The Weeknd, Bruno Mars lead Soul Train Awards nominations

The Weeknd, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson lead the nominees for the 2015 Soul Train Awards.

Taping in early November at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas — the pre-taped show will air Nov. 29 on Centric — the Weeknd, Mars and Ronson are tied with five nominations each. Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Jidenna and Tyrese follow, with each scoring four nods.

The Weeknd’s steamy BDSM anthem “Earned It” (lifted from the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack) will compete for video and song of the year as well as the songwriter’s award, which is named for iconic R&B-soul husband-and-wife duo Ashford & Simpson.

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The enigmatic alt-R&B singer born Abel Tesfaye is also up for album of the year for “Beauty Behind the Madness,” his first No. 1 album, and R&B/soul male artist.

Mars and Ronson’s funky summer jam “Uptown Funk” is also up for video and song of the year, the Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award (alongside J. Cole, Tyrese, Common and John Legend) as well as dance performance and collaboration.

Beyoncé’s viral “7/11,” Jidenna’s jubilant anthem “Classic Man” and Kendrick Lamar’s timely “Alright” round out the competition for video of the year, while Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” as well as Common and John Legend’s Oscar-winning “Selma” theme, “Glory,” also are up for song of the year.

Breakout acts Alessia Cara, Dej Loaf, Jidenna, Jussie Smollett and Tinashe will compete for new artist.

Like BET does with its annual awards spectacle, Soul Train has expanded beyond its telecast to include a weekend of events.

Set for Nov. 5-7 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino and Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Soul Train weekend kicks off with a Grammy Foundation entertainment panel session and a welcome party. A charity golf tournament and a concert headlined by R. Kelly, Babyface and Common also are scheduled.

Packages start at $800 and include the awards and concert. Individual tickets to the awards and concert are also on sale.

Full list of nominees below:

Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Dej Loaf
Jidenna
Jussie Smollett
Tinashe

Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Chris Brown
D’angelo
The Weeknd
Trey Songz
Tyrese

Centric Certified Award
Avant
Chrisette Michele
The Internet
Tyrese
Vivian Green

Video Of The Year
Beyoncé — “7/11”

Jidenna Ft. Roman Gianarthur — “Classic Man”
Kendrick Lamar — “Alright”
Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
The Weeknd — “Earned It” (From The “Fifty Shades Of Grey” soundtrack)

Best Gospel And/Or Inspirational Song
Erica Campbell — “More Love”
Fred Hammond Ft. Breeann Hammond — “I Will Trust”
Kirk Franklin — “Wanna Be Happy?”
Lecrae — “All I Need Is You”
Marvin Sapp — “Yes You Can”

Album Of The Year
Chris Brown — “X”
D’angelo And The Vanguard — “Black Messiah”
Jill Scott — “Woman”
The Weeknd — “Beauty Behind the Madness”
Tyrese — “Black Rose”

Best Hip-Hop Song Of The Year
Big Sean Ft. Drake & Kanye West — “Blessings”
Big Sean Ft. E-40 — “Idfwu”
Fetty Wap — “Trap Queen”
Kendrick Lamar — “Alright”
Nicki Minaj Ft. Drake & Lil Wayne — “Truffle Butter”

Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Beyoncé
Janelle Monáe
Janet Jackson
Jill Scott
Tamar Braxton

Song Of The Year
Common & John Legend — “Glory” (from the motion picture “Selma”)
Jidenna Ft. Roman Gianarthur — “Classic Man”
Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Rihanna — “Bitch Better Have My Money”
The Weeknd — “Earned It” (From The “Fifty Shades Of Grey” soundtrack)

The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award
“Glory” (from the motion picture “Selma”) — written by: Lonnie Rashid Lynn, John Roger Stephens and Che Smith (Common & John Legend)
“Apparently” — written by: Jermaine L. Cole, Damon Coleman, Filippo Trecca (J.Cole)
“Uptown Funk” — written by: Mark Ronson, Rudolph Taylor, Lonnie Simmons, Philip Martin Lawrence II, Peter Gene Hernandez, Jeffrey Nath Bhasker, Nicholaus Joseph Williams, Devon Christopher Gallaspy, Robert Lynn Wilson, Charles K. Wilson, Ronnie Wilson (Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars)
“Earned It” (from the “Fifty Shades Of Grey” soundtrack) — written by: Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Ahmad “Belly” Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Stephan Moccio (The Weeknd)
“Shame” — written by: Warryn S. Campbell Ii, Sam Dees, Tyrese Darnell Gibson, Ron Kersey, De Wayne Julius Rogers (Tyrese)

Best Dance Performance
Beyoncé — “7/11”
Chris Brown X Tyga — “Ayo”
Janelle Monáe & Jidenna — “Yoga”
Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Silento — “Watch Me” (“Whip/Nae Nae”)

Best Collaboration
Big Sean Ft. Drake & Kanye West — “Blessings”
Common & John Legend — “Glory” (from the motion picture “Selma”)
Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Nicki Minaj Ft. Beyoncé — “Feeling Myself”
Omarion Ft. Chris Brown & Jhené Aiko — “Post To Be”

For more music news follow me on Twitter: @gerrickkennedy

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