The 2015 BET Awards is one for the books. Viewers got to witness everyone from Smokey Robinson to Fetty Wap perform on the same stage, and our industry’s favorite artists came out to celebrate the award show’s 15th year anniversary. Hosts Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson kept the crowd laughing as BET honored artist for their talent and strides made in music and television this year.

To open up the show, west coast leader Kendrick Lamar performed “Alright” from his critically acclaimed album To Pimp A Butterfly. The empowering lyricist spit the fiery bars on top of police cars, as his dancers waved American Flags to signify that as Americans, ‘we gon’ be alright.’ The entire audience, including BET CEO Debrah Lee, awarded Kendrick with a standing ovation, rightfully so.

The 1st BET Award of the night went to Empire star Terrence Howard for Best Male Actor for his role as Lucious Lyon. Season 2 of Empire can’t come soon enough!

To keep the music going, Jidenna and Janelle Monae performed their respective hits “Yoga” and “Classic Man,” making a huge statement with their distinctive, yet original style. Jidenna, who is fairly new to the scene, was sure to leave the audience with a lasting impression as he paid homage to the Civil Rights movement, proving that all men are classic men in their own right.  As always, Janelle delivered dance moves  to “Yoga” in a performance that showed her stage skills in a new light.

The next award given out was for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist where none other than Nicki Minaj took the crown. The superstar accepted the award with her mom in town, getting the Barbz excited at home. Right after that, K. Dot was awarded the Best Male Hip-Hop/R&B Artist and told the LA crowd, “I did it for Compton and Watts.”

Before Omarion hit the stage with Breezy for “Post To Be,” Tyga and Chris performed “Ayo,” one of their many big hits. The trio did nothing short of impress and left the crowd wanting more. Afterwards, The Weeknd came out to perform “The Hills,” which he recently released visuals for, and then closed it out with “Earned It” featuring a surprise appearance from Mrs. Alicia Keys, who assisted on the piano and the vocals. The Weeknd was thankful, beyond words.

Sam Smith, the “Stay With Me” crooner, took home the Best New Artist award, which was hilariously accepted by Anthony Anderson in his honor.