The 2025 NAACP Image Awards wrapped the two-night pre-awards show on Thursday, unveiling the second round of winners in the non-televised awards categories. The two-night virtual event, Hosted by Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and Marcus Tanksley, aired exclusively on the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel, inviting fans to experience two nights of culture, comedy and a celebration of Black achievement and excellence.
The NAACP unveiled dozens of awards, the winners of which were announced before the televised ceremony. Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter,” which won Album of the Year at the Grammys on Feb. 2, took home the award for outstanding female artist and outstanding album for “Cowboy Carter” during the virtual, non-televised ceremony for the awards. This marks Beyoncé's fourth win, tying with Whitney Houston for the most NAACP Image Awards in the show’s history. She was also nominated for outstanding soul/R&B song for her single “16 Carriages”
“Shining, Shining” like her Mother “Queen Bey,” one notable second-generation star appeared at the NAACP Image Awards nomination. Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé's 13-year-old daughter, won Outstanding Character Voice Performance in a Motion Picture for the role of Princess Kiara in “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
In a behind-the-scenes clip released during a pre-production set, Carter spoke about working on the film, with excitement, “This is just a great experience for me and I’m really happy for girls that look like me, all around the world, to watch this movie and hear and see themselves in it,” Carter said.
Musical Icon Chris Brown is having a banner year leading to the 20th Anniversary of his self-titled debut album “Chris Brown.” He won Outstanding Male Artist for the fourth time and tied with Usher for second place among all winners in this category.
Still, Luther Vandross leads the Outstanding Male Artist with seven wins. Vandross’s legacy continues after he won Outstanding Documentary in Motion Pictures for “Luther: Never Too Much.” Chris Brown’s “11:11 (Deluxe)” won a Grammy for Best R&B Album of the Year on Feb. 2 and won two additional awards at this year’s NAACP Image Awards. Brown’s “Residuals” won an Outstanding Soul/R&B song. “Hmmm,” featuring Davido, for International song.
It’s been a trailblazing year for hip-hop, starring pgLang’s Kendrick Lamar and the latest addition to the Top Dawg Entertainment, Doechii. Lamar’s West Coast banger “Not Like Us” won five Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year. Fresh off his Super Bowl 59 performance, he attracted an audience of over 133 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show on record. Lamar won Outstanding Hip-hop/Rap Song and Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album.
TDE’s rap princess, Doechii, is adding new hardware to her collection, winning Outstanding New Artist. This marks the sixth consecutive year that the NAACP winner in this category has been nominated for the Grammy for Best New Artist. Earlier this month, the Tampa native took home Best Rap Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards, for her breakthrough mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”
You can find the complete list of winners from night two of the 2025 NAACP Image Awards virtual telecast below:
Outstanding New Artist
Doechii - (Capitol Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)
Outstanding Male Artist
Chris Brown - (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé - (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
Outstanding International Song
“Hmmm” - Chris Brown feat. Davido (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Outstanding Jazz Album
“Portrait” - Samara Joy (Verve Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
“Working For Me” - Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“Live Breathe Fight” - Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Adam Blackstone & Fantasia - “Summertime” (BASSic Black Entertainment Records/Anderson Music Group/EMPIRE)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz - “Piece of My Heart” (RCA Records/Sony Music International/Starboy Entertainment)
Outstanding Original Score for Television/Film
“Star Wars: The Acolyte (Original Soundtrack)” - (Walt Disney Records)
Outstanding Song - Hip-Hop/Rap Song
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar (pgLang, under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
Outstanding Album
“Cowboy Carter” - Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)
Outstanding Podcast - Limited Series/Short Form
“Stranded” - (Broadway Video and Audible)
Outstanding Podcast - News and Information
“Native Land Pod” - (iHeartPodcasts, Reasoned Choice Media)
Outstanding Podcast - Lifestyle/Self-Help
“We Don’t Always Agree with Ryan & Sterling” - (ABF Creative & Indian Meadows Production)
Outstanding Costume Design (Television or Motion Picture)
“Wicked” - Paul Tazewell (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Hair Styling (Television or Motion Picture)
“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” - Lawrence Davis (Peacock)
Outstanding Make-up (Television or Motion Picture)
“Shirley” - Debi Young (Netflix)
Outstanding Stunt Ensemble
“Rebel Ridge” - Keith Woulard, Nico Woulard (Netflix)
Outstanding International Motion Picture
“Emilia Pérez” - (Netflix)
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Motion Picture)
Blue Ivy Carter - “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture)
Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Dawn Porter - “Luther: Never Too Much” (Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Music Publishing/CNN Films)
Outstanding Cinematography in a Motion Picture
Jomo Fray - “Nickel Boys” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
Malcolm Washington - “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Ebony Obsidian - “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix)
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
“The Six Triple Eight” - (Netflix)