KUALA LUMPUR: US-based singer and songwriter Yunalis Zarai, better known as Yuna, has scored another first for the country; by becoming Malaysia's first artiste to be nominated for a BET Centric Award.
Her BET nomination is for her hit song Crush, a duet with popular American singer Usher Raymond, and among her fellow nominees this year are American Idol 3 winner Fantasia Barrino for Sleeping With The One I Love, Kehlani for Distraction, Mary J Blige for Thick Of It, Solange Knowles for Cranes In The Sky and Syd for All About Me.
The annual awards show by the Black Entertainment Television network celebrates African Americans and other minorities in various fields of entertainment. It is mostly awarded to soul and R&B artistes.
"It's so good to be nominated a major recognition for my work from a prestigious award that has honoured major names in R&B and soul music!" said Yuna in a WhatsApp post on Thursday.
"Crush is a very special song for Usher and I, and we'll be delighted if we win the award. I hope to have the song nominated in other music awards, too. I'd like to thank my dear fans for supporting me all the way."
The 2017 BET Awards will be held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, US on June 25.
Last year's winner was Beyonce Knowles for her song Formation.