Soul Train Awards Return This Fall — With Spotify Now on Board

Three years after quietly going dark, the Soul Train Awards are coming back to television, and this time, they're bringing Spotify with them — plus a return to Chicago, where it all began.

The Soul Train Awards are back from hiatus, and this time, with Spotify steering the train.

BET announced the news on September 3, confirming the awards show will air Friday, November 27, at 8 p.m. ET on BET. CBS will simulcast it too, the first time that's ever happened for this show. BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and Logo will carry it as well.

After its 2023 show, the Soul Train Music Awards had gone quiet for two years — BET skipped the 2024 ceremony without any announcement. The BET Hip Hop Awards, meanwhile, kept airing normally right up until August 2025.

Then that month, then-CEO Scott Mills made it official, confirming both Soul Train Music Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards were being suspended as the company rethought where the two franchises belonged in a changing media landscape.

This month, BET president Louis Carr proudly announced the return of the Soul Train Awards “to the city where it all originated.” The show will be back in Chicago where Don Cornelius launched the original Soul Train, a music/dance show, in 1971.

Spotify has signed on as the show's new exclusive streaming partner, presenting the awards alongside Toyota. Spotify's Joe Hadley, in a statement, said, “It’s a significant moment for R&B and soul, and for Spotify, it’s important to show up where culture is.”

Spotify logo | Source: Getty Images

“Soul Train” ran from 1971 until 2006. In 1987, the Soul Train Music Awards were born, honoring the artists who carried soul, R&B, and hip hop forward until 2023, the last time they aired before their hiatus.

Cornelius died in 2012. He used to close every episode the same way: love, peace, and soul.

Don Cornelius, host of Soul Train, in 1972 | Source: Getty Images

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Details surrounding the performers, honorees or the host of this year’s renamed Soul Train Awards haven't been announced yet. But the date is set, the networks are lined up, and the show is heading home to Chicago to do it.