Diva’s Daily Dirt: BET Awards 2026 Lineup, New Grammys, CB Mistrial

Grammys Add New Categories Ahead Of 2027

Dominique Da Diva says award season is already shaking things up, starting with major changes at the Grammys. The Recording Academy has updated its rules again for 2027 and is adding new categories across Latin, Asian pop and R&B genres, along with key tweaks to Best New Artist and album categories. Best New Artist, which she calls the most controversial award, now tightens its definition of “new,” with eligibility tied to a shorter window of recent breakout activity, roughly within the last few years.

Dominique jokes that she feels these shifts are happening “because of Beyoncé,” especially after the Academy introduced a traditional country category following her Cowboy Carter era. She says it looks like the queen has them moving different and urges listeners to read up on the rest of the rule changes if they care about how nominations are decided.

BET Awards 2026: Full Lineup And Host Announced

Dominique admits most of us in the culture are really locked in on the BET Awards, which are coming up the weekend after next. Culture’s biggest night goes down Sunday, June 28, live from the Peacock Theater, with Drewski hosting for the first time. He also becomes the youngest comedian ever to host the BET Awards, adding a new-school energy to the show.

The performance lineup is stacked. Cardi B leads the bill and Dominique says Cardi always delivers a great show. Other performers include Doechii, Don Toliver (in what Dominique believes is his first BET Awards performance), Kaliii, Tems, Rick Ross, T.I., Common, Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, The War and Treaty and R&B singer K.W., whom she openly crushes on. MC Lyte returns as the show’s announcer, and fans are expecting a special on-stage reunion from French Montana and Max B now that Max Biggavelli is out and slated to hit the BET stage.

Dominique loves how big the celebration looks but wonders how viewers feel about the show giving away fewer awards on TV in exchange for more performances. She invites listeners to weigh in on whether they prefer longer performance blocks or seeing more categories actually handed out on air.

Chris Brown’s $90 Million Dog Attack Case Declared A Mistrial

To wrap up, Dominique updates listeners on Chris Brown’s high-profile $90 million lawsuit filed by his former housekeeper. The woman alleged she suffered serious injuries after a dog attack on his property, and the case was scheduled to go to trial. However, the judge declared a mistrial before it really got underway.

According to Dominique’s recap, a juror allegedly Googled information about the case before proceedings began and then shared those findings with other jurors. That misconduct immediately halted the trial and sent everyone home before lawyers could even present the dispute to the jury. Dominique says Chris Brown looked unbothered walking out and simply said these things happen. With Breezy set to head out on tour with Usher in just a few days, she suggests his focus seems to be on the road, not the courtroom. She notes he has been telling fans he is working hard and plans to be shirtless on tour, which she proudly claims she requested in his comments after Breezy Bowl. For more award season news and legal updates, Dominique directs listeners to dominiquethedivashow.com.