The 37th Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards was held at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Saturday.
At this year’s annual award ceremony, many worthy contenders were up against each other in the top categories.
Most notably, Serena Williams was recognized for her cemented status as a tennis icon and was honored with the Legend Award.
Singer extraordinare Kelly Rowland presented the four-time Olympic gold medalist with a gushing introduction.
At this year’s annual award ceremony, Renée Rapp also took home the award for Breakout New Artist and was given the gift of being covered in green slime during her speech.
The 37th Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards was held at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Saturday. Most notably, Serena Williams was recognized for her cemented status as a tennis icon and was honored with the Legend Award
‘I am beyond thrilled to be here tonight to present the Kids’ Choice Legend Award to the one and only, my friend, Serena Williams,’ the Destiny Child’s member began.
‘She’s been making the case for legend status her entire life, ever since she was a kid. She started out training on public tennis courts in Compton, California [and] breaking into the professional ranks at just 14-years old. How many 14-year-olds out there?
‘As a friend, I’ve watched her continue to evolve beyond the world of tennis into the cultural icon she is today, encompassing fashion, entrepreneurship and activism.
‘Throughout her journey, she’s always pushed herself to be the best she can be,’ Rowland continued. ‘But it’s not just her dominance on and off the court — it’s the way she champions those around her and invites others to share in her success that makes her an inspiration to us all.’
The 23-time Grand Slam winner then took the stage.
‘I have so many people to thank for this amazing honor,’ she began. ‘First of all, thank you, Kelly, for presenting this to me.
‘This is so cool to have an incredibly special award made even more special by my wonderful friend giving it to me. Thank you, I love you so much.’
To her fans in the crowd, Williams gushed: ‘Oh, my God, this is so cool. You guys are, like, the greatest crowd ever. I needed you guys at Wimbledon.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner then took the stage to thank Rowland for presenting and her fans for awarding her with the flower
Rather than getting slimed, Williams was honored with gold confetti on stage
Singer extraordinare Kelly Rowland presented the four-time Olympic gold medalist with a gushing introduction
‘I have to thank my entire family for believing in me,’ she continued. ‘I look at the crowd with so many little legends, but I want you to know wherever you come from, you can do anything you put your mind to.
‘If you can do it, I can do it,’ she said. ‘So, receiving the Legend Award from you all is truly a gift and it means the absolute world to me, so thank you all very much.’
Earlier in the ceremony, Rapp won Breakout New Artist.
In the category, she was up against fellow nominees Tyla, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Tate McRae, Teddy Swims.
The singer-songwriter, who gained recognition for starring as Regina George in the Broadway musical of Mean Girls, spoke about how she used to watch the award show as a child and thanked her fans for the honor.
‘Hi, guys. Hi, how are you doing? Good, you guys are so cute and so loud and yet so sweet,’ she began.
‘Thank you, very lovely. It’s very fun to be here, I used to watch this growing up all the time so this is quite a joy. And you guys all look very cute and very well dressed. So thank you, love you.’
For favorite male voice from an animated movie, TikTok sensation Bella Poarch and record producer Benny Blanco presented the award to Adam Sandler for his role in Leo.
At this year’s award ceremony, Renée Rapp took home the award for Breakout New Artist
She was given the gift of being covered in green slime during her speech
The singer-songwriter, who gained recognition for starring as Regina George in the Broadway musical of Mean Girls, spoke about how she used to watch the award show as a child and thanked her fans for the honor
For favorite male voice from an animated movie, TikTok sensation Bella Poarch and record producer Benny Blanco presented the award to Adam Sandler for his role in Leo
The actor — who has the second most Kids’ Choice Awards, 11 in total, in history, following closely behind Selena Gomez with 12 career gongs — won for voicing the titular lizard
Nominees for the category included Chris Pratt for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, both Brady Noon as well as Jackie Chan for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Justin Timberlake for Trolls Band Together and Shaimeik Moore for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The actor — who has the second most Kids’ Choice Awards, 11 in total, in history, following closely behind Selena Gomez with 12 career gongs — won for voicing the titular lizard.
Nominees for the category included Chris Pratt for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, both Brady Noon as well as Jackie Chan for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Justin Timberlake for Trolls Band Together and Shaimeik Moore for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Jack Black also received two nods for The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Kung Fu Panda 4.
Even though Black did not win favorite male voice from an animated category, he still received his flower as he was awarded favorite villain for his role as Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
For voicing the fan-favorite evildoer who kidnapped Princess Peach, he took home the award over his fellow nominees.
Nods were given to Rapp as Regina George in Mean Girls, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Keegan-Michael Key as the Chief of Police in Wonka, Amy Schumer as Velvet in Trolls Band Together and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two.