Not Alternative Facts: 59 Rare Tidbits About The Grammys

59 Rare Tidbits About The Grammys

1. Stevie Wonder is among the elite who have won the most Grammys (22), but wasn’t recognized for “Best New Artist” in 1962.
2. The 26th Grammys are the highest rated in history (43.8 million).
3. Beyoncé is the most nominated woman in Grammy history.
4. Lauryn Hill was the first woman to win five Grammys in one evening. Alicia Keys is tied with Hill for her debut album, Songs In A Minor.
5. Quincy Jones holds the record for most wins as a producer (27). Kanye West has 21.

6. Monica is one of the youngest Grammy winners in history. At 18-years-old, she took home the “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” Grammy for her single with Brandy, “The Boy Is Mine.”

7. Betty White is one of the oldest people to win a Grammy. At 90-years-old, she was awarded the “Best Spoken World Album” Grammy for If You Ask Me (and of Course You Won’t”).

8. Aretha Franklin was the first woman to win the most consecutive Grammys in the same category. Beyonce passed Aretha’s 18 in 2015 when she won her 19th Grammy under the “Best R&B Song” category with “Drunk in Love.”

9. Michael Jackson shares the record for most Grammys won in one night with Santana.

10. Ray Charles has the record for most posthumous awards in one night.

11. Snoop Dogg is the most non-winning nominated hip-hop artist in Grammy history with 17 nominations.
12. Brian McKnight has been nominated 16 times and has never won a Grammy Award.
13. Stevie Wonder received the most nominations in one night without winning in 1983 (7), India.Arie followed in 2002 (7), Kendrick Lamar followed in 2014 (7).
14. Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the first hip-hop album to win “Album of the Year.”
15. The Grammys launched in 1959 to cater to “classical music.”

16. Ella Fitzgerald is the first African-American woman to win a Grammy (jazz category).
17. Elmo has won three Grammys.
18. Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff won the first hip-hop Grammy (“Best Rap Performance”) but boycotted the show over it not being televised.
19. The “Best Rap Performance” category was later divided into “Best Rap Solo Performance” and “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.”
20. Jay Z also boycotted the Grammys in 2002 after DMX wasn’t nominated in 1999.

21. Sinead O’Connor is the first artist to refuse her Grammy awards.
22. Public Enemy boycotted the awards in 1991 over racism. Vanilla Ice was ironically nominated the same year in the rap category.
23. Artists aren’t allowed to sell their Grammys.

24. Milli Vanilli are the only artists to have their awards rescinded.
25. The Grammys wasn’t telecasted until 1971.
26. The Grammys are known for being late to the game. Case in point: the Latin category came to light in 1974, Rock was given it’s due in 1980 and hip-hop was acknowledged with a category in 1989.
27. The Grammy award for “Best Video, Short Form” category was presented in 1984. It was later named “Best Music Video” in 2014.
28. Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Johnny Cash and Peter Gabriel hold the record for most wins in the “Best Music Video” category.

29. The “Best Rap Album” category was introduced in 1996. Nas released Illmatic in 1994. 
30. Naughty By Nature won the first “Best Rap Album” Grammy.
31. Nas, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac have never won a Grammy.
32. Barack Obama is one of three former presidents who have won a Grammy.
33. The Grammy award for “Best Female Rap Solo Performance” was an honor presented at the 45th and 46th Grammy Awards. Missy Elliott won both years.
34. The Grammy award for “Best Urban Contemporary Album” emerged in 2013. Frank Ocean took home the award for Channel Orange.

35. Drake is the first non-American artist to take home the “Best Rap Album” Grammy for his 2013 project, Take Care.
36. Pharrell Williams is one of the few artists to compete with himself for a gramophone. He took on “Album Of The Year” in 2015 with his album Girl, as a co-producer on Beyoncé’s Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran’s X.
37. Jay Z and Beyoncé were tied in their Grammy wins back in 2015, each having won 17.
38. The rock genre has been nominated the most in the “Album of the Year” category with 34 nominations. Pop follows with 30, Alternative with 19 and R&B/Soul and hip-hop tied with 16.
39. An artist from the hip-hop genre has never won the “Record of the Year” category.

40. Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were reportedly invited to the 2004 Grammys if they apologized for the Super Bowl snafu. Janet refused, but Timberlake attended and gave an apology during his win for “Best Pop Male Vocal Performance.”
41. Most Grammys are handed out before the live telecast.
42. There are over 20,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Mostly made of music industry professionals and musicians, they determine who takes home the shiny gramophones.
43. The Grammy Award for “Best Rap/Sung Performance” was created in 2002. The first winner was Eve and Gwen Stefani in 2002 for “Let Me Blow Your Mind.”
44. Arrested Development and Lauryn Hill are the only hip-hop artists to take home a gramophone for “Best New Artist.”

45. Lecrae is the first hip-hop artist win the Grammy for “Best Gospel Album.” He won the award in 2013 for his album, Gravity.
46. The Beatles are the first rock act to take home a Grammy. Ringo, George, John and Paul won the “Best New Artist” category in 1965.
47. Martin Luther King Jr. has two Grammys. One for “Best Spoken Word Album” for 1971’s for “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam” and a Hall of Fame award in 2012.
48. Magic Johnson has a “Best Spoken Word Album” Grammy for 1993’s “What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS.”
49. Cee-Lo Green is technically the first African-American artist to win a Grammy Award for “Best Alternative Music Album.” Green took home the award as a part of Gnarls Barkley in 2007 for St. Elsewhere.

50. Nicki Minaj is the first female rapper to have a solo performance at the Grammys. The artist performed “Roman Holiday” at the 2012 ceremony.
51. For 2012’s Grammys, the number of categories were cut from 109 to 78.
52. The Grammy Award for “Best R&B Instrumental Performance” was handed out from 1970 to 1990 and in 1993. Some of the winners include Soul II Soul for African Dance, Earth Wind and Fire for “Boogie Wonderland” and Marvin Gaye for “Sexual Healing.”
53. The first Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary R&B Album” was awarded to Ashanti in 2003 for her self-titled debut album. Before the category was cut in 2011, Usher took an award home for Raymond v. Raymond.
54. Five R&B categories were cut in 2011. They include “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” (2003-2011), “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” (1968-2011), “Best Male R&B Vocal Performance” (1968-2011), “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” (1967-2011) and “Best Contemporary R&B Album” (2003-2011).
55. Nelly (2003) and Eminem (2004) are the only two rappers to be nominated for the now-defunct Grammy Award for “Best Male Rap Solo Performance.”

56. The category, “Best Disco Recording” only existed in 1980. Gloria Gaynor took home the award for the single, “I Will Survive.”
57. Q-Tip is one of the few rap artists nominated for “Best Dance Recording.” British electronic group, The Chemical Brothers teamed up with the rapper for the 2006 collaboration, “Galvanize.”
58. LL Cool J has hosted the Grammys consecutively for five years (2012-2016).
59. LL Cool J has won two Grammys in the category for “Best Rap Solo Performance” for 1992’s “Momma Said Knock You Out” and 1997’s “Hey Lover.”