What You Need” and in the new Spotify RNB X International Artist category. She is the only artist named in both fan-voted categories, as reported by allAfrica on 8 October.
• Tyla’s nod (FACT). Tyla is nominated for R&B/Soul Song of the Year for “Chanel”.
• Voting window (FACT). BET says voting is open until 16 October.
• The ceremony (FACT). The show airs on Friday 27 November at 8pm ET on BET, with a simulcast on CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and Logo. Anthony Anderson hosts, and the show is held at the Harris Theater in Chicago.

The full fan-voted nominee lists

R&B/Soul Song of the Year (voting on BET.com):

• “Butterflies” – Brent Faiyaz
• “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars
• “It Depends” – Chris Brown featuring Bryson Tiller
• “Who Knows” – Daniel Caesar
• “Yukon” – Justin Bieber
• “Folded” – Kehlani
• “Is It a Crime” – Mariah the Scientist featuring Kali Uchis
• “Man I Need” – Olivia Dean
• “What You Need” – Tems
• “Chanel” – Tyla

Spotify’s RNB X International Artist (voting in the Spotify app): Cleo Sol, FLO, kwn, Odeal, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Tems and Tiana Major9.

BET says the international category’s nominees were picked on cultural relevance, streaming performance and impact on the genre. Most of the names are British, which reflects how strong UK R&B is right now, while PARTYNEXTDOOR is Canadian. Tems is the only African artist on that list.

How to vote in the Soul Train Awards 2026

The two categories use different platforms, so fans who want to back Tems in both need to vote twice.

• Song of the Year: BET says votes are cast on its website at bet.com/soul-train-awards. BET’s terms apply, and the press release does not mention any country restriction.
• International Artist: votes are cast inside the Spotify app, where fans can also stream the nominees. Spotify’s terms apply.
• Bonus poll: fans can also vote once every 24 hours for the 20 Greatest R&B Songs of the 2020s, chosen from a list of 64 songs on BET’s site. The final ranking is revealed during the red carpet show, streamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Why this matters for African music

The Soul Train Awards are one of the main American awards for R&B and soul, and they returned this year in a refreshed format with a CBS simulcast. Having two African women in the Song of the Year shortlist, next to Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber and Kehlani, shows how far African artists have moved into the centre of global R&B, rather than being treated only as “world” or “Afrobeats” acts.

Both artists already have Grammy wins behind them. Tyla won the first Grammy for Best African Music Performance, and Tems has won Grammys too, as set out in our history of Nigerian Grammy winners. Our explainer on how Grammy voting works shows the contrast with this show: the Grammys are voted on by industry members, while these two Soul Train categories are decided entirely by fans. That makes fan mobilisation, something Nigerian and South African audiences are known for, unusually important.

The international category is also a Spotify partnership. That fits a wider pattern of streaming platforms building awards and programmes around artists, as with the Spotify EQUAL Africa spotlight we covered in our report on Solana. It is also a moment when many African stars are deciding where to put their awards energy, as our report on the artists not submitting for the 2027 Grammys showed.

What we do not know yet

BET has only announced the fan-voted categories so far. Nominees in other categories, performers and honorees will be announced “in the coming weeks”, according to the press release. We do not know whether Tems or Tyla will perform or attend. BET has not said how votes are counted or whether totals will be published.

What happens next

• Friday 16 October: fan voting closes in both categories and in the 2020s songs poll.
• The coming weeks: BET announces performers, honorees and any further categories.
• Friday 27 November, 8pm ET: the ceremony airs. In Lagos that is 2am WAT on Saturday 28 November, because the US will have left daylight saving time by then. In London it is 1am GMT.
• We will report the winners after the show.

For more on African acts on international charts, see our Afrobeats chart tracker.

More music news: Music.

Photo credits: Featured image: Tems performing on NdaniTV Sessions, 2019. Photo: NdaniTV, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Source. In-article image: Tyla performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2026. Photo: Janeirohy, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source.

Sources

• Paramount Press Express / BET: The Soul Train Awards nominees are in, and fans decide the winners in two new categories (5 Oct 2026)
• Billboard: Soul Train Awards 2026 nominees list
• allAfrica: Tems bags 2 nominations at 2026 Soul Train Awards (8 Oct 2026)
• Wikipedia: Soul Train Awards 2026 (host and venue, citing BET releases)