Videos

Fonzi Thornton accepts the Icon Award on behalf of Luther Vandross accepts the Icon Award from Billboard’s Editorial Director Hannah Karp at Billboard’s R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2024.

Hannah Karp:

For our first award, I want to salute an R&B icon, a late legend whose first six albums all reached number one on the Top R&B Hip Hop Albums Chart. He racked up eight number one albums over the course of his career, and he also co-produced Aretha Franklin’s seven week No. 1 R&B album ‘Jump To It,’ and he’s the subject of a wonderful new documentary that will stream wide next year. Of course, Luther Vandross is no longer with us, but I am so happy that we have his best friend, Fonzie Thornton, a singer and a board member of the Luther Vandross estate to accept the Icon Award for Luther tonight. Welcome Fonzi.

Fonzi Thornton:
How’s everybody this evening? It is such an honor for me to be here tonight and accept this prestigious award for Luther Vandross, who I have known since I was 14 years old. So I just want to congratulate Luther, his family, the Vandross estate, all of his singers, his musicians, his record company, thank you all for honoring my friend.

Lucky Daye accepts the Torchbearer award at Billboard’s R&B No.1s 2024 party.

Carl Lamarre:

What it do y’all, can I get a yeah are? Oh, I love that. I love that. I love that. So I’m here to present the next award to a brother of mine, a perennial king in love-making ballads and pillow talk confessions. Lucky Daye has become the new age blueprint in R&B. Women swoon, because when this brother croon it’s just smooth like butter. After his 2019 breakthrough with “Painted,” Lucky Daye put the world on notice and let them know that New Orleans isn’t just a home of Frank Ocean, but another R&B superstar capable of driving the genre forward. By aligning himself with D’Mile early in his career, Lucky became a risk taker, stretching the boundaries of his creativity, as proven by his new album ‘Algorithm.’ His versatility remains unmatched there, as he tap dances through various soundscapes with relative ease. Ultimately, the R&B gods rewarded him for his efforts, as he earned his first No. 1 on R&B Adult this year as a lead artist with “That’s You.” From songwriter to Grammy award winner, Lucky Daye is one of the reasons why R&B will continue to shine for years to come. So without further ado, Billboard would like to present this year’s Torchbearer award, to Lucky Daye.

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Tyla accepts the Global Impact award at Billboard’s R&B No.1s 2024 party. 

Heran Mamo:

My name is Heran Mamo. I am the Senior R&B, Hip-Hop and Afrobeats writer here at Billboard. Those who know me know that uplifting other African women gives me one of the greatest joys in this job. So I’m really honored to be presenting our next award this evening. For years, she dreamed of becoming Africa’s first pop star. Now she’s taken over the world with her signature Papiano sound, performing her pop infused take on her native South Africa’s Amapiano in the U.S., France, Portugal, Japan, South Korea and more. Last summer, she made a major splash with “Water,” earning her first Hot 100 Top 10 hit, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on mainstream R&B Hip Hop Airplay, spending 46 weeks and counting, at No. 1 on our US Afrobeats Songs chart, and winning the inaugural Best African Music Performance Grammy award earlier this year. She successfully transformed “Africa’s the world” from a motto to her mission. Please join me in a round of applause for Billboard’s Global Force Honoree, Tyla.

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Usher accepts the R&B Entertainer of the Year award at Billboard’s R&B No.1s 2024 party. 

Hannah Karp:

So it would not be a number one’s party without Usher. He is still breaking records as R&B’s biggest and brightest star three decades into his career, and after landing his 16th No. 1 on our R&B Hip Hop Airplay chart in November, he has way more number ones on that chart than any other artist in the charts 32 year history. Then as if that wasn’t enough, he wrapped up his game changing residency in Las Vegas in December, 100 sold out shows produced in partnership with the creative forces behind the box this very special venue that we’re in tonight, and in February, he headlined a little event called the Super Bowl Halftime Show, dazzling a record shattering 130 million viewers and catapulting his 2004 hit. “Yeah!” back to our Hot 100 Singles Chart. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for our Entertainer of the Year Usher.

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