Last night the BET Awards 2022 premiered, and let’s just say the show came back to step on our necks! There were so many unexpected surprises during the show that I was almost overly excited about what would happen next! I mean, heavy industry hitters and legends graced the awards show; it felt like, for just a moment, the music era transcended back in the early 2000s.

The first major surprise of the night was seeing the legendary and beautiful songstress Brandy grace the stage with Jack Harlow during the song First Class. You’ll have to go back and read up on the backstory of how it all came about, but it was fire! The crowd literally stood to their feet when she appeared on the stage. And, of course, Brandy’s bars were fire! 

In so many ways, she actually took over the song, in my opinion. Now that she’s signed with Motown Records, I’m excited to see how B8 will turn out! Don’t get me wrong, her music is flawless, but I’m eager to know if she will have more rap infused with her singing for this project! 

If you’ve been a part of the #Starz for a long time, you already knew Brandy could be Bran’Nu on the mic. However, now the world knows that she’s more than capable of being a rapper and can certainly hold her own next to the current league of rappers any day. Check out her fire freestyle remix to First Class below!:

Riding the high of Brandy’s surprise, the show continued to take it higher with an iconic performance featuring the one and only Mariah Carey! After receiving her first award, rapper Latto graced the stage with her latest hits, It’s Givin and the summer tune Big Energy. Full of energy and sass, Latto let us know that she was up next when the sounds of Big Energy took us back to the original sampling of Fantasy by MC. 

In the initial hit, the late rapper O.D.B can be heard rap-singing the infamous “Me and Mariah, go back like babies and pacifiers,” and so forth before MC comes in with her melodic voice. Well, O.D.B.’s son surprised the audience with his loving tribute to his dad by rapping his part, and then all pandemonium happened. In true diva fashion, the famous silhouette of Mariah appeared, the beautiful butterflies disappeared, and then the queen herself appeared! 

I screamed, I cried, and I ran around my living room! It felt so good seeing MC back on stage and even better watching her receive her flowers from Latto at the end of her performance. Of course, Mariah sounded just as she always did, and I’m so happy that this chapter of her life is much more content. She looked glowy and relaxed in her beautiful black gown, darling! To see and relive the moment again, check out the video clip below:

Just when I thought it couldn’t go up higher, it did. Other surprising and notable performances of the night included Ella Mai and Babyface, the Diddy Lifetime Achievement award performances, and the unexpected appearance of Ye. It’s going to be a minute before I regain my calmness. I’m sure this year’s show will go down as one of the most iconic award shows in a while. As it appears, old is new again; might it be too early to say the days of great award shows are on the return? We’ll have to wait and see, but until that happens, I’m thrilled to see the return of the legends and newbies coming together in entertainment!