Awards Canceled: 6 Grammy Snubs You Still Might Be Fuming Over

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The 61st Grammy Awards are on Sunday, which means a night of noteworthy performances and probably some devastating let-downs.

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Over the years, the Grammys have developed a reputation as the go-to ceremony for good music…but obviously, this depends on who you ask.

Countless times, the big show has gotten it wrong, either because of politics, popularity or just plain cluelessness.

Hit the next pages for six snubs that still might have a lot of listeners heated whenever you mention Grammys in a music conversation.

Ray Charles wins Album of the Year for Genius Needs Company over Usher’s Confessions, Kanye West’s College Dropout AND Alicia Keys’ Diary of Alicia Keys (2005)

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Now I hate to come after a deceased icon, but whew the competition was stiff in 2004. As the years have passed, Diary has become a 2000s R&B classic, College Dropout remains influential and Usher‘s Confessions had hits for daaays.

But we gon’ let Ray Charles have his Grammy…

Begrudgingly.

Alessia Cara wins Best New Artist over SZA (2018)

SZA gave us lines to live by in 2017…

“Ooo, ooo, better day than yesterday!”

“You like nine to five, I’m the weekeeeend!”

“Luuuuhoooo, luuuhooo, looove!”

If you can name three Alessia Cara lines with more cultural impact, I’ll let her have that Best New Artist Grammy.

I’ll wait….

Adele wins Record of the Year, Song of the Year AND Album of the Year over Beyonce’s Lemonade (2017)

There arguably hasn’t been a more impactful pop album in the past five years like Beyonce‘s Lemonade. “Formation” alone had Beyonce reminding the world that she’s Blackity Black Back and a woman in charge. But a fire single and a poignant hour-long music-movie was no match for safe pop music by a White artist. They couldn’t give Beyonce ONE of the big three Grammy awards.

A complete robbery.

Adele herself knew it in her acceptance speech above.

Frank Ocean loses Best New Artist to Fun and loses Album of the Year to Mumford & Sons (2013)

Source: CBS Photo Archive / Getty

It’s safe to say, as it inches towards its decade anniversary, Channel Orange is a classic. There’s already a young generation celebrating how monumental the album is.

Yet in 2013, Frank Ocean lost Best New Artist to Fun – a band who had one hit, two at best. Meanwhile, a typical folk rock band Mumford & Sons took home Album of the Year over a timeless record by a man who boldly wore a yellow tux to the Grammys.

Even if you weren’t into the pastel get-up, the music of an epic storyteller speaks for itself.

Macklemore wins Best New Artist & Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2014)

Kendrick Lamar dropped one of the most personal and well thought out rap albums of 2012. It was the beginnings of a bonafide star whose presence still looms over hip hop till this day. Yet Macklemore snagged the gold for Best New Artist AND Best Rap Album at the 56th Grammy Awards.

How Sway???

Sure we’ll give “Thrift Shop” Best Rap Performance. We’ll even allow Macklemore a Best Rap Song win if we’re being generous. But Best Rap Album? Even Macklemore was like wtf in the Hot 97 interview above.

But again…when safe White music trumps the real deal.

A Tribe Called Quest gets ZERO Grammy nominations for We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service (2018)

Source: Jeff Kravitz / Getty

It takes a lot for an iconic hip hop group to break up, go solo, be on leave, squash beef, get back together and then drop one of the most timely rap albums of 2016. Tribe‘s last album before We Got It from Here was The Love Movement in 1998 and 18 years later they were still dropping fire…and their politically charged gem came just in time for the long years of Trump we were about to endure.

But naw, the Grammys didn’t care. They did have Tribe shimmy and shake in a powerful 2017 Grammy performance though. But zero nominations.

Cold.

To this day, Tribe has yet to win a Grammy.