During The "55th NAACP Image Awards," Tems, Davido, Lojay Damson Idris, Ayo Edebiri, and Aleema Omotoni Are The Winners.

At the "55th NAACP Image Awards," which took place in 90 categories, the NAACP and BET honored Black talent in music, television, and film. Tems, the singer of the famous song "Me & U," won her fourth NAACP Image Awards when she took home the "Outstanding International Song" prize. More Nigerians took home honors when Davido and Lojay's song "Sensational," which they collaborated on with Chris Brown, won the category for "Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)".

Aleema Omotoni's novel "Everyone's Thinking It" won the "Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens" prize in the Literary Category. The book centers on Iyanu and Kitan, two Nigerian cousins who, the week before the school's annual Valentine's Day celebration, discover that everyone's juicy relationship secrets have been leaked, landing them in the thick of a schoolwide conspiracy.

For his outstanding performance as Franklin Saint in the American crime drama television series "Snowfall," British-Nigerian actor Damson Idris also took home the "Television + Streaming Category" award for "Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series." With her win for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of Sydney Adamu in "The Bear," rising talent Ayo Edebiri also records her third NAACP Image Award.

The legendary show, hosted by critically acclaimed actor and producer Queen Latifah (aka the series star and executive producer of CBS's The Equalizer), who is also a Grammy® award-winning recording artist, Emmy®, Golden Globe®, and Academy Award® nominee, streamed live on BET Africa (DStv channel 129 & GOtv channel 21) on Sunday, March 17 at 19:00 WAT. Usher, The Color Purple, Quinta Brunson, Mike Epps, Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, and more won top prizes. Merely speaking, Amanda Gorman, New Edition, and Usher were among the recipients of special prizes.

Acknowledged worldwide as one of the most prestigious multicultural award programs, the "55th NAACP Image Awards" upholds its legacy of excellence by showcasing artists who are dedicated to these ideals and elevating ideals that promote justice, equality, and progressive change.

"We are immensely proud to illuminate the outstanding achievements of African talent being recognized on a global stage like the NAACP Image Awards," stated Monde Twala, Senior Vice President of Paramount Africa and Peer Lead, BET International, in reference to the African award winners. The wonderful storytelling and artistry that come from Africa is demonstrated by this year's winners, Tems, Davido, Ayo Edebiri, Lojay, Aleema Omotoni, and Damson Idris. At BET, we are dedicated to promoting genuine African tales and talents to a worldwide audience.

Highlights of the "55th Image Awards" show include:

• Donnie Wahlberg, star of Blue Bloods on CBS, and singer of New Kids on the Block, introduced New Edition into the NAACP Hall of Fame.

• Quinta Brunson received the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series award from Keke Palmer and Lil Rel Howery for her work in Abbott Elementary (ABC), and Mike Epps received the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series award for his work in The Upshaws (Netflix).

• During his statement, Damson Idris expressed his gratitude and humor for receiving the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series award.

• Actress Erika Alexander, who costarred with Sheryl Lee Ralph on Living Single (FOX), led the audience in singing Happy Birthday in honor of presenter Queen Latifah's birthday.

• For Rustin and The Color Purple, Colman Domingo won the prizes for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, respectively.

•NAACP Chairman Leon Russell awarded Amanda Gorman with the Chairman's Award, and she accepted it with a stirring speech.

• Presenting Fantasia Barrino with her Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture award was Idris and Sabrina Elba.

• Usher, a recipient of the President's Awards, thanked Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, and the Black community in his remarks.

• Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, stars of UnPrisoned (Hulu), presented the Outstanding Motion Picture award to the cast of Color Purple as they entered the stage.

• In a surprise visit by Oprah Winfrey, Usher accepted his Entertainer of the Year award to round off the evening.


In addition, winners in non-televised Image Awards categories were virtually acknowledged by NAACP from March 11–13 on www.naacpimageawards.net, and on March 14 at the Awards Dinner. Please follow NAACP Image Awards on Instagram @NAACPImageAwards for news and updates.

The following companies are sponsoring the "55th NAACP Image Awards": Google, Bank of America, Gushers, FedEx, Airbnb, Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Denny's, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines. Wells Fargo is the presenting sponsor. Variety Magazine, Bacardi, CVS Health, Entergy, Hyatt, Intuit, L'Oréal, Lyft, Planned Parenthood, SheaMoisture, Uncle Nearest, SPILL, and Variety are some of our partners.

The NAACP Image Awards, one of the most recognizable yearly celebrations of Black accomplishment, attract the largest and brightest performers in Hollywood. Tems, Wizkid, Trevor Noah, Angela Bassett, Zendaya, Will Smith, Viola Davis, Beyoncé, Nicco Annan, Ruth E. Carter, Quinta Brunson, Nia Long, Keith David, Jennifer Hudson, Stacey Abrams, Tabitha Brown, Dwayne Wade & Gabrielle Union, Erica Campbell, Chris Brown, Bruno Mars, Anderson Paak, Silk Sonic, Rihanna, Quavo, Takeoff, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Zendaya, Yara Shahidi, Issa Rae, Janelle Monáe, Tracee Ellis Ross, Serena Williams, Kerry Was

The whole list of "55th NAACP Image Awards" winners is as follows:

CATEGORIES TO BE NOTED.

Best International Song
"U & Me" – Tems

Excellent Pair, Team, or Partnership (Modern)
Chris Brown with Davido and Lojay, "Sensational"

Excellent Jazz Recording
Brandee Younger's song "Brand New Life"

Wonderful Christian/Gospel Song

Kierra Sheard and Anthony Brown, "All Yours"

Excellent Christian/Gospel Recording
"Day of Father" – Kirk Franklin

Excellent Pair, Team, or Partnership (Traditional)
Chris Brown and Ciara's song "How We Roll"

Excellent Soundtrack/Compilation CD
"The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of The Color Purple" - Diverse Manufacturers

Superb Original Music for Television or Film
Jongnic Bontemps, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"

Exceptional male musician
"Good Good" by USHER featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage

Exceptional female musician
"The Trip" — H.E.R.

Superb New Artist
Victoria Monét's "Jaguar II"

Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Track
Megan Thee Stallion, "Cobra"

Excellent Record
Victoria Monét's "Jaguar II"

Category: Television and Streaming

Best Actor in a Dramatic TV Series
Idris Damson - Snowfall

Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Supporting
The Bear, Ayo Edebiri

Best Actor in a Dramatic Series
India Ria Amarteifio: A Bridgerton Tale of Queen Charlotte

Best Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson - Elementary School

Best Performance in a Comedy Series
Epps, Mike - The Upshaws

Best Actress in a Dramatic Special, Limited Series, or Television Film
Chloe Bailey: Give Her Props

Best Actor in a Dramatic Special, Limited Series, or Television Film
Keith Powers: The Ideal Discover

Excellent TV film, limited series, or dramatic special
Swarm

Excellent Lecture Series
The Jennifer Hudson Show

Excellent Talk or News/Information Host (Series or Special) - Solo or Group
Shepherd Sherri - Sherri

Best Dramatic Series Supporting Actress
Gail Bean: The Snowdrops

Exceptional Actor in a Dramatic Series
Holmes, Adrian - Bel-Air

Excellent Series of Dramas
Queen Charlotte: An Account of Bridgeton

Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Supporting
Abbott Elementary / William Stanford Davis

Excellent Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary

Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Special, Limited Series, or Television Film
Phylicia Rashad - This Place Is Heaven

Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Special, Limited Series, or Television Film
Don Cheadle: Covert Takeover

Superb Youth Performance (Series, Special, TV Movie, or Limited Series)
Leah Sava Jeffries: "The Olympians and Percy Jackson"

Superb Animated Series
"The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder S2" advertisement

Excellent Television Breakthrough Creative
The book "Survival of the Thickest" by Michelle Buteau

Magnificent Visitor Performance
"Saturday Night Live" star Michael B. Jordan

Excellent Variety Program (Show or Special)
A Sketch Show Starring Black Ladies

Best Individual or Group Host for a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show, or Variety (Series or Special)
titled "Celebrity Squares" by DC Young Fly

Excellent Game Show, Reality Competition, or Reality Program (Series)
"Wild 'N Out"

Excellent Information/News (Series or Special)
"20/20" - Kerry Washington: A Talk with Robin Roberts About Something Thicker Than Water

Excellent Children's Initiative
"Gracie's Corner"

Superb Execution in a Brief Form Series
"The Daily Show After The Cut" with Leslie Jones

Superb Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
"Doggyland"

Superb Short Form Nonfiction/Reality Series
"I Danced on the Soul Train"

Superb Voice-Over Performance for a Character on Television
"The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" by Kyla Pratt

CATEGORIAS LITERAIRE

Outstanding Young Adult/Young Adult Literature
"Everybody's Contemplating It," Aleema Omotoni

Excellent Fictional Literary Work

"Matrimonial History" – Elizabeth Acevedo

Superb Non-Fiction Literary Work
"The New Brownies' Book" authored by Charly Palmer and Karida L. Brown

Magnificent Literary Piece – First-Time Author
- Krystle Zara Appiah, "Rootless"

Superb Literary Piece: Autobiography/Biography
"Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Civil Rights Movement's Glamour, Money, and Power" Tanisha C. Ford, Ph.D.

Magnificent Literary Piece – Educational
"Historically Black Phrases: 'Who All Going to Be There?' to 'I Ain't One of Your Lil' Friends'" - Tre'vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill

Superb Literary Piece: Graphic Novel
"The Talk" – Darrin Bell

Excellent Poem
"Abruptly," Evie Shockley

Children's Outstanding Literary Work
"CROWNED: Enchanting Folktales and Fairy Tales from Around the World" - Bethencourt Kahran

Categories for makeup, hairstyling, and costume design
Superb Makeup (Film or Television)
Manny Davila, Milene Melendez, Carol Rasheed, Saisha Beecham, Ngozi Olandu Young, and The Color Purple

Excellent Film or Television Costume Design
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, "The Color Purple"

Superb Hairstyling for Film or Television
Lawrence Davis, Tym Wallace, Andrea Mona Bowen, Angela Renae Dyson, and Jorge Benitez Villalobos in "The Color Purple"

PERFORMANCE STAR OF THE YEAR
Usher

Outstanding Personality on Social Media
Angelina Moore

PICTURE MOTION CATEGORIES
Outstanding Feature Film
The Violet Shade

Extraordinary Performance by a Female in a Film
Fantasia Barrino: The Shade of Violet

Best Performance in a Motion Picture
Rustin Colman Domingo

Superior Accompanying Actor in a Motion Picture
Colman Domingo: The Shade of Violet

Awarded Best Supporting Actress in a Film
Henson, Taraji P. - The Color Purple

Outstanding Animated Motion Picture:
Throughout the Spider-Verse: Spider-Man

Extraordinary Pioneering Actor in a Motion Picture
Purple Phylicia Pearl Mpasi – The Color

Excellent Young Performance (Motion Image)
Mila Davis-Kent, the third Creed

Superb Foreign Film
MARKETING BROTHER

Outstanding Feature Film Cinematography
"A Thousand and One" by Eric K. Yue

Excellent Motion Picture Breakthrough Creative
"The Color Purple" by Blitz Bazawule

Superb Independent Film
"Sibling"

Excellent Casting for an Ensemble in a Motion Picture
"Purple in Color"

Excellent Group for Stunts (TV or Film) 
"Creed III"

Superb Short Form—Live Action
"The Following"

SUPERB Short Form Advertisement (Animated)
"Young Ruby"

Excellent Voice-Over Performance for a Character in a Motion Picture
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" by Issa Rae

CATEGORIES DETAILS

Outstanding Television Documentary
"High on the Hog: How African American Food Revolutionized American Culture"

Superb Documentary (Movie)
"Beautiful But Invisible"

Excellent Film Documentary in Short Form 
"Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games" is an.

Composing Subjects
Excellent Screenplay for a Motion Picture
American fiction author Cord Jefferson

Extraordinary Composition in a Comedy Series
"Saturdays" by Norman Vance Jr.

Superb Writing in a Dramatic Series
"Bel-Air," Carla Banks-Waddles

Excellent Writing for a TV Film or Special
Cochran, Dwayne Johnson - "Heist 88"

DIRECTING CATEGORIES

Extraordinary Direction in a Film
Ava DuVernay's Inception

Outstanding Comedy Series Directing
Neema Barnette's for "GRAND CREW"

Outstanding Dramatic Series Directing
"Power Book II: Ghost" by Dawn Wilkinson

Best Television Film or Special Direction
"Shooting Stars" by Chris Robinson

Excellent Direction in a Documentary (Film or Television)
Allen Hughes, "To My Mother"

PODCAST TYPES

Excellent Podcast for News and Information
"Convening as Eboni K. Williams Does"

Excellent Short Form/Limited Series Podcast
"The Official Black Panther Podcast: Wakanda Forever"

Excellent Scripted Series Podcast 
"Yes, We Grow Cannabis."

Excellent Podcast for Sports, Arts, and Entertainment
"This Is The Thing"

Excellent Podcast about Society and Culture
"The 85 South Show with Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly, and Chico Bean" advertisement

Excellent Podcast on Lifestyle and Self-Help
"Money Tree in Black"