Headline: These stars hold some of the Grammys' biggest records
A Grammy is widely regarded as music’s highest honor and hundreds of recording artists have taken home the gramophone statue in the award’s nearly 63-year history. However, a select few artists have even set some Grammys records of their own. Here are a few you should know about ahead of the 2021 Grammy Awards.
Youngest person to win a Grammy
With her best new artist and best female country vocal performance wins at the 1997 Grammy Awards, country singer LeAnn Rimes became the youngest individual artist to take home a Grammy at 14 years old. In 2001, the youngest Grammy winner overall became 8-year-old Leah Peasall, who won a Grammy with her sisters Sarah and Hannah as part of the group the Peasall Sisters. They won for their contribution to the “O Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, which won album of the year.
Oldest person to win a Grammy
When Pinetop Perkins won the award for best traditional blues album in 2011 at 97 years old, he became the oldest person to win a Grammy. A month later, Perkins died of cardiac arrest in his home.
Only artists to have a Grammy rescinded
Notorious musical frauds Milli Vanilli remain the only artists to ever have their Grammy rescinded. The award was revoked in 1989 after it was revealed that the pair, which consisted of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, lip synced all of their songs to tracks recorded by other artists. The category was left vacant for the year.
Only artist to refuse a Grammy
Only one artist, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, refused her Grammy, turning down the award for the best alternative music performance category in 1991.
Most Grammys won in 1 night
Michael Jackson and Santana are tied for the record of most Grammys won in one night at eight. Most of the eight Grammys Michael Jackson took home in 1984 were for his smash-hit album “Thriller,” but he also won an award for best children’s recording for narrating a recording of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” The band Santana tied the record in 2000 with its album “Supernatural.”
Most co-writers on a song of the year
With seven co-writers, Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” broke the record for most co-writers on a song to win the Grammy for song of the year.
Most Grammys received by a single artist
The late conductor Georg Solti, who led the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic and the Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, won 32 competitive Grammys, making him the most awarded artist in Grammy history.
Most Grammy nominations
Quincy Jones is the most-nominated artist in Grammy history with a record 80 nods since 1961.
Most Grammys won by a living artist
Jones also holds the record for most Grammys won by a living artist with 28 wins. He set the record in 2019 after previously being tied with Allison Krauss, the female artist with the most Grammy wins.
Most Grammy wins by a group
U2 is the group with the most Grammy wins. The group has taken home 22 trophies total.
Most Grammy wins by a rap artist
Jay-Z is the rap artist with the most Grammy wins with a total of 22 awards. He has been awarded in categories spanning from rap to R&B to pop music through his work with artists such as Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé and Rihanna.
Most nominations without a win
Conductor Zubin Mehta has the most Grammy nominations without a single win at 18. The previous record-holder was Norwegian sound engineer and producer Morten Lindberg, who was nominated 28 times before finally winning.
Artists to win in all 4 general categories
The four general categories of the Grammy Awards — song of the year, record of the year, album of the year and best new artist — are among the most-coveted awards of the night. To date, only two artists have won all four awards in one night: Christopher Cross in 1981 and Billie Eilish in 2020.
Longest Grammy Awards show
The 2014 Grammy Awards was the longest awards show in history at 3 hours and 45 minutes. The show was 15 minutes longer than in previous years, and networks ended up cutting into the final performance featuring Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who later voiced his displeasure on Twitter.
Most awarded albums
With nine Grammy awards apiece, U2’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” and Santana’s album “Supernatural” are both tied for the albums awarded the most Grammys. “Supernatural” earned eight trophies for the band Santana, while Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas won Song of the Year for writing “Smooth.”
Most awards won consecutively in the same category
Aretha Franklin holds the record for most awards won consecutively in the same category. She won the best female R&B vocal performance award eight years in a row from 1968-1975.
Most Grammy performances by a female artist
Bonnie Raitt has performed on the Grammys stage nine times, giving her the distinction of having the most performances at the ceremony by a female artist. With eight performances apiece, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin are both tied for second-most Grammy performances by a female artist.
EGOT winners
Many Grammy winners have gone on to win other awards. One coveted title known as the EGOT goes to artists who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Academy (Oscar) and Tony Award. There are 16 EGOT winners to-date: Alan Menken, John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Rodgers, Tim Rice, Robert Lopez, Scott Rudin, Mike Nichols, Mel Brooks, Jonathan Tunick, Marvin Hamlisch, Audrey Hepburn, John Gielgud, Rita Moreno and Helen Hayes.
Most entries submitted
The 2021 Grammys had the most submissions for consideration with 23,207 entries total.
Longest metal song to win a Grammy
The band Tool won a Grammy for best metal performance with their song “7Empest,” which at 15 minutes and 44 seconds, is the longest metal song to win a Grammy. Interestingly, “7Empest” is also the longest song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing David Bowie’s nearly 10 minute “Blackstar.”
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