Steve Harvey's Neighborhood Awards' first trip to Atlanta a rousing success

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Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Steve Harvey moved his beloved Neighborhood Awards from Las Vegas to Atlanta, fully expecting it to be a rousing success.

Not surprisingly, he pulled it off, filling Philips Arena Saturday night nearly to the brim with 12,000 fans, dozens of celebrity friends and plenty of laughs over a four-hour show that also featured performances by a range of R&B and gospel artists including Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and a blistering Tamela Mann.

His supporters came out in force all weekend, lining the red carpet to catch famous folk, attending his new three-day expo at the Georgia World Congress Center, selling out three comedy shows led by Lavell Crawford and partying up with the likes of the O'Jays and Bel Biv Devoe at two late-night parties.

The Neighborhood Awards themselves went off without a hitch. While Harvey would like the program televised at some point, the fact he didn't have to worry about commercial breaks or broadcast standards was an advantage. Comics were able to riff on the dais. Anthony Hamilton sang four songs instead of the usual one. He was able to go off on his love of cussing by actually cussing (and then sort of apologizing for doing it in front of the likes of Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams.)

Harvey emphasized how special this awards show is, that it focuses on rewarding non-famous people. And the audience was packed with mostly non-famous folks as well. "You ain't been to the Emmys. You ain't been to the Oscars. You ain't been to the Grammys," he told the crowd. "You got your suit on layaway!"

He also gave jokey "rules" to the winners. For instance, sit in their assigned seats at the end of a row so they can get to the stage quickly and not to have the cameras watch them slowly edge down an aisle. "Don't drag us down memory lane," he said. "Thank your spouse and your lord and get outta there! If you can talk, that's good. But just because you own your business doesn't mean you can kill the speech."

Harvey's producers also threw a surprise guest on him, without his knowledge: an appearance by Atlanta's own Keith Sweat, who sang two of his biggest hits. "This is why this will always be the Hoodies," Harvey said, the original name for the show, which began in Los Angeles, then moved to Las Vegas for several years. He changed it last year to the Neighborhood Awards for a more mainstream appeal.

Keith Sweat showed up to perform "I Want Her."

Credit: Rodney Ho

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Credit: Rodney Ho

The best spontaneous moment was when David Mann started teasing Crawford for his size, which necessitated Crawford to hit the dais and mock the heck out of Mann's rather rotund size himself and relative lack of height.

Harvey, who created the awards with his business manager Rushion McDonald 12 years ago, is a savvy marketer, too. Ford, the title sponsor, had not one, not two, but three automobiles on the stage the entire night. Several awards were sponsored by the likes of Home Depot, JC Penney or State Farm. Radio stations that air Harvey's show were attached to every nominee.

Among the 12 categories (which included best soul food, best high school coach, best church and best nail salon), Atlanta was represented in nine of them. But only one local representative won: best church choir:

Word of Faith Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Dr. Nina Bronner, wife of Bishop Dale C. Bronner, Sr., has over 200 members. Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral has won the Gospel Choice Awards for Best Choir. Some of Word of Faith Cathedral Choir's ministry highlights include the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Program, Gospel Choice Awards, and The Bronner Brothers International Hair Show. The choir recorded its first CD single "Heal Our Land" in 2006.

And while Harvey himself has broadened his overall appeal outside the African-American world thanks to his talk show and "Family Feud," this event targeted his most loyal black fans, who represented 98 percent of the heavily female audience.

Here are some photo highlights from the red carpet and the event.

Todd Tucker and Kandi Burruss had to cancel their road tour of "A Mother's Love" after just a week. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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RonReaco Lee at the Neighborhood Awards in 2014. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/ rho@ajc.com

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