1989 Soul Train Music Awards

Special awards

Heritage Award for Career Achievement

• Michael Jackson

  Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year

• Michael Jackson

  Winners and nominees

Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album of the Year – Male

• Bobby Brown – Don't Be Cruel
• * Bobby McFerrin – Simple Pleasures
• * Al B. Sure – In Effect Mode
• * Luther Vandross – Any Love

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album of the Year – Female

• Anita Baker – Giving You the Best That I Got
• * Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
• * Sade – Stronger Than Pride
• * Vanessa Williams – The Right Stuff

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album of the Year – Group, Band, or Duo

• New Edition – Heart Break
• * Guy – Guy
• * LeVert – Just Coolin'
• * Tony! Toni! Toné! – Who?

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single – Male

• Michael Jackson – "Man in the Mirror"
• * Bobby Brown – "My Prerogative"
• * Johnny Kemp – "Just Got Paid"
• * Keith Sweat – "Make It Last Forever"

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single – Female

• Anita Baker – "Giving You the Best That I Got"
• * Whitney Houston – "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
• * Karyn White – "Superwoman"
• * Vanessa Williams – "The Right Stuff"
• Note-This segment of the awards ceremony is most memorable due to the fact that when Whitney Houston's name was called, the crowd began to boo her, citing the idea that Houston was "acting white" and was a "sell-out".

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single – Group Band or Duo

• E.U. – "Da Butt"
• * Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock – "It Takes Two"
• * Guy – "Groove Me"
• * New Edition – "Can You Stand the Rain"

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year

• Anita Baker – "Giving You the Best That I Got"
• * Bobby Brown – "Don't Be Cruel"
• * Michael Jackson – "Man in the Mirror"
• * Keith Sweat – "I Want Her"

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Music Video

• Michael Jackson – "Man in the Mirror"
• * DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – "Parents Just Don't Understand"
• * Kool Moe Dee – "Wild Wild West"
• * Stevie Wonder – "Skeletons"

  Best R&B/Urban Contemporary New Artist

• Al B. Sure!
• * Guy
• * Karyn White
• * BeBe & CeCe Winans

  Best Rap Album

• DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince – He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper
• * Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock – It Takes Two
• * Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
• * Salt-N-Pepa – A Salt with a Deadly Pepa

  Best Gospel Album

• Take 6 – Take 6
• * Shirley Caesar – Live in Chicago
• * The Clark Sisters – Conqueror
• * James Cleveland – Inspired

  Best Jazz Album

• Kenny G – Silhouette
• * Bobby McFerrin – Simple Pleasures
• * Najee – Day by Day
• * Sade – Stronger Than Pride

  Performances

• Ashford & Simpson
• Sheena Easton – "The Lover in Me"
• Levert and Heavy D & The Boyz – "Just Coolin'"
• Bobby Brown – "My Prerogative"
• Patti LaBelle – "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
• Dionne Warwick
• New Edition and Rob Base – "Crucial"
• Shirley Caesar, The Clark Sisters, Thelma Houston, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Vickie Winans and The Winans – "Lean on Me"