Month: July 2024

Jim Jones Introduced Swerve Strickland Before He Retained The Heavyweight Title At AEW Forbidden Door

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AEW

Swerve Strickland retained his AEW heavyweight championship against Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door in New York.

While Ospreay paid tribute to the legendary Hayabusa during his entrance, Strickland continued his entertainment meets pro wrestling crossover by bringing out Dipset founding member and New York native Jim Jones to introduce him.

Jones hit the top of the entrance ramp holding the AEW championship and said he swerves when he drives before the champ’s music hit. Strickland greeted Jones at the top of the ramp, put the belt over his shoulder and made his way to the ring.

Once the bell rang, Strickland and Ospreay set a rapid pace right from the beginning. While the challenger had the early advantage, Strickland found his opening and gained some momentum. Strickland looked to be in momentum after hitting a Swerve Stomp onto the announce table.

After the referee took an errant hit from Ospreay, Don Callis arrived at the ring and handed Ospreay a screwdriver. Prince Nana took out Callis and Ospreay decided against using the screwdriver. Strickland took out Ospreay when he climbed into the ring, then hit the Swerve Stomp for two. He hit the House Call for two again.

Strickland hit a House Call again before hitting Big Pressure for the pinfall victory.

Fans Are Caught Up In Confusion At The Usher Lifetime Achievement Award Tribute Performance At The 2024 BET Awards

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Usher Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Press Conference 2024
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Tonight (June 30), the 2024 BET Awards was about giving entertainers their flowers. The most notable honorary of the evening was Usher. As the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, several other musicians joined in on the celebration.

Uproxx cover star Chlöe, Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Coco Jones, Tinashe, Teyana Taylor, and more paid tribute to Usher with special performances of his greatest hits. Despite the jammed-packed lineup, following the set, users online shared their mixed reviews of what they witnessed.

The biggest gripe folks had on Twitter was the actual acts selected to take the stage. Continue below to read a few of their responses.

“Hopefully Usher gets a better tribute at the #GRAMMYs cause this wasn’t it. #BETAwards,” wrote one user.

https://twitter.com/HoeAssMrB/status/1807611328137175546

“Usher deserved BETTER. Teyana Taylor was the only good one,” penned one user.

“I just don’t understand who dropped the ball for the KING OF RNB LIKE THIS?!?!?! SHOW YOURSELVES,” wrote another.

“Soooo Luke James, Tank, Vedo, Eric Bellinger, Trevor Jackson, Baby Face, Tevin Campbell, Miguel, etc weren’t available for this Usher tribute?,” added another.

View the full Usher Lifetime Achievement Award tribute performance below.

Usher’s BET Lifetime Achievement Award Speech Was Censored So Heavily, Fans Had A Lot Of Questions

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usher acceptance speech
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Usher has had one hell of a 2024. He’s got a new album, he’s headed on tour, he performed at the Super Bowl, and now, he’s been honored with a BET Lifetime Achievement Award. However, we aren’t sure how he feels about it, because BET’s infamously touchy censor weighed in pretty heavily during Usher’s acceptance speech after he let some colorful language fly in reference to his absentee father. The speech ended up sounding a bit like the radio edit of Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None),” only without the fly instrumental. Fans were quick to let their own commentary off the chain on Twitter.

Despite this, the mics were indeed on during the tribute performance honoring Usher, which featured an all-star roster of nearly all women singers covering hits from across Usher’s near-30-year run of hits. Included in the performance were Childish Gambino (“U Don’t Have To Call”), Keke Palmer (“You Make Me Wanna”), Summer Walker (“Good Good”), Coco Jones (“There Goes My Baby”), Marsha Ambrosius (“Confessions Pt.2”), Chlöe (“Good Kisser”), Tinashe (“Nice & Slow”), Teyana Taylor & Victoria Monét (“Bad Girl”), and Latto (“Yeah!”).

This isn’t the first time the BET Awards have had censor issues — it’s a tradition going back decades at this point. Nor is this the first time this month Usher has had technical difficulties on the mic, after Latto had to help save his performance at her Birthday Bash in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. Check out his speech… in all its censored glory… above.

https://twitter.com/questlove/status/879137846262628352

BET Awards: Usher Gives Emotional Speech On Family & Forgiveness While Receiving Lifetime Achievement Award

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Usher reflected on the value of family and the importance of forgiveness during an emotional speech at the BET Awards on Sunday night. Toward the end of the ceremony, he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award on stage from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

“Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it,” Usher said. “I didn’t write anything because I wanted this moment to be exactly what it was: present. In this moment, how I am feeling, and the appreciation that I have for each and every person that have anything to do with this moment tonight, as well as the 30-plus-year career that I’m celebrating. This Lifetime Achievement Award, I don’t know, man. Is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and I still love it like I did when I was 8 years old.” From there, he reflected on his journey to finding an identity.

Read More: Usher Addresses Claim He Thanked The Devil During NAACP Image Awards: “Get The Hell Outta Here!”

Usher Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 30: Honoree Usher accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during the 2024 BET Awards at Peacock Theater on June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for BET)

“I was trying to make sense of this name that a man gave me but didn’t stick around because he didn’t love me,” Usher continued. “Or at least that was my perception of it because I had to live long enough in order to understand that you have to have a forgiving heart in order to understand the true pitfalls and hardships of a Black man in America. My father was a product of that. He made a lot of decisions. He made a lot of choices, and one that probably hurt and helped me at the same time was to stay away. That’s part of the reason why I say this is the year of the father, where all the fathers have got to stand up for their sons and daughters and be the man that they need to be for them.”

Childish Gambino Pays Tribute To Usher

Elsewhere during the speech, Usher dealt with his microphone cutting out at several points. In addition to the speech, Childish Gambino gave a tribute performance of “U Don’t Have To Call” for the singer. Be on the lookout for further updates on Usher and the BET Awards on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Latto Teases Album Title & Brings Out 21 Savage, Usher, & More Guests At Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash

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