Soul Train Awards 2026

CULTURETECHLENS · “Culture, Clearly Seen.” · Black Cultural Intelligence

Research record

Soul Train Awards 2026 · Staged record CTL-E-0074 · Entity Depth Program · 671 words · Evidence grade: VERIFIED (canonical master, carried unchanged) · Researched 2026-10-25

The Soul Train Awards 2026 is a single ceremony — the 2026 edition of the Soul Train Music Awards franchise — recorded in the CultureTechLens graph as an Event, distinct from the franchise record, from the Soul Train television series, and from its host and venue, each of which carries its own record. BET announced the edition on October 1, 2026. The ceremony tapes on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the Harris Theater in Chicago and airs on Friday, November 27, 2026, at 8 PM ET/PT on BET with a first-ever CBS simulcast, alongside BET Her, VH1, MTV2, and LOGO. Paramount's press release announcing the host gives the airdate and the BET and CBS pairing directly, and Memorable TV's coverage of the same announcement confirms the November 5 taping at the Harris Theater and the November 27 airdate at 8 PM ET/PT on both BET and, for the first time in the show's history, CBS.

The host is Anthony Anderson. Paramount states that Anderson, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor, comedian, and television host, will host Soul Train Awards 2026, that he previously hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016, served as host of the NAACP Image Awards for eight consecutive years, and hosted the 75th Annual Emmy Awards. Memorable TV adds the franchise-specific fact: Anderson hosted this show before, in 2013. His statement, carried in both the Paramount release and the announcement coverage, frames the Chicago setting as the point of the edition: "I'm thrilled to be back with BET and especially excited to host Soul Train Awards in Chicago, where the Soul Train legacy began," adding that Don Cornelius created a platform that gave Black artists a place to shine. BET's executives made the same homecoming argument: Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy, praised Anderson's combination of comedic instinct, musical knowledge, and genuine love for the culture, and BET president Louis Carr, a Chicago native, said he was proud to bring the awards back to the city where it all originated.

The edition is a return, not a continuation. It is the first Soul Train Awards since 2023, when Keke Palmer hosted; the franchise was on hold in 2024 and 2025, a suspension BET CEO Scott Mills described in 2025 as a reimagining for a changing media landscape. The Art of New Media's reprint of the BET announcement describes the 2026 telecast as paying homage to Don Cornelius and celebrating the artists, music, and enduring legacy of Soul Train through performances and special moments, with Orlando calling the awards "the home for R&B and soul" and describing a reimagined celebration with a bold new format. The franchise history describes the announced format as a dynamic, two-hour celebration honoring four to five musical icons, spotlighting two fan-voted categories, and featuring marquee performances, produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment.

The fan vote is new to this edition. The TRiiBE reports that, for the first time, fans decide two categories — R&B/Soul Song of the Year and Spotify's RNB X International Artist — with voting through BET.com and the Spotify app until October 16, and that fans could also vote on the 20 Greatest R&B Songs of the 2020s, drawn from a pool of 64 songs, for reveal during the red carpet show "Back on Track." As of the announcement coverage, performers and honorees were yet to be announced; this record states no winners, because the ceremony has not yet taken place at the date of research.

The production credits in the announcement coverage complete the event's record. Jesse Collins, founder and CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, was quoted in the BET announcement reprint saying the company was honored to work alongside BET, Spotify, and Toyota toward the lineup of performances and special moments, and WBLS's carriage of BET's announcement describes the ceremony as presented by Spotify and Toyota. Those partnerships are stated here as announcement facts about this edition only; they are not claims about the franchise's other ceremonies, whose sponsorship history belongs to the franchise record.

Sources for this record

• BET Names Anthony Anderson Host of Soul Train Awards 2026 — Paramount Press Express (BET)
  Claims supported: Release dated October 1, 2026: Anthony Anderson will host Soul Train Awards 2026 airing Friday, November 27 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET & CBS; Anderson previously hosted BET Awards 2015 and 2016, NAACP Image Awards for eight consecutive years, and the 75th Annual Emmy Awards; Anderson and Connie Orlando statements as quoted
• Anthony Anderson to Host Soul Train Awards 2026 as Show Returns to Chicago and CBS — Memorable TV
  Claims supported: Ceremony airs Friday, November 27 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET and for the first time CBS; first Soul Train Awards since 2023; tapes November 5 at the Harris Theater in Chicago, where Cornelius launched Soul Train as a local production in 1970; Anderson hosted the show in 2013; seven consecutive Emmy nominations for Black-ish; NAACP Image Awards host for eight consecutive years; performers and honorees yet to be announced
• The Soul Train Awards are coming to Chicago, where Don Cornelius' legacy began — The TRiiBE
  Claims supported: After a three-year pause the awards return in Chicago; taped at Harris Theater Nov. 5, airs Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. CT on BET with simulcast on CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and LOGO; Anthony Anderson hosts; first-time fan voting in R&B/Soul Song of the Year and Spotify's RNB X International Artist categories, voting until Oct. 16 via BET.com and Spotify; 20 Greatest R&B Songs of the 2020s vote from a pool of 64 for the 'Back on Track' red carpet show
• BET and CBS Announces 'Soul Train Awards 2026' will be Hosted by Actor Anthony Anderson and Taped at Chicago's Harris Theater Nov. 5th — The Art of New Media (BET announcement reprint)
  Claims supported: BET announced October 1 that Anderson hosts; taped November 5 at Harris Theater, broadcast Friday November 27 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET simulcast on CBS; event pays homage to Don Cornelius; Orlando quote 'The Soul Train Awards has always been the home for R&B and soul... re-imagining the celebration with a bold new format'; Jesse Collins of Jesse Collins Entertainment returns to produce; Louis Carr statement as Chicago native; Jesse Collins quote on working alongside BET, Spotify and Toyota
• Soul Train Music Awards — History (2026 return) — Wikipedia (reference summary)
  Claims supported: After a three-year hiatus the awards return for 2026 at the Harris Theater in Chicago on November 5, 2026, filmed for delayed broadcast by BET, other Paramount channels and for the first time CBS on November 27, 2026; Connie Orlando describes a dynamic two-hour celebration honoring four to five musical icons, two fan-voted categories and marquee performances; produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment; 2023 edition hosted by Keke Palmer

Citations

Published October 25, 2026, from the head-verified staged record in the Entity Depth Program (Batch Soul Train). Source: CultureTechLens