Every awards show wants us to believe its winners represent the best of the best, but that's not always the case. While the Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys recognize prestige, they often lack the ability to recognize how culture actually moves. The Believe That Awards? Flips that on its head. Created by Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, the show celebrates the people, performances, and cultural shenanigans that caught his attention, from sports and entertainment to the internet moment that had everyone talking.

With categories like ‘White Boy of the Year’ and ‘Main Character of the Year’, it’s less about prestige and more about who really had that year. The internet has its own award season, so I’m glad he took matters into his own hands, but naturally I have a few notes.

Listen, I respect Ant’s picks… mostly. The beauty of an award show this unserious is that everyone gets to have an opinion, and I would be doing a disservice to the internet if I didn’t share mine. 

Main Character of the Year

Druski is indeed a great pick; he has been a fixture in internet comedy and was a sociologist in another multiverse. MY vote goes to Zohran Mamdani. I’m not even from New York, but I kinda am now, and so is the rest of the world, apparently. Politics hasn’t been this entertaining, fresh, and hopeful in a while. Watching a mayor become a pop culture fixture but just a beacon of hope in such dark times is something worth highlighting.

White Boy of the Year

As THE head Belieber, I am contractually obligated to defend this man. He is and will forever be my favorite white boy; However, I have to give Robert Pattinson his flowers. Bieber’s Coachella appearance had us allllllll seated, but after all that anticipation, he gave us a moment and went right back to his cocoon. Pattinson? Has been on a generational run and is showing us why he is indeed the actor of our generation. The Drama, The Odyssey, Primetime, and soon-to-come Dune and Batman? I don’t know who is truly touching this white boy.

Lifetime Achievement Award

50 has built an empire, so I get the recognition, but if we're talking about legacy that has shaped a generation of entertainment, I’m giving this to Debbie Allen. With the reboot of A Different World releasing this fall, she continues to build stories for not only her generation but the new ones. Continuing to create and open doors for young Black actors and actresses is not something to be ignored.

The thing with any award show is that no matter how many categories it has, somebody is getting left out. Internet culture moves too fast, and half the time, the moments that mean the most to us aren’t happening on someone else’s feed. So here are a few people and moments that have the highest honor on my FYP.

The Khia Asylum Escapee

Long-time fan here. Tinashe has been putting in the work for as long as I can remember, and this renewed spotlight on her has been satisfying to see. Finally, the internet caught up!

The Internet’s New Favorite

Wardrobe is the winner for me. I love watching him thrive, and it’s nice to see someone catching their stride. Since he debuted on Streamer University, he has been in my feed every week, most recently dressed up as Mr. Brown from Meet the Browns. Druski? Watch out!

The Fandom That Never Misses

The Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise has been through its ups and downs this past year, but the fandom is more alive than ever, and with the new Avatar: Seven Havens out, they’re managing to pick up more people along the way. The fan edits in particular have been feeding the timeline, and I fear the editors deserve their own production budget.

‍Most Unexpected Fan Interaction

Ray Ray from Mindless Behavior has been discovering the fanfiction written about him and his bandmates, reading them on TikTok Live and even calling up the authors for a chat. This is the kind of full-circle internet moment I live for, especially since I read ALL the fanfiction he’s been discovering. Imagine writing stories about your teenage celebrity crush and then getting to discuss the plot 10+ years later with the man himself? I would simply have to disappear.

‍You Will Be Dearly Missed

Simon, the beloved dog featured on Isabel Klee’s @SimonSits account, serves his flowers too. The internet fell in love with him through the rescue dogs Isabel fosters, and his passing brought an outpouring of affection from people who had never met him. I really do get attached to the animals on the other side of the screen. Rest easy, Simon.

The Believe That Awards have their winners, and I have mine. Anthony can keep the trophies, and I'm keeping my right to disagree, because if there's one thing the internet loves more than an awards show, it's arguing about who should've won.

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