Lana Del Rey lost out on a Grammy for the eleventh time on Sunday (Feb. 4).
The alternative icon has received 11 nominations throughout her career and has never won one of music’s most prestigious awards, despite her contributions to the alternative genre.
According to her fans’ viral theory, the infamous awards show snubs Del Rey on purpose.
A blind item fueling the theory that Lana Del Rey is blacklisted from winning a Grammy is going viral on TikTok and Twitter. It seemingly suggests that Grammy voters refuse to vote for Del Rey because of her highly criticized 2012 SNL performance. After the performance, her vocal abilities were slammed and she was parodied in a later episode of the sketch comedy show.
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The alleged Grammy voter also stated that he voted for Midnights by Taylor Swift for Album of the Year simply because she’s the biggest name, not necessarily because he thought it deserved the win based on artistic merit.
Notably, the alleged Grammy voter is a middle-aged male who leans toward country, Americana, and rock music – a demographic Del Rey sang about in many songs early in her career.
However, it’s worth noting that several iconic musicians have never won Grammys but are not any less beloved. Katy Perry has been nominated 13 times and never managed to come out on top. Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg has 16 nods and has never won. And shockingly, Diana Ross has won a lifetime achievement award, but not an actual Grammy despite being nominated 13 times.
Still, for many fans, it’s hard to ignore Lana Del Rey’s Grammys snubs, especially since she’s been an undeniable force in alternative music for so long.
Many of the alt-pop stars we know and love today have been inspired by the “Video Games” singer, even Swift.
Swift’s most recent work and forthcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, seemingly contains influence from Del Rey in both the music and aesthetic.
In Swift’s 2024 Album of the Year acceptance speech – which she won over Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – she said, “I think so many female artists would not be where they are and would not have the inspiration they have if it weren’t for the work that [Lana has] done. I think she’s a legacy artist, a legend in her prime right now. I’m so lucky to know you and to be your friend.”
