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The iconic celebration of R&B and soul is coming home. BET is bringing the Soul Train Awards back in 2026, with this year’s ceremony set to be recorded in Chicago — the city where Don Cornelius first launched Soul Train more than five decades ago.
THE WORD
- The Soul Train Awards are officially returning in 2026 after the ceremony last aired in 2023.
- This year’s show will be pre-recorded in Chicago, where Don Cornelius launched the original Soul Train television program in 1971.
- The awards will air November 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS, marking the ceremony’s first CBS broadcast.
- BET says the awards are being “reimagined” with a new format celebrating both the legends who shaped R&B and soul and the artists carrying the music forward.
- Performers, honorees and host details have not yet been announced.
- Spotify has joined as the exclusive music streaming partner, while Toyota is an automotive partner for the ceremony.
SOUL TRAIN IS COMING HOME TO CHICAGO
One of Black music’s most recognizable institutions is getting another chapter — and Chicago will be at the center of it.
The Soul Train Awards will return this November after a three-year break, with BET bringing the ceremony back to the city where the larger Soul Train legacy began.
According to Variety, the 2026 Soul Train Awards will be pre-recorded in Chicago before airing November 27 on BET and CBS. Additional Paramount Skydance networks are also expected to carry the program.
For Chicago, the location is much more than another award show coming to town.
Chicago native Don Cornelius created Soul Train in the city in 1971, initially airing the music-and-dance program locally on WCIU before it grew into a nationally syndicated cultural institution. The show became a destination for generations of Black artists while helping bring R&B, soul, funk, dance and Black style into homes across America.
More than 50 years later, BET is deliberately reconnecting the awards with those roots.
“As a Chicago native, I’m proud to bring the ‘Soul Train Awards’ back to the city where it all originated.”
BET president Louis Carr made the statement while discussing the awards’ return, according to theGrio.
Carr said the return is about bringing the community together around the culture while connecting the artists who helped build the sound with the generation carrying it forward.
A NEW ERA FOR THE SOUL TRAIN AWARDS
This won’t simply be a revival of the previous version of the awards.
BET executive vice president Connie Orlando told Variety that the Soul Train Awards are being “reimagined” with a “bold new format.” The network plans to honor artists who helped shape R&B and soul while also putting a spotlight on where the genres are headed next.
BET’s announcement describes the upcoming ceremony as a celebration connecting the people who defined the sound with today’s artists continuing its evolution.
The official Soul Train/BET Instagram announcement leaned directly into the Chicago connection, declaring:
“We are bringing Love, Peace and Soul back where it all started, Chicago!”
The network has not yet revealed the performers, honorees or host, with those announcements expected in the coming weeks.
THE AWARDS ARE BACK AFTER A THREE-YEAR BREAK
The last Soul Train Awards took place in 2023 with Keke Palmer as host.
In 2025, BET confirmed that both the Soul Train Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards had been suspended. At the time, former BET CEO Scott Mills characterized the move as a suspension rather than necessarily the permanent end of the franchises.
Now, Soul Train is officially back.
This year’s return also expands the ceremony’s television reach. In addition to BET, the awards will make their CBS debut, while VH1, MTV2, Logo and BET Her are also expected to carry the program, according to theGrio.
Spotify is joining the return as the show’s exclusive music streaming partner, while Toyota is serving as an automotive partner.
The biggest question now is who will take the stage.
With the ceremony coming back after three years and returning to the birthplace of Soul Train, the performers and honorees could determine just how deeply BET connects the show’s history with today’s generation of R&B and soul.
But bringing Soul Train back to Chicago already gives the comeback a full-circle moment.
The train is rolling again — and this time, it’s headed home.
