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Why Do Grammy Snubs Hurt Fans More Than The Artists? Psychologists Have The Answer
Interview With ExpertWhen a Grammy snub happens, it is rarely the artist who spirals and makes a scene in public. It’s the fans who are furious, heartbroken, and ready to argue like the loss was their own.
Meanwhile, the artists at the center of the outrage often stay silent or respond with a practiced kind of grace, because they understand that awards season is not just about talent but also timing, circumstances, and even politics.
Highlights
- Grammy snubs rarely provoke artists, but fans often treat them like personal heartbreak.
- Experts explain that fans have strong emotional responses because they form "parasocial relationships" with their favorite celebrities.
- Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga were among those who received the most nods with the 2026 Grammy Award nominations.
- But fans were disappointed when several other stars were snubbed.
As the industry prepares for the 2026 Grammys on Sunday, February 1, fans are eagerly waiting to see if their favorite artists will take home a trophy or not.
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Grammy snubs rarely provoke artists, but fans often treat them like personal heartbreak
Image credits: Wes Hale/Getty Images
“Music is one of the two most identity-expressive categories (fashion is the other). Music is how people express themselves. Having their music overlooked can be similar to them being overlooked,” Michael Lewis, author of Fandom Analytics: Creating and Harnessing Consumer and Cultural Passion, told Bored Panda.
Over the years, netizens have had explosive reactions when they see their favorite artists snubbed.
Fans of Ariana Grande claimed she was being “sabotaged and blackballed” when she didn’t snag a nomination in the main categories of Album of the Year, Record of the Year, or Song of the Year in the 2025 Grammy nominations.
Fans accused the Grammys of “sabotage” and “blackballing” after Ariana Grande missed some major-category nominations
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Swifties were outraged when Taylor Swift’s album Lover was not nominated for the coveted Album Of The Year category in the 2020 Grammy Award nominations.
“The best-selling album of 2019 didn’t get nominated for album of the year. Okay that’s cool,” one fan said at the time.
The same year, Halsey sent a message to her “upset” fans in 2019 when her hit song Without Me wasn’t nominated at all.
“Please do not waste your anger or frustration,” Halsey told her fans in a 2019 tweet
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When the 2026 Grammy Award nominations were announced last November, many were surprised when Alex Warren’s hit Ordinary, which comfortably sat in the #1 spot of the Hot 100 this year for 10 straight weeks, didn’t snag a single nomination. Alex, however, received a nomination for Best New Artist.
Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga were among those who received the most nods, but stars like The Weeknd, Lorde, Gracie Abrams, and Megan Moroney didn’t receive any nominations for the upcoming award show.
Swifties exploded when Lover failed to land an Album of the Year nod
Image credits: Genius
Grammy snubs hit fans hard because music isn’t just entertainment; it’s personal. Fans don’t just support artists. They attach identity, memory, and meaning to the songs, which often become soundtracks to their lives.
“Modern fandom is rooted in witnessing. Fans feel like archivists of an artist’s truth. They remember the overlooked performances, the early mixtapes, the underplayed singles, the risks that didn’t immediately pay off. So when an awards body fails to recognize that trajectory, fans react as if history itself is being miswritten,” TV personality and author Germany Kent said.
Image credits: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
To fans, a single song can feel like a life-defining moment. But to artists, it may just be one chapter in the entire story of their career.
“Songs reach us all on an emotional level. Depending on how deep-dyed their fandom is, fans experience this to the nth degree,” said Leo Braudy, University Professor Emeritus of English and Art History at the University of Southern California, whose work focuses on fame and celebrity culture.
“While artists certainly have an emotional connection to their songs, they are creating careers as well, in which an individual song is only part,” he continued.
Image credits: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Kent, a former FOX News evening anchor and Hall of Fame Media Pro, said fans don’t just “support” music but are witnessing “journeys.”
“When people follow an artist over time, they’re investing in growth, survival, reinvention, and truth-telling. They’ve streamed the songs through breakups, grief, joy, and healing. They’ve defended that artist when they were dismissed, misunderstood, or underestimated,” she said.
“So when an awards body overlooks that work, it can feel like their lived experience is being dismissed too,” she added.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was at the #1 spot of the Hot 100 for 10 straight weeks but didn’t snag a single nomination
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Loyal fans, who have been watching an artist’s entire career arc take form, would remember their early releases, even the ones nobody paid attention to.
So, “a Grammy snub isn’t just about this season; it can feel like a denial of years of impact, cultural influence, and emotional labor that fans have witnessed up close,” Kent said.
“Artists, on the other hand, often respond differently because they’ve learned to protect their peace. Many understand the politics, timing, and limitations of awards systems,” she went on to say. “They may also recognize that longevity, ownership, and community matter more than a single trophy. Silence or grace isn’t indifference it’s perspective.”
Experts explain that fans have strong emotional responses because they form “parasocial relationships” with their favorite celebrities
Image credits: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
Experts explained that fans feel a deep emotional response to their favorite artist’s victory or loss because they form Parasocial relationships, which is a one-sided psychological bond where the fan invests emotional energy, interest, and time for their favorite artist or musician.
“In a globally connected culture, fans don’t experience artists at a distance. They experience them as ongoing presences in their lives. Through interviews, lyrics, performances, social media, and public vulnerability, audiences gain sustained access to an artist’s interior world,” Kent said.
In spite of receiving zero reciprocation, fans get a sense of “knowing” the artist over time, and this develops into deep emotional responses during the media figure’s highs and lows.
“Even though parasocial relationships are often not actualized in real life—that is, fans often never meet the public figures to whom they are attached—they can generate intense emotional responses in fans,” Kent said.
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Braudy revealed that in today’s day and age, social media has intensified the “false intimacy” that fans feel with celebrities.
Technology has “made that experience even more overpowering, often without the realization,” he said.
Claire Sisco King, a pop culture expert and Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Vanderbilt University, said technology and social media has “intensified” a fandom’s emotional attachment to celebrities.
“The contemporary digital media landscape has intensified these attachments by offering fans opportunities to engage with celebrities more directly—or, at least, to perceive themselves as engaging with them more directly,” she said.
“Famous and non-famous people use the same social media platforms and can even interact, so this perceived intimacy can heighten fans’ responses to celebrities’ experiences,” she continued.
Elvis Presley holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling solo artist, with 1 billion sales worldwide, but he has never been nominated for Album Of The Year
Image credits: RCA Records & Tapes
The Grammys have long been accused of overlooking artists whose influence exceeds their trophy count.
Britney Spears, whose career defined an era of pop stardom, has received just one Grammy in her entire life.
Elvis Presley, whose impact on modern music is immeasurable, received only three awards. He was never nominated for Album Of The Year, and his famous hits, like Can’t Help Falling in Love and Burning Love, never made it to any category.
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Of all the artists who have faced Grammy snubs, Beyoncé’s career is often considered by her fandom, Beyhive, as one of the most glaring examples.
She has taken home 35 Grammy trophies and bagged 99 nominations, making her both the most-awarded and most-nominated artist in Grammy award history. However, only a couple of those 35 wins came from one of the Big Four categories: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist.
Despite being the most awarded artist in Grammy history, Beyoncé endured years of Big Four category losses
Image credits: Francis Specker/CBS
Despite having nearly 100 nominations in 25 years, the Halo singer continued making music that topped the charts. Meanwhile, the Beyhive fandom also continued connecting with her on a visceral level and saw themselves as supporters of an artist who kept going.
“When that person isn’t acknowledged, it can feel like a missed moment of collective validation,” Kent said.
“I can’t possibly accept this award … my artist of my life is Beyoncé,” Adele said during her acceptance speech in 2017
Image credits: notpopbase
Beyoncé’s Lemonade loss at the 2017 awards is perhaps one of the most cited Grammy snubs of all time. Lemonade was seen as a love letter to Black women, blending music, politics, Black history, and storytelling.
The album was nominated for Album Of The Year, but lost to Adele’s 25 at the 2017 Grammys. However, when Adele got up on stage, she said Beyoncé’s Lemonade deserved the win.
“I can’t possibly accept this award, and I’m very humble and very grateful, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé,” Adele said during her acceptance speech. “This album for me, the ‘Lemonade’ album, was so monumental.”
Image credits: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Tears streamed down Beyoncé’s cheeks as Adele spoke directly to her in the audience and praised her for “empowering” her, her friends, and her Black friends through her music.
Fans were outraged that year, calling the award show racist for not acknowledging Lemonade as an era-defining masterpiece.
JAY-Z also called out the Recording Academy for snubbing his wife multiple times
Image credits: Recording Academy / GRAMMYs
Beyoncé’s husband JAY-Z also called out the Recording Academy for snubbing his wife multiple times.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year,” he said while accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2024 Grammys.
“So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year,” he added. “That doesn’t work.”
The Beyhive, which has remained one of the most vocal fandoms in music history, defended Beyoncé amid repeated Grammy snubs because, for them, the singer’s losses were like a reflection of their own ambitions and resilience.
“When someone sees an artist persevere through obscurity, rejection, or systemic barriers, they’re not just witnessing a career; they’re watching a version of their own striving made visible,” Kent said.
When artists lose but still persevere, fans may think: “I know what it feels like to do the work and still be unseen”
“For many people, recognition has been delayed, denied, or conditional,” Kent continued. “So when an artist who represents perseverance, identity, or truth is overlooked, it can activate a familiar ache: I know what it feels like to do the work and still be unseen.”
“The artist becomes a proxy, not because fans lack boundaries, but because cultural figures often carry collective meaning,” she added.
Beyoncé finally won Album Of The Year last year for Cowboy Carter, an award that Beyhive felt was long overdue, especially for someone who had more Grammy wins than Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Prince, and Elton John put together.
Cowboy Carter also won Best Country Music Album, making the Irreplaceable singer the first female Black artist to win in that category.
“Grammys lost the plot years ago,” one commented online
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Serena Myers 15 hours ago (edited)
I don't have a favourite artist, most if not all of the best are gone, and the majority of us couldn't care less, Binitha. Read the room.
linnetteavianna 4 hours ago
I get paid over 220 Bucks per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. i never thought i'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 15k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. the potential with this is endless..., COPY HERE➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Serena Myers 15 hours ago (edited)
I don't have a favourite artist, most if not all of the best are gone, and the majority of us couldn't care less, Binitha. Read the room.
linnetteavianna 4 hours ago
I get paid over 220 Bucks per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. i never thought i'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 15k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. the potential with this is endless..., COPY HERE➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
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