Enter to Win Tickets to the 2009 Soul Train Awards

It's good to have goals, and Black Entertainment Television has some lofty ones for Centric, an update of their BET J channel which launched on September 28. "We want to be the Motown of television," says BET J (formerly BET Jazz) executive vice president and general manager Paxton Baker. "Motown was rooted in black culture, but crossed over to people who just loved good music and appreciated the current beat of the day. We want to appeal to [not just] urban America, but the youthful spirit in all of us. We're looking to be that refreshing place on the television screen."

Centric, the latest offering under the BET Networks umbrella, and also a partnership with MTV Networks, is a 24-hour entertainment channel featuring originals, movies, music and reality programming that reflects the lifestyle and sophistication of today's African-American and multicultural adult viewer. Its compelling content infuses a unique mix of music, culture and style that embody the lives, tastes, and aspirations of the Centric viewer: All You. All Day. All Night. Baker says the network is poised to deliver an extraordinary slate of programming that will appeal to a broad spectrum of television viewers.

"We're starting with programming that rated specifically with our demo: Run's House, [The] Salt-N-Pepa [Show], I Want to Work for Diddy and American Gangster, which was on BET," notes Baker. "Plus, we have programs that are transitioning over from BET J: Real Life Divas, Leading Men and Urban Living."

Perhaps one of the channel's biggest coups is reviving the Soul Train Music Awards, which have been off the air for the past two years. Centric will tape the ceremony in early November in Atlanta and air the awards on Sunday, November 29.

"We designed the set of the awards based on the set of the original Soul Train show," says Baker. "The theme of the show is 'Where the Present and the Future Celebrate the Past.' It's a dance show, so there's opportunities for people sitting in the audience to actually dance. We're trying to make it the coolest award show to attend."

One of the highlights of the rejuvenated awards will be the honoring of a number of iconic individuals and entities who have made a lasting mark on urban music, including LaFace Records, Motown Records, vocalist Chaka Khan and Gap Band frontman and renowned solo artist Charlie Wilson, whose last single, "There Goes My Baby" (from his album Uncle Charlie), has been Top 10 since its February release.

"It's wonderful to be honored for anything," says Wilson. "Soul Train was the Holy Grail for R&B/black pop music. You looked to Soul Train for the fashion and the music. And to learn how to read from the Scramble Board." In addition to the Soul Train Music Awards, Centric has obtained the rights to rebroadcast a number of classic episodes of the Don Cornelius-hosted program, which ran from 1971-2006.

"We're real excited about Soul Train," confirms Baker. "There were 1,100 episodes of the original and there were a substantial number that we licensed. We've got a number of shows that Michael Jackson actually was in." Although there will be a certain amount of reality programming on Centric, Baker notes that the primary focus of the network will ultimately be on music.

"We have a solid fare of programs that have been on J, and we're creating new music shows," reveals Baker. "It's a music-infused lifestyle channel. We have documentaries and biographies of musicians, concert shows and music video shows. We will be playing more music than any other channel on the air. Music is the heart of the channel."

Enter below to win two tickets to the 2009 Soul Train Awards. Prize includes 2 tickets to the show, round trip airfare and night hotel accomodations. Contest ends on October 15, 2009. No purchase necessary.

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