2018 marks an end of an era. After 35 years in the game as a solo artist, Anita Baker is hanging up her mic and retiring from music for good. As the songstress is traveling nationwide on her final tour, she took a break last night (June 25) and attended the 2018 BET Awards where she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the network. The eight-time Grammy winner was honored with performances by 2018 BET Awards host, Jamie Foxx, R&B singers Ledisi, Marsha Ambrosius, and gospel extraordinaire Yolanda Adams, whose rendition of Baker's classic "You Bring Me Joy," left the 60-year-old in tears as she watched from the audience. After being presented with her award by Tyler Perry, Baker encouraged all of the artists in the room to continue and hone their craft as well as reaching out to older artists for mentorship. "I would ask that the music be allowed to play, that singers are allowed to sing, and rappers are allowed to rap, and poets are allowed to rhyme," she said. She went on to thank people who were instrumental to her career, including Tom Joyner, former BET programming president, Stephen Hill. After taking the rest of June off, Baker will resume touring in July starting with St. Louis, MO on July 21. You can get tickets to that show, as well as view her full itinerary here. In the meantime, check out the tribute below. Watch Jamie Foxx perform "Same Ole Love (365 Days)," "My Angel" & "Giving You The Best That I Got." Watch Yolanda Adams perform "You Bring Me Joy." Watch Ledisi perform "Sweet Love" Watch Marsha Ambrosius perform "Caught Up in the Rapture"<doc-sep>Jamie Foxx's BET Awards hosting stint was full of surprises. The actor/singer's roller coaster of an appearance at Sunday night's ceremony had its highs, like when he reminded the crowd of his golden singing voice during a tribute to Anita Baker. But more often than not, Foxx's moments of surprise were embarrassing for everyone involved, especially when he pulled audience members onstage to participate in bits they probably were not expecting. One victim of Foxx's guerilla hosting strategy was Donald Glover, who seemed as surprised as everyone else when Foxx called the "This Is America" singer to the stage. “That song should not be joked about,” Foxx said, going off-script to recite the lyrics and breaking into a few of the dance moves from the song's provocative video. Calling Glover a "true artist," Foxx implored Glover to join him onstage, saying, "I wanna acknowledge you." More:All the winners at Sunday night's BET Awards 2018 Watch:Meek Mill, Miguel debut powerful song 'Stay Woke' about race, incarceration at BET Awards Things got cringeworthy once Glover, who seemed unaware that Foxx would be calling for his participation, took the stage, performing a few lines from "This Is America" before admitting, "I really was not expecting to get up here." Twitter users, unenthused by the seemingly surprise bit, compared Foxx cajoling Glover into performing with "your mama saying 'show us that little dance you be doing.' " Foxx also had some words about Glover's BET Awards attire, which he described onstage as "pajamas." "(You) just rolled out of bed," Foxx cracked, adding to the uncomfortable scene. "That’s how you know you’re rich: get out of bed with your pajamas on and come to the BET Awards.” Before that, Foxx opened the show with a monologue almost entirely focused on "Black Panther," drawing cheers from the crowd for his praise — and an uncomfortable silence when he complimented the movie's "real accents." "We don't need a president right now, because we got our king, King T'Challa," he said. "Ryan Coogler gave us our king." Foxx closed his monologue by recruiting another audience member to join him, picking out Michael B. Jordan in the audience and bringing him onstage to read one "Black Panther" line, which Foxx called "so significant for today, right now." Jordan played along with his surprise onstage appearance, approaching the mic and reciting his character Erik Killmonger's final line of the movie. "Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, because they knew death was better than bondage," Jordan said. Beyond a few other bits that fell flat, including one appearance in his bathrobe, Foxx won over the crowd with his tribute to Anita Baker, who was honored with the show's lifetime achievement award. After kicking off the tribute by showing off his falsetto, he handed over the reins to Ledisi, Marsha Ambrosius and Yolanda Adams to finish the medley of Baker's classic songs. “I need some ladies to do this with me," Foxx said, bringing the women onstage. Foxx's performance gained largely positive reviews on social media, reminding viewers that, yes, he really can sing. So how'd he do? Overall, Foxx's performance gained mixed reviews, with many viewers expressing embarrassment on social media throughout the show. "Jamie Foxx is an amazing entertainer. Comedian, sAnger (not just a singer), actor, musician. He can do it all," #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign wrote. "So his hosting tonight is...disappointing. Because I know he’s better than this." If you love television and love talking about it even more, USA TODAY Life’s Yes, I'm Still Watching is here for you. Join our Facebook group to discuss all things TV with our critic Kelly Lawler. https://www.facebook.com/groups/yesimstillwatching/<doc-sep>Anita Baker is an iconic singer-songwriter, and she was honored tonight at the BET Awards with the Lifetime Achievement Award! Here’s everything you need to know about the ‘Angel’ singer. Anita Baker, 60, has had a long career as a singer, beginning her career in the ’70s as part of the group Chapter 8, and then going solo in the mid-’80s! The singer received BET’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the June 24 show and Tyler Perry gave her a wonderful introduction, detailing the hardships and heartbreak Anita endured throughout her long career. Then, the evening’s host Jamie Foxx honored her with a stunning tribute at the piano, and Marsha Ambrosius blew everyone away singing Anita’s “Caught Up In The Rapture,” and Yolanda Adams sang her “You Bring Me Joy.” This woman has a long resume you won’t even believe, and you can learn all you need to know here! 1. Anita toured with Chapter 8 in 1975. She joined the group and was featured on their first album Chapter 8, and she sang “Ready for Your Love,” with bandmate Gerald Lyles, and led the vocals on “I Just Want to Be Your Girl.” However, once the band was dropped from their label, they were convinced Anita didn’t have “star power” and fired her as their lead singer. 2. Anita was waitressing when a record label approached her to go solo. After she was dropped by Chapter 8, Anita returned to Detroit to be a waitress. Former Ariola associate Otis Smith located her and convinced her to start a solo career under his Beverly Glen label. However, after she released her first album Songstress under the label, she revealed she didn’t receive any royalties from her work, even though the album was met with rave reviews. She was sued by Smith for breach of contract in 1985, but won the case against him and was able to record with other labels. 3. Anita appeared on Frank Sinatra’s Duets album. The singer worked with Frank on the song “Witchcraft” on his first Duets album, in 1993. The collaboration convinced her to finally return with her third album, Rhythm Of Love, in 1994. The album featured “Body And Soul,” which was her first Top 40 hit since 1989! 4. Anita came out of retirement in 2018. Anita announced she was going into retirment in January 2017, but then on New Years Day 2018, she revealed she was going to do a “Farewell Concert Series.” 5. Anita is a mother to two children. The musical legend was married to Walter Bridgeforth, Jr. on December 24, 1988, but they separated in 2005 and were divorced in 2007. The pair had two children, Walter Baker Bridgeforth, born January 1993, and Edward Carlton Bridgeforth, born May 1994. Anita’s son Walter is currently pursuing a degree in Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston.<doc-sep>
Anita Baker’s celebrity fans gave us the best that they’ve got, when they took the stage at the 2018 BET Awards on June 24 to pay tribute to her by singing a number of her classic songs. Eight-time Grammy-winning R&B legend Anita Baker, 60, was presented with BET’s Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2018 ceremony on Sunday, June 24, and we couldn’t be more happy for her! Anita is considered a trailblazer in soul and R&B, with her songs, “Giving You the Best That I Got” and “Sweet Love”, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, so the recognition she received at this year’s BET Awards is very well deserved. Before winning her award, however, Jamie Foxx, Yolanda Adams, and more stars took the stage to sing a number of Anita’s greatest hits as a way to pay tribute to her. So cool, right? Jamie started the tribute with a tune on the piano, as Anita cheered him on from the audience. Then, Marsha Ambriosius, Ledisi and Yolanda Adams followed with more songs from Anita’s illustrious career and she loved every minute of it. As did we! To watch the full performance, play the video below. Along with Anita, BET also honored six humanitarian heroes for their bravery this year. James Shaw Jr., who disarmed a gunman at a Nashville Waffle House and was also honored at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, 11-year-old March for Our Lives speaker Naomi Wadler, National Student Walk-Out Day participant Justin Blackman, journalist Shaun King, Parkland survivor Anthony Borges, and Mamoudou Gassama, who saved a 4-year-old who was dangling from a building. Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include New Edition, Whitney Houston, Prince, James Brown, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and more!