1 / 52

And The Nominees Are... - Just in, we've got the nominations for the 2012 Soul Train Awards. The 52 hopefuls up for awards have pushed the musical envelope this year. Here's a snapshot of the nominees and the awards they stand to win. (Photos from left: Joe Raedle/Getty Images, Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Heineken, Karl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella)

2 / 52

Elle Varner - The sultry soul songstress is up for a Best New Artist nomination after making waves with her debut LP, Perfectly Imperfect.  (Photo: John Ricard / BET)

3 / 52

J. Cole - This year was huge for J. Cole, who topped the charts with his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story. The rapper-producer can add Soul Train Awards' Best New Artist nod to numerous nominations he received in 2012.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

4 / 52

Luke James - After writing songs for pop music heavyweights like Chris Brown and Justin Bieber, this Best New Artist nom created his own buzz with a free pre-album download.   (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)

5 / 52

Robert Glasper - This genre-defying pianist broke musical barriers seamlessly melding jazz and hip hop on his Black Radio disc, which featured rap luminaries such as Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) anf Lupe Fiasco. Glasper is up for Best New Artist and Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group. (Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

6 / 52

Daley - British soul singer Daley, after blowing fans away with his song "Alone Together," is hoping for a great year at the Soul Train Awards with nominations for Centric Award and Best Performance. (Photo: Facebook)

7 / 52

Esperanza Spalding - Jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding has garnered the admiration of the music world and President Obama. This year she'll be looking to take home both Centric and Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group awards. (Photo: Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

Photo By Photo: Margaret Nor

8 / 52

Gary Clark Jr. - Proclaimed the savior of the blues, Gary Clark Jr., on the strength of his 2011 EP Bright Lights, is hoping to snag the Centric award. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images For BET)

9 / 52

Leah LaBelle - With her hot single "Sexify," produced by Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri, Leah Labelle is honored with a nomination for a Centric Award.  (Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images For BET)

10 / 52

Santigold - Nominated for the Centric Award, visionary pop singer-songwriter Santigold wowed critics with her forward-thinking LP Master of My Make-Believe. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

11 / 52

Emeli Sandé - As a songwriter, this Scotland-raised chanteuse has been the UK's best kept secret. Now Sandé snatches the spotlight with her critically-acclaimed album Our Version of Events... and nods for Best New Artist and Best International Performance. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)

12 / 52

BeBe Winans - Singer BeBe Winans' patriotic nod with the tune "America America" earns him a nomination for Best Gospel/Inspiration Performance.  (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

Photo By Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET

13 / 52

Fred Hammond  - Offering the Stevie Wonder-inspired track "I Feel Good," Hammond hopes to win the Best Gospel/Inspiration Performance. (Photo: Earl E. Gibson III/BET)

14 / 52

Marvin Sapp  - Gospel veteran Marvin Sapp continued to inspire listeners with his hit "My Testimony," gaining him a nomination for Best Gospel/Inspiration Performance. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

15 / 52

Mary Mary  - This sister duo, who are nominated for Best Gospel/Inspiration Performance, rolled out their roof-raising hit "Go Get It" via their self-titled reality TV series.  (Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Gospel Music Association)

16 / 52

Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks    - For the Sparkle soundtrack, pop queen Whitney Houston traded vocals with Jordin Sparks on the R. Kelly-produced cut "Celebrate." Together they are both nominated for Best Gospel/Inspiration Performance. (Photo: Tristar Films)

17 / 52

2 Chainz  - Trading verses with Drake on the smash "No Lie," 2 Chainz continued to prove why he's the next big thing in hip hop, garnering a nod at the Soul Train Awards for Best Hip Hop Song of the Year. (Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

18 / 52

Wale  - For flexing his lover man virtues on the "Lotus Flower Bomb," Wale's smooth hit is nominated for both Best Hip Hop Song of the Year and Song of the Year. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

19 / 52

Nas  - Life is truly good for hip hop music veteran Nas, who picked up nods for Best Hip Hop Song, Album of the Year and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award.  (Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Heineken)

20 / 52

Kanye West - Kanye rocked 2012 with collaborations like his mega-hit Watch the Throne LP with Jay-Z. His hit street anthem "Mercy," featuring hip hop upstarts like Big Sean and 2 Chainz, gained him a nod at this year's Soul Train Awards for Best Hip Hop Song of the year. (Photo: Adrienne Battistella/PictureGroup)

21 / 52

Young Jeezy   - Thugs need love too, as Young Jeezy (teaming with Ne-Yo) makes plain on "Leave You Alone," for which he is nominated at the Soul Train Awards for Best Hip Hop Song of the year.   (Photo: Chris McKay/Getty Images)

22 / 52

Beyoncé - What else can be said about this pop icon, mom, wife, actress and music power player who, for over a decade, continues to hold sway over the pop-R&B landscape...except, once again, she's nominated for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist and Best Dance Performance.  (Photo: AP Photo/Parkwood Entertainment, Cliff Watts)

23 / 52

Estelle - Estelle's vibrant crooning on her latest LP All of Me earned her nods at this year's STAs for Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award, Song of the Year and Best Performance. (Photo: Andy Kropa/Getty Images)

24 / 52

Keyshia Cole - The Princess of hip hop soul is looking to win Best Female R&B/Soul Artist at the Soul Train Awards.(Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

25 / 52

Mary J. Blige  - This year marked the 20th anniversary of the queen of hip hop soul's debut...and she still reigns as heavily, grabbing yet another nomination for Best Female R&B/Soul Artist.  (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

26 / 52

Melanie Fiona  - The R&B newcomer captivated listeners with her latest album, The MF Life, and snagged herself a Best Female R&B/Soul Artist nomination.(Photo: John Ricard/BET)

27 / 52

Miguel  - Hip hop soul singer Miguel's smooth crooning on the hook for Wale's hit ballad "Lotus Flower Bomb" earned him a nomination for Best R&B/Soul Male Artist.  (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy)

Photo By Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy

28 / 52

Robin Thicke  - The soul singer's falsetto-laced hit LP Love After War earned him a Best R&B/Soul Male Artist nomination. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

29 / 52

Trey Songz  - With the splash of his Inevitable, the often-shirtless stage crooner hopes to win Best R&B/Soul Male Artist at the Soul Train Awards.  (Photo: Moses Robinson/Getty Images for Heineken)

30 / 52

John Legend - At this year's Soul Train Awards, John Legend is up for two nominations: Song of the Year — for "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" — and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award.  (Photo: John Ricard / BET)

31 / 52

Usher  - This year, the R&B icon released his latest album Looking 4 Myself. At the Soul Train Awards, he'll be looking to win in several categories: Best R&B/Soul Male Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award and Best Dance Performance.  (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images For Polk)

32 / 52

R. Kelly  - Mr. Kelly's magic musical touch continued with the release of his disc Write Me Back. The soul icon is nominated for both Album of the Year and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award. (Photo: Donna Ward/Getty Images for Arise Made in Africa)

Photo By Photo: Donna Ward/Getty Images for Arise

33 / 52

Chris Brown  - Because of his incredible foot work in the video for the single "Turn Up the Music," Chris Brown gets a nod for Best Dance Performance.  (Photo: FameFlynet)

34 / 52

Nicki Minaj  - The neon color-clothed hip hop princess wiggled and jiggled her way through the clip for "Starships," earning herself a nomination for Best Dance Performance.   (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

35 / 52

Rihanna  - The dance skills Rihanna displayed in the video for "Where Have You Been" has her hoping for a win in the Best Dance Performance category.   (Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

36 / 52

Tyrese - After a five year hiatus from music making, the singer and actor returned to R&B with his LP Open Invitation. Now he is looking to snag the Best R&B/Soul Male Artist trophy.  (Photo:  Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

37 / 52

Damian "Junior Gong" Marley  - With the success of his SuperHeavy album, the Marley son gets a nod for Best Caribbean Performance.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

38 / 52

Jimmy Cliff  - After an eight-year break from music making, the reggae legend returned with his critically hailed album Rebirth. Cliff picks up a nomination for Best Caribbean Performance.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

39 / 52

Matisyahu  - The Jewish reggae sensation will come to the Soul Train Awards hoping to win in the Best Caribbean Performance category.  (Photo: David Becker/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: David Becker/Getty Images

40 / 52

Sean Paul  - Sean Paul's latest hit disc, Tomahawk Technique, snags him a nod for Best Caribbean Performance.  (Photo: Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

41 / 52

Amy Winehouse - The late chanteuse gets a Best Performance nomination for her remake of Ruby & the Romantics' 1963 hit "Our Day Will Come." (Photo: Jo Hale/ Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Jo Hale/ Getty Images

42 / 52

Gotye  - Having wowed the pop world with the artsy video for his tune "Somebody (That I Used To Know)," Gotye gets a nod for Best performance at the Soul Train Awards. (Photo: Facebook)

43 / 52

Rebecca Ferguson   - The X Factor runner-up is nominated for the Soul Train Awards' Best Performance trophy.  (Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images

44 / 52

Chris Botti  - Trumpeter and composer Chris Botti crafted the hit jazz LP Impressions. The Soul Train Awards recognized the musician with a Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group nod.  (Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

45 / 52

Kenny Garrett  - Saxophonist and flautist Kenny Garrett will be at The Soul Train Awards hoping to snag the Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group award.  (Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images

46 / 52

Melody Gardot  - Jazz vocalist Melody Gardot is nominated for the Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group award after releasing her LP The Absence. (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

47 / 52

Tony Bennett  - Singing legend Tony Bennett earned a Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group nomination for his album Isn't It Romantic.  (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

48 / 52

Ben Tankard  - Keyboardist Ben Tankard got a Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group nomination following the release of his Full Tank album.  (Photo: Facebook)

Photo By Photo: Facebook

49 / 52

Brian Culbertson  - The funk-based jazz album DREAMS has earned Brian Culbertson a Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group nomination.  (Photo: Facebook)

Photo By Photo: Facebook

50 / 52

Cassandra Wilson  - With the critical acclaim of her disc Another Country, jazz singing veteran Cassandra Wilson garners a nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

51 / 52

Peter White - Jazz guitarist Peter White looks to win the Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group trophy for his album Here We Go.  (Photo: Facebook)

Photo By Photo: Facebook

52 / 52

Frank Ocean  - As a man who rocked hip hop and R&B as much with his personal bravery as he did with his breakout album, Channel Orange, Frank Ocean's debut snags an Album of the Year nod. (Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella)