The Grammy Awards are otherwise known simply as The Grammys is the holy grail of the music industry. From 1959, the prestigious awards have been recognizing the best of the best in the world of music.
Quincy Jones, Beyonce and Jay Z are some of the music stars who are leading the pack with the most Grammys with 28, 22 and 21 wins respectively. However, to some artists, the award has been elusive. They have only received nominations but no wins as yet.
Here are artists who you thought are Grammy winners but they are not.
Snoop Dogg
American rapper, actor and media personality Snoop Dogg aged 49 is one of the most celebrated artists worldwide but he is not a Grammy award winning artist. He holds the record of the of the most Grammy nominations without a win with a total of seventeen nods.
The ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ hitmaker has been nominated for everything from Best Rap Song, Album of the Year to Best Reggae Album since 1994 with his last nomination in 2016.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj is a powerhouse in the world of rap. The Trinidadian- American rapper and actress recently added two new hats to her name a wife and a mother, however despite her many accomplishments, the ‘Megatron’ rapper has never won a Grammy.
Since 2011, the 38-year-old rap star has received a total of 10 Grammy nominations for her albums ‘Pink Friday’, ‘The Pink Print’ as well as hit tracks like ‘Anaconda’. She sadly lost out to rapper Kendrick Lamar in all three of her nominated categories in 2015.
Katy Perry
American singer Katy Perry has belted out top tunes like ‘Roar’, ‘Firework’,’Unconditionally’ and ‘Dark Horse’ over the years but unfortunately none of these have earned her a Grammy win.
The 36-year-old mother of one started off with a Grammy nomination for the hit song ‘I Kissed A Girl in 2009 and 12 nominations later, she had never taken home a single Grammy win.
Brian McKnight
Popular American RnB singer Brian McKnight’s music will make you weak in the knees but these songs have not yielded the top honor that is the Grammy.
Known for the love ballad ‘Back At One’ this 51-year-old silver fox has received close to two dozen Grammy nominations. He has been nominated a total of 17 times since the early 1990s with his last nomination being in 2005 for the Best RnB Male Vocal Performance.
Sia
Australian singer Sia is known for great music and hiding her face behind her hair. The 45 year old who started out in a band in the 1990s back in Adelaide, has released nine studio albums to date.
She is known for songs such as ‘Cheap Thrills’ and ‘Chandelier’ but what you did not know is that she has been nominated for a Grammy nine times but has not secured any wins yet.
Nas
American rapper Nas is one of the world’s top tier rappers. He has released twelve studio albums since 1994, with seven of them certified platinum and multi-platinum in the US.
Currently, the ‘I Can’ crooner has 15 nominations to his name. He has previously lost to Drake, Kanye West and Jay Z in 2012 but 2021 might just be the year he breaks this Grammy-less curse if he wins the Best Rap Album award for his 2020 album ‘King’s Disease’ at the 63rd Grammy Awards on the 14th of March 2021.
Busta Rhymes
Jamaican American rapper and actor Busta Rhymes has created massive hits since he strted his career in 1989.
With ten studio albums and hits to match, the ‘Girlfriends’ hitmaker is yet to win a Grammy despite being nominated 12 times since 1996.
It is interesting to note that legendary Reggae artist Bob Marley never received a nomination before his untimely death in 1981. He did, however, receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. He was also nominated in 2001 and 2002 for Best Music Film and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals posthumously, but he did not win in those categories. His children Ziggy, Damian ‘Gong’ and Stephen Marley have however done him proud with numerous wins. Ziggy Marley holds the record of the most wins in the Best Reggae Album category with a total of 7 as of 2017.
Tupac Shakur is referred to as the greatest rapper of all time. However, the ‘Dear Mama’ hitmaker who was gunned down at the tender age of 25 never won any Grammy during his lifetime. Pac has received a total of six nominations include one posthumous one. He lost his first nominations in 1995 to Coolio and Naughty by Nature and lost his posthumous nomination to Eminem.
The 2021 Grammy Awards is set to go down in a couple of days on the 14th of March 2021. The 63rd Grammys were pushed back from its usual January schedule due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The awards will be held in Los Angeles and hosted by media personality Trevor Noah with no one in attendance.
