9 incredible artists we can’t believe have never won a Grammy
Award season is upon us yet again, which means another round of red carpets, glamorous celebrities, and inspiring speeches from the winners. But what about the artists who don’t win? While an Oscar, Emmy, or Grammy might seem like the pinnacle of an entertainer’s achievements, plenty of legendary and ultra-iconic artists never took home music’s top prize.
Here are nine famous musicians who haven’t won a Grammy, despite being wildly successful and extremely talented. They’re all winners to us!
Katy Perry
We know what you’re thinking. How has Katy Perry never won a Grammy? With 13 (13!) nominations, we’re wondering the same thing. For Perry, the competition is stiff: Perry lost to Adele in 2009, 2012, and 2013. We thought 2015 would be her year, but Sam Smith took home Best Pop Vocal Album. Don’t worry, Katy. Your time is coming.
Journey
Believe it or not, ‘Don’t Stop Believin’” never won a Grammy. Neither have any of the rock band’s other performances. They were nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo of Group with Vocal in 1997, but didn’t win. Well, they’re still winners in our hearts.
One Direction
Love ’em or Hate ’em, One Direction was good at Pop – so why no Grammy love? It’s not like the Grammys snubs boy bands: Backstreet Boys and N’Sync dominated nominations in the 90’s and The Jonas Brothers snagged a Best New Artist nomination in 2009. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the boys come together to produce some ear candy in the near future.
Queen
OK, hold on a second. If we’re going to talk about far-reaching, iconic, world-altering songs, do we ever need to look further than “Bohemian Rhapsody?” The song earned them a Guinness World Record, but not a Grammy. That’s an injustice if we’ve ever heard one.
Jimi Hendrix
It’s hard to get more legendary than Jimi Hendrix, but the musician’s four albums never won a Grammy while he was alive. Since then, the world seemed to come to its senses and recognize his genius, awarding Hendrix a number of GRAMMY Hall of Fame awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously.
Spice Girls
Is it acceptable to call the fact that the Spice Girls were never even NOMINATED for a Grammy an international outrage? Apparently, pure ’90s Girl Power wasn’t enough for the Grammy Voters – even if it’s more than enough for us. If they gave out Grammys for perfect costumes, we know they would have raked in the wins.
Snoop Dogg
With 16 nominations, it’s a little mind-boggling that Snoop Dogg, seller of more than 30 million albums, still hasn’t closed the deal on the Grammy. So far, Snoop Dogg has received nominations for Best Rap Song, Best Solo Performance, Album of the Year, and Best Reggae Album.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin released nine studio albums and sold more than 300 million units, but none of their work ever took home the gold. They were eventually awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Björk
Super-famous Icelandic singer Björk has been nominated 13 times between 1994 and 2016, but has never taken home the gold, which definitely has us scratching our heads. Björk has won plenty of other awards, though: 21 Icelandic Music Awards, BRIT awars, MTV Video Music Awards, and even a Best Actress Award from the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
You’re all winners in our book.
