11 iconic musicians who have (incredibly) never won a Grammy Award: from Abba and Queen to Katy Perry, Sia and Nicki Minaj, you’ll be amazed how many legendary singers have been snubbed
The 2022 Grammy nominees have been revealed, but not everyone is celebrating. It’s not the first time the snubs have made as many headlines as the nominees. And a nod is not a win – indeed, many of the most popular musicians of all time have never won Grammy Award. Ever.
Here are 11 timeless artists that we reckon definitely deserve to have been awarded a statue by now.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg has been nominated for 17 Grammys, but he has never taken home the prize. That figure is just one more than R&B legend Brian McKnight. The two have even more in common, however, since they both received their first nod in 1993 – and are still waiting for a win.
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Katy Perry
Diana Ross
Believe it or not, the legendary Diana Ross has never won a Grammy.
Her first of 12 nominations came in 1965, while as a member of form-defining girl group The Supremes, for Baby Love, and she was nominated nearly every year from 1970 to 1983 without a win.
That being said, the Recording Academy recognised the songstress with a lifetime achievement award in 2012.
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Busta Rhymes
Nominated 12 times since 1997, Trevor George Smith Jr., aka Busta Rhymes, hasn’t yet won his first Grammy. His last two nominations were for best rap performance and best rap song in 2012 for Look At Me Now.
He lost to Kanye West in both categories.
Nicki Minaj
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Sia
Sia’s had nine nominations since 2013, but the singer-songwriter, record producer, and music video director has yet to win a Grammy.
She lost her 2018 nomination for best song written for visual media to Lin-Manuel Miranda, for How Far I’ll Go from Moana.
Blake Shelton
The country singer and judge on The Voice has been nominated eight times, but Blake Shelton has no Grammy wins. He most recently lost at the 62nd annual awards.
Queen
Surprisingly, the band Queen received only four Grammy nominations and never had a win. However they were awarded a lifetime achievement award after their heyday (like Diana Ross) in 2018.
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Run DMC
It’s almost inconceivable that iconic hip-hop artists Run-DMC have been nominated for just one Grammy. But it’s true.
In 1987 they lost out to Prince for best R&B performance by a duo or group – and the hip-hop category wasn’t added until 1989.
They finally received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2016.
Jimi Hendrix
His only nomination was in 1970 for his rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, but sadly the man many cite as the greatest guitarist ever died that same year without ever winning the Grammy.
In 1992, the Recording Academy gave Hendrix a posthumous lifetime achievement award.
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Abba
Although the group has never won a Grammy, its hit song Dancing Queen was inducted into the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.
- Some of the most popular musicians of all time have never won a Grammy Award, from Run DMC and Katy Perry, to departed legends Jimi Hendrix and Freddie Mercury
- Snoop Dogg has been nominated the most with no wins, and it took Abba 50 years to earn a first nod – but artists Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry still have time