Artists Who Have Never Won a Grammy Award; Lost All Nominations

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Though she has been nominated 13 times over the last decade, the former “American Idol” judge still doesn’t have a Grammy award.

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 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.

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 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.

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. 

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.

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.”

The band Queen has received four Grammy nominations and has never had a win. Their last nomination was in the 1980s.

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.

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 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.”

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, 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.

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.

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.