By DERRIK J. LANG
It was a dreamy night for a couple of "Dreamgirls." Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson both glided away with trophies Thursday and wowed the audience with individual performances during the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards.
Beyonce, who opened the show with a wind-swept rendition of her song "Halo," won the female artist category while Hudson, who performed "The Impossible Dream" for President's Award recipient Muhammad Ali, picked up the new artist award. They costarred in the 2006 film "Dreamgirls."
"This is where we come from," Hudson said, accepting the trophy. "So it's always an honor to come home and feel welcome and to feel the love. I really cherish this and appreciate it."
Along with Beyonce and Hudson, will.i.am and Seal performed on stage at the Shrine Auditorium ceremony, which was hosted by actress Halle Berry and actor-screenwriter Tyler Perry. The show coincides with the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and kicks off a yearlong centennial celebration.
"The Secret Life of Bees" won for motion picture. "Grey's Anatomy" won for TV drama. Several of the winners were awarded before the live ceremony, including Chandra Wilson from "Grey's Anatomy" for actress in a drama series, Columbus Short from "Cadillac Records" for supporting actor in a motion picture and singer-actor Jamie Foxx for male artist.
Chris Brown, who's accused in a domestic dispute that reportedly involves pop superstar Rihanna, was up against Foxx with Common, John Legend and will.i.am for the male artist trophy. Rihanna was competing against Beyonce with Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carey for the female artist award. Neither Brown or Rihanna were in attendance.
Sean "Diddy" Combs picked up the TV movie actor trophy for his role in "A Raisin in the Sun." Other acting winners included Hill Harper for "CSI: NY," Tracee Ellis Ross for "Girlfriends," Taraji P. Henson for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and Will Smith and Rosario Dawson for "Seven Pounds."
The awards honor achievements and performances of people of color in TV, film, music and literature. Former Vice President Al Gore and Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai received the Chairman's Award. Boxing legend Ali won the President's Award. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was given the Vanguard Award.
"I discovered that giving made me happy," Simmons said during his acceptance speech alongside daughters Ming and Aoki, who precariously held up his trophy and counted down his remaining speech time. "As you get older, that's the easy route, so it's always been such an easy thing. It seems kinda crazy to be honored for it."
The inspirational evening was accented with praise and appreciation for President Barack Obama, who received the Chairman's Award in 2005 but was not in attendance at this year's glitzy star-studded ceremony. Smith and others used their time in the Image Awards spotlight to show their love for the newly elected president.
"This is a rare opportunity for me," said Smith. "I stand on this stage today after a dream that I've dreamed for a long time because we have an African-American president. As a child, my parents always told me you could be whatever you want to be. You can do whatever you want to do."
The ceremony ended with Stevie Wonder performing his 1976 song "Black Man," which has lyrics referencing historic figures such as Sacagawea and Matthew Henson. During the song, hosts Berry and Perry recited the name-dropping refrain and added another person at the end: Obama. The audience enthusiastically raised tiny American flags in response.
source : Assosiated press
Beyonce, Hudson win Image Awards
Britney? Beyonce? Who Is MTV News' Woman Of The Year? The Countdown Begins Today!
These are the ladies who have dominated the 2008 headlines — with more to come in the next few days.
Who was the biggest star of 2008? Who had the most impact on the year that was, who inspired the most headlines or generated the biggest amount of buzz? It's really tough to say ... yet, for decades now, plenty of magazines have been doing just that (we're looking at you, Time). And so, after years of sitting on the sidelines, we here at MTV News have decided to get in on the act too.
Over the next few days, we'll be unveiling our list of the most fascinating, controversial and, well, BRITNEY!!! women of the year. These are the artists, actors and pop-culture heavyweights who dominated the headlines here at MTVNews.com (and no, Sarah Palin didn't make the cut ... we'll leave that to the folks at Time).
Today, we present picks 10 to 6. On Tuesday, we'll reveal numbers 5 to 2. And then, on Thursday, we'll unveil our 2008 MTV News Woman of the Year. And, of course, we'd love to hear what you've got to say — we'll even publish some of the best comments later this week — so if you agree with us (or if you don't), let us know in the comments below.
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