It has been 10 years since Prince died in his Minneapolis home, Paisley Park, leaving behind a musical legacy that will reverberate for generations. Throughout his multifaceted career, he was heralded for his creative vision, musicality, and his ability to push past norms on many levels.
And while Prince did achieve massive contemporary popularity for an artist so revolutionary, the Grammys weren’t so quick to embrace him — or, at the very least, see his accomplishments for what they were at the time. Nominated for a total 38 Grammys, Prince only managed to win seven awards, making him one of the most under-awarded legends in the awards’ history.
Here are the five most shocking snubs for Prince at the Grammys.
Purple Rain — Album of the Year
Following his first two nominations in 1984, Prince returned to the ceremony with the soundtrack for Purple Rain, the film originally conceived by the artist and which he starred in. The album earned Prince his first three Grammy Awards — for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture Or A Television Special, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, and Best Rhythm & Blues Song for “I Feel for You” — but it missed in Album of the Year, which went to Lionel Ritchie for Can’t Slow Down.
“Kiss” — Song of the Year
Despite being one of Prince’s most beloved hits, “Kiss,” off of Parade (also the soundtrack for Under the Cherry Moon, which he also directed and starred in), didn’t make it into any of the general categories. The track won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, but lost Best Rhythm & Blues Song to “Sweet Love” by Anita Baker. And while the Baker song is a worthy winner, its accomplishment is slightly overshadowed by the injustices done to Prince elsewhere.
Sign o’ the Times — Album of the Year
What is widely regarded as not only Prince’s best album, but perhaps the greatest record of the decade, Sign o’ the Times generated only three nominations for the artist — and no wins. Single “U Got the Look” lost in both Best Rhythm & Blues Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, and the album fell to U2’s Joshua Tree in Album of the Year. Whether that last one is a snub at all mostly comes down to taste, but few could deny the massive cultural importance of Signs.
“Partyman” — Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
Sure, I could explain why the primary track off of Prince’s soundtrack for Tim Burton’s Batman should have won over Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run” from Working Girl, but could I do a better job convincing you than the music video? No. I could not.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” — Song of the Year
As the song’s writer, Prince was nominated for Song of the Year for Sinéad O’Connor’s hit cover, one of the seminal songs of the 1990s and a frequent entry on “Greatest Songs of All Time” lists. And yet, somehow, “Nothing Compares 2 U” lost Song of the Year to Bette Midler’s maudlin rendition of “From a Distance.” Even as a nomination for a song not performed by Prince, it stands as one of the worst snubs of his career.
