100 Fun Facts About Grammy Awards

What object does the Grammy trophy depict?

A gramophone tone arm so thin that it kept breaking was John Billings's main concern when he redesigned the Grammy in the early 1990s.

Which organisation presents the Grammy Awards?

The Recording Academy's voting members are music professionals, and in 1997 it launched a separate Latin Recording Academy to run the Latin Grammys.

Which Hollywood landmark's committee inspired the Grammys?

Compiling music names for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, executives saw many industry leaders who would never earn a star, so they created their own awards.

Which singer won two of the first Grammys with her songbook albums?

Ella Fitzgerald won Best Female Vocal Performance for her Irving Berlin Song Book and a jazz award for her Duke Ellington Song Book.

Which singer died at the Beverly Hilton the night before the 2012 Grammys, prompting a Jennifer Hudson tribute?

Jennifer Hudson sang Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' at the 2012 Grammys, held the day after Houston died.

Which conductor held the all-time Grammy record, with 31 wins, until 2023?

Georg Solti, born in Budapest, led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 22 years and won his 31 Grammys between 1963 and 1998.

Which producer holds the record for the most Grammys won by a producer, with 28?

Quincy Jones produced 'We Are the World' and taped a sign on the studio door telling the stars to check their egos.

Which band holds the record for the most Grammys won by a group?

U2 are the only act to win Record of the Year in consecutive years with songs from one album, 'Beautiful Day' and 'Walk On'.

Michael Jackson won a Grammy for narrating the storybook album of which Steven Spielberg film?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial won Best Recording for Children in 1984, one of Michael Jackson's record eight Grammys that night.

Which 1999 album holds the record as the most-honoured album, with nine Grammys?

Supernatural was Carlos Santana's comeback after he lost his record deal, and its hit 'Smooth' with Rob Thomas also won Song of the Year.

Michael Jackson's record eight Grammys in 1984 came mostly for which album?

Thriller's sweep came a month after Michael Jackson's hair caught fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial.

Jennifer Lopez's green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys inspired which Google product?

Google Images launched in 2001 after Eric Schmidt's team saw the dress become the most popular search query they had ever seen.

Who was the first artist to win all four Big Four Grammys in a single night, in 1981?

Christopher Cross swept all four with his debut album, and its single 'Sailing' took both Record and Song of the Year.

Which artist won all four Big Four awards on separate occasions rather than in one night?

Adele won Best New Artist in 2009, then became the first to sweep Album, Record and Song of the Year twice, in 2012 and 2017.

Who is the youngest lead artist ever to win Album of the Year?

Billie Eilish was 18 when When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? won, on the night she swept all four Big Four awards.

Which indie band surprised many viewers by winning Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammys?

Arcade Fire won with The Suburbs, released by the independent label Merge Records, and became the first indie act to take Album of the Year.

Who was the first woman to win Album of the Year, in 1962?

Judy Garland won for Judy at Carnegie Hall, a live album of a 1961 concert many called the greatest night in show business history.

Which was the first hip hop album to win Album of the Year?

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is still her only studio album, and it made her the first woman to win five Grammys in one night.

Which was the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year?

Debí Tirar Más Fotos won three years after Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti became the first Spanish-language album nominated for the award.

Which two artists each won Album of the Year two years running as main artists?

Frank Sinatra won in 1966 and 1967, and Stevie Wonder in 1974 and 1975, then again with his next album, Songs in the Key of Life.

Which was the first rock and roll album to win Album of the Year?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was made as a pure studio project after the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

Which singer won five Grammys in 2008 while performing by satellite from London after her US visa came too late?

Amy Winehouse sang 'Rehab' by satellite from London's Riverside Studios, and the song won both Record and Song of the Year.

Which act is the only one ever to have a Grammy revoked?

Milli Vanilli's Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan never sang on their album, and the award was taken back days after producer Frank Farian admitted it.

At 14, who became the youngest Best New Artist winner and the first country artist to win it, in 1997?

LeAnn Rimes broke through with 'Blue', a song Bill Mack had written in the 1950s, nearly 40 years before her version.

Which comedian won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1961?

Bob Newhart won with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, a debut built on one-sided phone calls that also won Album of the Year.

Who won Best New Artist in 1969, becoming the first blind artist and first Puerto Rican to win it?

José Feliciano won for his Latin-flavoured cover of The Doors' 'Light My Fire', and in 1970 he wrote 'Feliz Navidad' while homesick at Christmas.

Which song won Record and Song of the Year at the first Grammys?

'Volare' by Domenico Modugno, officially 'Nel blu, dipinto di blu', won the Sanremo Festival but finished only third at Eurovision.

Which two artists have won Record of the Year three times?

Paul Simon won twice with Simon & Garfunkel and once for 'Graceland'; Bruno Mars's third came with Silk Sonic, his duo with Anderson .Paak.

Who was the first artist to win Record of the Year in two consecutive years?

Roberta Flack's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' became a hit years after she recorded it, once Clint Eastwood used it in Play Misty for Me.

As of the 2026 Grammys, who had the most Record of the Year nominations, with nine?

Beyoncé has won more Grammys than anyone, 35, yet has never won Record of the Year.

Which studio drummer played on six consecutive Record of the Year winners from 1966 to 1971?

Hal Blaine, a core member of the Wrecking Crew session players, drummed on every winner from 'A Taste of Honey' to 'Bridge over Troubled Water'.

Which act became the first French artists to win Record of the Year, in 2014?

Daft Punk accepted for 'Get Lucky' in their robot helmets without saying a word, and Random Access Memories also took Album of the Year.

A 1991 virtual duet between Natalie Cole and her late father won Song of the Year for which song?

Unforgettable won its writer, Irving Gordon, Song of the Year at 77, four decades after Nat King Cole first recorded it in 1951.

Which songwriter had eight Song of the Year nominations but no win as of the 2026 Grammys?

Taylor Swift shares the record of eight nominations with her producer Jack Antonoff, who won in 2013 for Fun's 'We Are Young'.

Who is the youngest songwriter ever to win Song of the Year?

Lorde got the idea for 'Royals' from a National Geographic photo of baseball star George Brett, whose shirt said 'Royals'.

Who was the first woman to win Song of the Year, in 1972?

Carole King won for 'You've Got a Friend', and her album Tapestry also took Album and Record of the Year that night.

Which pair of songwriters won Song of the Year for 'Moon River'?

Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer won again for 'Days of Wine and Roses', and both songs also took the Oscar for Best Original Song.

As of the 2026 Grammys, which rapper had won more Grammys than any other, with 27?

Kendrick Lamar lost Best Rap Album in 2014 to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Macklemore then texted him an apology saying Lamar should have won.

Which jazz artist has won the most Grammys?

Chick Corea died in February 2021, and a month later he won two more Grammys posthumously, including one for his solo on 'All Blues'.

Who won a Grammy posthumously at 100, becoming the oldest winner in the awards' history?

Jimmy Carter died in December 2024 at 100, and his audiobook win came at the 2025 Grammys.

The 2026 Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media went to 'Golden' from which Netflix animated film?

KPop Demon Hunters' 'Golden', sung by the film's fictional girl group Huntrix, became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy.

Which Los Angeles venue has hosted the Grammys almost every year since 2000?

Crypto.com Arena, the former Staples Center, is part of the downtown LA Live complex, where the Grammy Museum opened in 2008.

After more than 50 years on CBS, which network won the Grammys broadcast rights from 2027?

ABC last aired the Grammys in 1972, before CBS took over in 1973, and Disney's ten-year deal also streams the show on Hulu and Disney+.

Which Grammy honour goes only to recordings more than 25 years old?

The Hall of Fame, set up in 1973, honours specific singles and albums, while the Lifetime Achievement and Trustees awards honour people.

Which producer matched Michael Jackson's record of 12 Grammy nominations in one night, in 1997?

Babyface won Producer of the Year that night, and his production of Eric Clapton's 'Change the World' took Record of the Year.

Who hosted the Grammys for the sixth and final consecutive time in 2026?

Trevor Noah, the South African comedian who hosted The Daily Show from 2015 to 2022, emceed every Grammys from 2021 to 2026.

Which country group swept Album, Record and Song of the Year in 2007 after radio stations boycotted their music?

The Dixie Chicks' 'Not Ready to Make Nice' answered the backlash after Natalie Maines told a 2003 London crowd she was ashamed the president was from Texas.

What is the name of the trademarked zinc alloy from which Grammy trophies have been made since 1990?

Grammium trophies are engraved after the show, so winners on the broadcast hold reusable 'stunt' trophies.

Why were the 1971 Grammys at the Hollywood Palladium held in a single location, unlike earlier years?

The event was televised live for the first time; the first Grammys, in 1959, had been split between Beverly Hills and New York.

Which jazz style's Grammy category was dropped in 2012, then restored in 2013?

Latin jazz albums were moved into the general jazz categories when awards fell from 109 to 78, until Best Latin Jazz Album returned in 2013.

Elvis Presley's only three competitive Grammy wins all came for recordings in which genre of music?

Gospel earned rock and roll's biggest star all three of his trophies from 14 nominations, including one for the album He Touched Me.

Which pop star arrived at the 2011 Grammys inside a giant egg-like vessel carried by models?

Lady Gaga came out of the vessel on stage to perform 'Born This Way', and said it stood for the birth of a race without prejudice.

Which former national leader shared a Grammy with Sophia Loren for narrating Peter and the Wolf?

Mikhail Gorbachev shared the children's spoken word award with Bill Clinton too, putting the last Soviet leader and a US president on one record.

Which fictional group's Christmas single won three awards at the very first Grammys?

The Chipmunks were all voiced by their creator, Ross Bagdasarian, who sang slowly at half tape speed and then played the result back at normal speed.

Which future film star won the first rap Grammy in 1989 as one half of a duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff?

Will Smith, then billed as the Fresh Prince, led a boycott of the ceremony because the new rap prize was handed out off camera.

Which US president won Grammys for the audiobooks of Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope?

Barack Obama won both spoken word prizes before he took office, in 2006 and 2008, and later added Emmys for narrating documentaries.

Which soul singer sang 'Nessun dorma' at the 1998 Grammys when Luciano Pavarotti fell ill mid-show?

Aretha Franklin agreed after hearing the tenor's rehearsal tape and sang it in his key, having performed the aria at a charity gala two nights earlier.

Which inventor's name nearly became the Grammys' title before a mail-in contest settled the matter?

Thomas Edison would have been honoured with the 'Eddie', a working title that lost out when about 300 contest entrants sent in the name used ever since.

Which Golden Girls star won a spoken word Grammy in 2012 for her audiobook If You Ask Me?

Betty White was 90 when she won, adding a first Grammy to a career that had already brought her seven Emmys.

Which British designer made the towering Buffalo hat Pharrell Williams wore to the 2014 Grammys?

Vivienne Westwood created the Buffalo hat for her 1982–83 collection, so the accessory was more than 30 years old when it reached the red carpet.

Which flute-led British band beat Metallica to the first hard rock and metal Grammy in 1989?

Jethro Tull had been told by their label not to bother attending, and the crowd booed when Crest of a Knave was announced as the winner.

Which Irish singer boycotted the 1991 Grammys as too commercial yet won an award there anyway?

Sinéad O'Connor won for I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, the album behind her worldwide hit 'Nothing Compares 2 U', a song written by Prince.

Which British band's Voodoo Lounge won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rock Album, awarded in 1995?

The Rolling Stones picked up the brand-new prize while the Voodoo Lounge Tour was under way, more than 30 years after the group formed.

Which comedian has won Grammys for both stand-up comedy albums and a bluegrass banjo album?

Steve Martin won for Let's Get Small and A Wild and Crazy Guy in the 1970s, then for his banjo album The Crow in 2010.

Which Celine Dion ballad won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1999?

My Heart Will Go On, the love theme from Titanic, won four Grammys that night and had already taken the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Which famine-relief charity single won four Grammys in 1986, including Record and Song of the Year?

We Are the World was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia, and its video won a Grammy as well.

Which Disney film's duet 'A Whole New World' became the first Disney song to win Song of the Year?

Aladdin's magic-carpet duet also won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, a clean sweep of the big film-music prizes.

Which dance-floor anthem won the only Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording, in 1980?

I Will Survive won for Gloria Gaynor, and a backlash against disco then led organisers to scrap the category before the next ceremony.

Which pop star lost the 2000 Grammy for Best New Artist to fellow ex-Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera?

Britney Spears had to wait for her first Grammy, which came later for the single 'Toxic' in the dance recording category.

Which city first hosted the Grammys in 2022 after a Covid surge forced the show out of Los Angeles?

Las Vegas stepped in with the MGM Grand Garden Arena because the usual Los Angeles venue was booked almost every night once the show was rescheduled.

Which Fleetwood Mac album, made as the band's couples split up, won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammys?

Rumours was made as the McVies divorced and other relationships inside the group fell apart, and those separations shaped its songs.

Which film soundtrack, dominated by the Bee Gees, won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1979?

Saturday Night Fever was the best-selling album in history at the time, built around songs the Bee Gees had first written for a regular studio album.

Which guitarist won six Grammys in 1993 for the single 'Tears in Heaven' and a live acoustic album?

Eric Clapton recorded the album, Unplugged, in front of a small audience at a film studio in Windsor, England.

Whose comeback hit 'What's Love Got to Do with It' won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1985?

Tina Turner won three Grammys that night, and the single became her only number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Which album made Alanis Morissette, at 21, the youngest Album of the Year Grammy winner up to 1996?

Jagged Little Pill won four awards that night, including Best Rock Album, tying what was then the record for a woman at a single ceremony.

Which Atlanta duo's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2004?

Outkast built the set from two solo records, one by Big Boi and one by André 3000, and it became only the second rap album to take the top prize.

Which soul pioneer's duets album Genius Loves Company won eight Grammys in 2005, months after his death?

Ray Charles died in June 2004, before the album was released, and its single 'Here We Go Again' went on to win Record of the Year.

Whose Morning Phase won Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammys, prompting Kanye West to leap on stage?

Beck was joined at the microphone for a moment by the rapper, who left without a word in a nod to his 2009 MTV awards interruption.

Which singer performed 'Glitter in the Air' at the 2010 Grammys while spinning on aerial silks?

Pink took up aerial silks after watching Cher's dancers use them on a 2004 tour, and acrobatics became a trademark of her concerts.

Which rapper and actress presided over a mass wedding of couples on stage at the 2014 Grammys?

Queen Latifah officiated as gay and straight couples married during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's performance of 'Same Love'.

Which British star sang Dido's part in a duet of 'Stan' with Eminem at the 2001 Grammys?

Elton John took the part while the campaign group GLAAD was criticising the rapper's lyrics, and the duet served as Eminem's reply.

Whose Nick of Time won Album of the Year at the 1990 Grammys, seven years after her label dropped her?

Bonnie Raitt's breakthrough topped the Billboard 200 and sold five million copies, ending years of personal and professional struggles.

Who joined Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammys for 'Fast Car', her first live TV performance in nine years?

Tracy Chapman wrote the song in the 1980s, and Combs's cover had already made her the first Black songwriter to win the CMA's Song of the Year.

Which rapper hosted the Grammys for five consecutive years, from the 2012 ceremony to the 2016 one?

LL Cool J was a two-time Grammy winner himself and was starring in the crime drama NCIS: Los Angeles throughout his run as host.

The first Grammy ceremony in 1959 ran in two cities at once: Beverly Hills and which other?

New York held its half at the Park Sheraton Hotel while the West Coast guests gathered at the Beverly Hilton on the same day.

Which Baha Men hit, soon a sports stadium staple, won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2001?

Who Let the Dogs Out was first played at a US sporting event by Mississippi State University, before a Major League Baseball team adopted it for the 2000 postseason.

Which Broadway composer of The Sound of Music became the first person to complete the EGOT, in 1962?

Richard Rodgers had also won a Pulitzer Prize in 1944, so the same day made him the first holder of the five-award version as well.

Which actress completed her EGOT at the 2023 Grammys with the audiobook of her memoir Finding Me?

Viola Davis became the 18th person to hold all four of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, and she did it by reading her own life story aloud.

In which US state does a single workshop make and assemble every Grammy trophy by hand?

Colorado is home to Billings Artworks, in the town of Ridgway, where each gold-plated statuette is put together by hand.

Which jazz-rock duo's comeback Two Against Nature beat Eminem to Album of the Year at the 2001 Grammys?

Steely Dan had not released a studio album for 20 years, and the awards they collected that night were the first Grammys of their career.

Which jazz pianist's Joni Mitchell tribute beat Kanye West to Album of the Year at the 2008 Grammys?

Herbie Hancock won with River: The Joni Letters, the first jazz album to take the top prize in 43 years.

Which bossa nova album, featuring 'The Girl from Ipanema', won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1965?

Getz/Gilberto paired American saxophonist Stan Getz with Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto and is credited with popularising bossa nova worldwide.

Which bluegrass singer and fiddler held the record for most Grammys won by a woman until 2021?

Alison Krauss first took the record in 2004, when three wins in one evening lifted her career total to seventeen.

Which dance genre lost its Grammy category after one bandleader had won the award eighteen times?

Polka lost its dedicated prize in 2009 after 24 years, with critics saying the field was too small and too dominated by Jimmy Sturr.

Which two words were on the chest of the dancer who crashed Bob Dylan's 1998 Grammys performance?

Soy Bomb was the work of performance artist Michael Portnoy, who had been hired only to stand in the background and move to the music.

Which jazz bassist and singer beat Justin Bieber and Drake to Best New Artist at the 2011 Grammys?

Esperanza Spalding won on the strength of Chamber Music Society, her third album, which had reached number 34 on the Billboard 200.

Which John Lennon and Yoko Ono album won the Album of the Year Grammy after Lennon's murder?

Double Fantasy had been out for only three weeks when Lennon was killed, and it then jumped to number one on the US album chart.

Which charity set up by the Grammys' organisers names a musician its Person of the Year?

MusiCares was established in 1989, and it also gives a separate prize to musicians who help others through addiction recovery.

Which former One Direction member won Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammys with his third solo album?

Harry Styles won for Harry's House, whose lead single 'As It Was' became the world's biggest single of its year.

Which British group won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1965, receiving its trophies from actor Peter Sellers?

The Beatles also won that year for their vocal group performance of 'A Hard Day's Night', the title song of their first film.