13 Surprising Artists Who Haven’t Won Grammys

Since the Grammy’s inception in 1959, The Recording Academy has awarded thousands of artists but has skipped some big names. Numerous major musicians who’ve topped the charts and toured the world have yet to place a Grammy on their shelf at home.

From legendary acts like Queen to pop icons like Katy Perry, quite a few surprising acts have found themselves with plenty of Grammy nominations but no award. Even Diana Ross has never been awarded a Grammy… although she was eventually given a Lifetime Achievement Award. And while receiving a Grammy is a huge honor, it certainly isn’t the only way to measure an artist’s success!

Discover which artists haven’t won a Grammy below…

1. Katy Perry

Katy Perry has topped the charts with songs like “California Girls” and “Teenage Dream” but she’s never won a Grammy. She was even named the first woman to have five No. 1 singles from one album! Although she’s never won, her success has earned her 13 nominations, starting with a nod for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009. That year she also took the stage for the first time to sing “I Kissed A Girl” and has performed at the show several times since.

2. Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj has been nominated for Grammys 10 times during her career. She received her first nod in 2010 for her collaboration with Ludacris, “My Chick Bad,” and was most recently up for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Collaboration and Best Rap Performance in 2015. She received no nominations in 2019 and when fans questioned why she had never won, Nicki called out Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich.

Nicki later explained that she believes Ken blackballed her because she refused to back out of her 2012 performance after Whitney Houston’s passing. Nicki says she was asked not to take the stage moments before her performance but did not comply.

“Even then it made absolutely no sense. This is after I had done a bunch of commercials with L.L. Cool J to promote the Grammy. After I did everything they asked, they told me not to perform. I said, ‘No, I’m going to perform,'” Nick explained on “Queen Radio.”

3. Sia

Sia has yet to win a Grammy despite being nominated nine times throughout her career. While she’s written hits for artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Britney Spears, she hasn’t been recognized for her career as a songwriter or a solo artist. She was first nominated in 2012 for Best Rap Collaboration for her hit “Wild Ones” with Flo Rida and most recently received a nod for “Never Give Up.” She’s also taken to the Grammy stage to perform, including in 2015 when she recreated the “Chandelier” music video with Kristen Wiig and Maddie Ziegler.

4. Blake Shelton

Country star Blake Shelton has had numerous No. 1 hits but has yet to win a Grammy. He’s had eight nominations during his career, starting with a 2010 nod for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for “Hillbilly Bone.” Since then, he’s been up for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance several times but has never taken home the award.

5. Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg has had a long-lasting career in the world of hip hop which has earned him 16 Grammy nominations. Unfortunately, he’s never taken one of the awards home. He was first nominated in 1993 for his song “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” for Best Performance By A Rap Duo Or Group and has received a few other nods in that category. He’s also been up for Best Rap Song and Album Of The Year on several occasions. While Snoop says he doesn’t “focus on awards” he doesn’t want to talk about his lack of wins.

“Motherf—— just be bringin’ it up to me, and it make me mad ’cause I don’t pay attention to it. Like, ‘You know you got nominated 15 times for a Grammy,’ and I’m like, ‘I ain’t trippin.’ And then when it got to 17, I was like, ‘Huh? Hold on,'” Snoop said on the “Now What?” podcast.

6. Björk

Icelandic singer, songwriter and producer Björk has been up for 15 Grammys throughout her career, but has yet to win. Her first nomination came in 1993 when she was up for Best Music Video – Short Form for her song “Human Behaviour.” In 2018, she was up for Best Alternative Music Album, an award that she has been nominated for on several occasions.

7. Dierks Bentley

Despite his No. 1 hits, country singer Dierks Bentley has been nominated for 14 Grammys but has never won the award. His first nod came in 2006 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for “Every Mile A Memory.” He was most recently up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Different For Girls” during the ceremony in 2016.

8. Diana Ross

The legendary Diana Ross’ lack of Grammys is a shock, considering she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy in 2012. Her work with The Supremes was even the subject of an exhibit at the Grammy Museum! While she’s never won the award, she has been nominated on 12 occasions, starting with a nod for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording in 1964. She was most recently nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female in 1982.

9. Queen

Queen may have made a massive impact on the music industry, but they have only been nominated for four Grammys during their career. Instead, The Recording Academy chose to honor the group with two non-competitive Grammys including the Lifetime Achievement Award as well as a space in the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors artists who’ve been around for 25 years and have had major success.

10. Beach Boys

The Beach Boys also have only been nominated for four Grammys throughout their career, including three nominations for “Good Vibrations” in 1966. While they never won a Grammy, they were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for their lasting contributions to music over their expansive career.

11. Abba

Abba may be one of the most commercially successful acts in music history but they’ve shockingly never even been nominated for a Grammy! The group finally got some recognition from The Recording Academy in 2015 when their song “Dancing Queen” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, almost 40 years after it was first released.

12. Martina McBride

Country superstar Martina McBride may have been nominated for a Grammy 14 times during her music career, but she hasn’t claimed one as her own just yet. She received her first nod in 1994 when she was up for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and was most recently nominated for Best Country Solo Performance. While she hasn’t won her own Grammy, she has come pretty close. She was featured on compilation album “Amazing Grace – A Country Salute to Gospel” which took home Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album, but it was an award that went to the producers, not the artists.

13. Journey

Iconic group Journey may be one of the best-selling bands in history but throughout their career, the band only earned one Grammy nomination. The nod from The Recording Academy came in 1996 when they were up for Best Pop Performance By A Group With Vocal for “When You Love A Woman.”  Years later, the group’s song “Don’t Stop Believin'” was up for a Grammy in the Best Pop Performance category – except it was from the “Glee” soundtrack!

“The ‘Glee’ producers did a great job, but it would have been strange to have the ‘Glee’ version win a Grammy, when Journey doesn’t have any. So I was in the weird position of hoping Train would win, even though they were up against our song!” Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain told the New York Post.