The Grammy Awards have been kind to multiple country artists over time, as seen in the trophy cases of Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, The Chicks, Dan + Shay, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and numerous others. Likewise, there's a long list of superstars who've never taken home a golden gramophone for one of the country categories, much less etched their name in music industry history by winning one of the all-genre Big Four awards (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist).
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Our roundup sticks with country and country-adjacent artists. Diana Ross, Snoop Dogg. Katy Perry, Patti Smith and Nas are among the transcendent pop culture figures without a single Grammy to their name. More contemporary names to go 0-fer include Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Nicki Minaj. We also skip artists who hadn't been nominated prior to now— namely Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll.
Read on for a list of 12 country artists who, as of January 2024, have yet to win a Grammy award. Acts range from some of the top stars of the '90s and early aughts to some of today's most-respected songwriters and radio hitmakers.
Scott Legato/Getty Images Dierks Bentley seems like the type of storyteller who could join Miranda Lambert and others as a radio-friendly country star with Grammy cred. At the very least, you'd think that some of his bluegrass material would get some love from the Recording Academy. Yet so far, he's 0-for-14. He's got a chance to break that glass ceiling this year because his Billy Strings duet "High Note" is in the running for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Terry Wyatt/Getty Images Amid years of commercial success that's landed him shelves full of industry awards, Luke Bryan has the dubious distinction of being a pop culture fixture without a single Grammy nomination. Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival Last year, Zach Bryan picked up his first career nomination: Best Country Solo Performance for "Something in the Orange." In 2024, he's got three nominations (two (Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance) for the Kacey Musgraves duet "I Remember Everything" and Best Country Album for Zach Bryan. Paras Griffin/Getty Images Kenny Chesney's chart success dates back to 1995 and shows no signs of stopping. His first Grammy nomination came nearly a decade later, and Chesney has yet to take home a trophy in five tries. John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA Though Eric Church fits in a similar wheelhouse as Chris Stapleton and other Grammy-endorsed storytellers, Chief is 0-for-9 as a Grammy nominee. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images In all likelihood, an icon the caliber of Patsy Cline is only listed here because of timing. Cline died in a 1963 plane crash. The Grammy Awards debuted less than four years prior, and Best Country & Western Recording was the lone country category at the first six Grammy Award presentations. (In 1995, Cline received a posthumous Lifetime Achievment Award from the Recording Academy.) Terry Wyatt/WireImage Although this year will mark the second in a row with a Luke Combs live performance during the main Grammys broadcast, the "Forever After All" singer has won zero awards off six nominations. He's got a chance to fix that in 2024 because his cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" is up for Best Country Solo Performance. Sam Morris/Getty Images Despite the duo of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley's commercial success during their run as Florida Georgia Line, the group's only been nominated once for a Grammy (Best Country Duo/Group Performance (2018) for the Bebe Rexha collaboration "Meant to Be"). There's arguably an anti-"bro-country" bias in play here. Quite a few FGL peers have never won a Grammy, such as Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images Despite having a small catalog of recordings compared with most on this list, Jamey Johnson's gotten his name called often in past years when Grammy nominations got unveiled. His run of award consideration began in 2007 as a co-writer of George Strait's "Give It Away." Yet so far, he's 0-for-10. Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic Toby Keith's first nomination came for his 1997 Sting collaboration "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying." Sting's a 17-time Grammy winner, so there's few duet partners more likely to score you a trophy. Keith's seventh and most recent nomination came in 2010 for "Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)," a tribute to the late NBA player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale. John Shearer/WireImage Martina McBride's first nomination (Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Independence Day") dates all the way back to 1994. Thirty years later, she's 0-for-13. BErika Goldring/WireImage) Critically acclaimed singles (such as worthy Grammy nominee "God's Country") and crossover success have yet to equal Recording Academy recognition for one of Nashville's top 21st century stars.Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Zach Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Eric Church
Patsy Cline
Luke Combs
Florida Georgia Line
Jamey Johnson
Toby Keith
Martina McBride
Blake Shelton
Editor's Note: This story previously ran on Jan. 14, 2022. It was updated on Jan. 29, 2024.
