The Grammy Awards have been recognizing some of the most talented musicians of the year since 1959.
It’s often assumed that all of the legendary hit-makers have taken home a statuette or two — but there are actually quite a few iconic artists who seem to narrowly lose out year after year.
Here are 21 artists who’ve never won a Grammy, ranked by how many nominations they’ve received.
Brian McKnight has 17 nominations but no wins.
Nominated 17 times since the 1990s, singer-songwriter Brian McKnight has yet to win his first Grammy.
He lost his last nomination for best male R&B vocal performance to Prince at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, which were held in 2005.
Snoop Dogg has been nominated for 16 Grammys but has never won one.
At 16 nominations, the rapper only trails McKnight by one, but the two have even more in common.
Calvin Broadus, better known as Snoop Dogg, also received his first nod in the early 1990s and, like McKnight, is still awaiting his first Grammy win.
Björk has been nominated 16 times.
The Icelandic singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and DJ has been nominated 16 times across the past few decades, but Björk has never brought home a Grammy.
She was most recently nominated for best alternative music album at the 65th Annual Grammys.
Dierks Bentley has earned 15 nominations.
His first nominations were for the hit “Every Mile A Memory” at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007.
However, even after 15 nominations, country singer Dierks Bentley hasn’t won.
Martina McBride has racked up 14 nominations since the ’90s.
She’s racked up 14 nominations over the past few decades, but country singer Martina McBride has been beaten out each time.
She lost her latest nomination to Taylor Swift at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012.
Katy Perry has 13 nominations but no wins.
Though she has been nominated 13 times over the last decade, the former “American Idol” judge still doesn’t have a Grammy award.
Diana Ross has won a lifetime achievement award but no Grammys.
The legendary Diana Ross has never won a Grammy.
Her first of 13 nominations was in the 1960s for “Baby Love,” and she was nominated nearly every year from 1970 to 1982 without a win.
That being said, the Recording Academy recognized the songstress and her musical accomplishments with a lifetime achievement award in 2012.
Nicki Minaj has 12 nominations but no wins.
Nicki Minaj has been nominated for 12 Grammys.
The rapper lost best new artist to Bon Iver in 2012, to Kendrick Lamar in all three of her nominated categories in 2016, and to Killer Mike and Billie Eilish for her most recent nominations.
Busta Rhymes has been nominated 12 times.
Nominated 12 times since 1996, Trevor 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 for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 2012.
He lost to Ye in both categories.
Sia has nine nominations but hasn’t scored a win.
Sia has received nine nominations, but the singer-songwriter, record producer, and music video director has yet to win a Grammy.
She lost her most recent nomination for best song written for visual media to Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2018.
Blake Shelton has been nominated eight times.
The country singer and former coach on “The Voice” has been nominated eight times, but Blake Shelton has no Grammy wins.
He most recently lost at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.
Tupac earned six nominations, including one after his death.
Despite earning six nominations, including one posthumously, Tupac Shakur never won a Grammy.
He lost his first nominations in 1996 to Coolio and Naughty by Nature and lost his posthumous nomination to Eminem.
It took ABBA nearly 50 years to snag their first Grammy nomination.
After nearly 50 years of making music, Swedish pop group ABBA landed their first Grammy nomination for their comeback record “I Still Have Faith In You” at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022.
The band lost to Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.”
Although the group has never won a Grammy, their hit song “Dancing Queen” was inducted into the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.
The band also earned four more nominations for their 2021 album “Voyage.”
Queen has had four nominations but no wins.
The band Queen has received four Grammy nominations and has never had a win. Their last nomination was in the 1980s.
The Beach Boys have received a lifetime achievement award, but no Grammy.
Another legendary band with only four nominations and zero Grammy wins is the Beach Boys.
They received three nominations in the 1960s for their hit “Good Vibrations,” and their last nod came in the late 1980s for “Kokomo.”
Although they haven’t received a Grammy, The Beach Boys earned a lifetime achievement award in 2001.
Sammy Davis Jr. has a lifetime achievement award but no Grammy.
Famous for his Las Vegas shows and for being a part of the iconic Rat Pack, Sammy Davis Jr. received three nominations but had no Grammy wins during his lifetime.
He died in 1990, but he earned a lifetime achievement award in 2001.
Jennifer Lopez has received two Grammy nominations over the years, but she’s yet to win.
Jennifer Lopez racked up back-to-back nominations for best dance recording at the 42nd and 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in the early eughts.
However, she lost to Cher’s “Believe” and Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
Run-D.M.C. scored a lifetime achievement award, but the group never won a Grammy.
Iconic hip-hop artists Run-D.M.C. have only been nominated for two Grammys.
At the 1987 awards show, they lost out to Prince for best R&B performance by a duo or group — the hip-hop category wasn’t added for several more years.
Even so, they received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2016.
Most recently, the group lost the award for best film music for “Kings from Queens” at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, which aired in 2025.
Dean Martin has a lifetime achievement award but no Grammy.
Dean Martin, another Rat Pack crooner, only received one Grammy nomination.
He was nominated for his album “Everybody Loves Somebody,” but lost to Louis Armstrong at the 1965 ceremony.
Although Martin died in 1995, he was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2009.
Morrissey has one Grammy nomination but hasn’t won yet.
The former Smiths front man, who’s released over 10 albums, has only been nominated for one Grammy.
Morrissey lost out on his best alternative music album nomination to Tom Waits at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 1993.
Jimi Hendrix doesn’t have a Grammy, but he does have a lifetime achievement award.
His only nomination was in the ’70s for his rendition of “Star Spangled Banner.”
Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, not long before the 13th Annual Grammy Awards broadcast. In 1992, though, the Recording Academy gave Hendrix a lifetime achievement award.
This story was originally published in March 2018 and most recently updated on January 27, 2026.
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