Drake, Rihanna and Beyonce lead BET awards

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DrakeImage source, Getty Images / BET

Drake has stormed the 2016 BET Awards nominations list with no fewer than nine nods.

Beyonce and Rihanna are in joint second place with five nominations each.

Bey and Ri-Ri are up against, K. Michelle, Andra Day and Adele for best female R&B/pop artist.

The US rapper is nominated twice for video of the year for Work with Ri-Ri and for those unforgettable dance moves in Hotline Bling., external

He's up against Beyonce's Formation, Kendrick Lamar's Alright and Bryson Tiller's Don't.

Drake's also in the running twice for the best collaboration and three times for the viewer's choice award.

Beyonce and RihannaImage source, Getty Images

Chris Brown, newcomer Bryson Tiller and Future are up for four gongs.

It's been a massive year for Drake who yesterday overtook Justin Bieber on Spotify to become world's most streamed artist.

As of Wednesday 18 May, Drake had 3.21 billion streams globally, compared with 3.18 billion for Justin Bieber, according to online data company Kworb.

His latest track Views is out now., external

This year celebrates 16 years of the BET ceremony where winners are chosen by BET's voting academy - a mixture of entertainment professionals and fans.

The awards recognise African Americans and other minorities in the areas of music, sport and acting.

BET made this special video to announce all the nominations which was choreographed by Will "WilldaBeast" Adams. , external

The awards will be held on Sunday, June 26 at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles and air in the UK on Tuesday, June 28 at 9pm.

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