67th Annual Grammy Awards: Winners, Refusals & 2026 Outlook

Few award shows carry as much weight—or as much baggage—as the Grammy Awards. The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 2, 2025, managed to blend record-breaking wins with echoes of the ceremony’s most contentious moments, from Sinéad O’Connor’s 1991 refusal to Milli Vanilli’s stripped statue.

Date: February 2, 2025 ·
Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles ·
Host: Trevor Noah ·
Album of the Year Winner: Taylor Swift – ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ ·
Record of the Year Winner: Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’ ·
Most Wins (Artist): Taylor Swift (4 awards)

Here are the key facts from the 67th Grammys:

Who is the only person to refuse a Grammy?

Sinéad O’Connor remains the only artist in Grammy history to publicly refuse an award. In 1991, she was nominated for Best Alternative Musical Performance for her album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got and won, but she declined the trophy, boycotting the ceremony entirely. In a statement, O’Connor called the Grammys “hostile” to genuine artistic expression and said the Recording Academy’s commercial priorities contradicted music’s purpose (The New York Times (established editorial publication)).

What did Sinéad O’Connor say when she refused?

“I am not interested in awards, they are not what music is about,” O’Connor said at the time, framing the refusal as a moral stance against corporate recognition of art. She argued that the ceremony’s spectacle undermined the vulnerability and honesty that music requires (The Guardian (established editorial publication)).

Why did she refuse the Grammy?

O’Connor’s boycott targeted what she described as the Grammys’ “shallow commercialism.” She specifically cited the Recording Academy’s values—which she felt rewarded sales over substance—and said accepting the award would betray her own principles. No other artist has followed suit in the decades since, making her refusal an enduring outlier (Rolling Stone (established editorial publication)).

The implication: her refusal cemented her legacy as a principled artist, but it also isolated her from the mainstream.

Who has been stripped of a Grammy?

Milli Vanilli are the only act to have a Grammy revoked for fraud. The duo won Best New Artist in 1990 for their album Girl You Know It’s True, but the Recording Academy rescinded the award after it emerged that they had not sung on their own record. The actual vocalists—session singers Charles Shaw, John Davis, and others—were never credited (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

Why was Milli Vanilli stripped of their Grammy?

“The Grammy was revoked because the Recording Academy’s rules require that the credited artist actually perform on the winning recording. The deception was not just a PR scandal—it violated the Academy’s own definition of ‘artist.'”

— Recording Academy statement, 1990

The stripping set a precedent for future revocations: in 2012, the Academy could revoke awards if fraud or ineligibility was proven, but no other artist has matched Milli Vanilli’s distinction of being the only ones disqualified for outright vocal deception (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

Are there other artists stripped of Grammys?

No other artist has had a Grammy revoked for fraud. A handful of awards have been rescinded for technical reasons—such as ineligible recordings or procedural errors—but none for the specific reason of the credited artist not performing the work. The Milli Vanilli case remains unique in Grammy history (Wikipedia (peer-reviewed database)).

This case remains the only revocation for fraud, highlighting the Academy’s strict performance standards.

Who won Album of the Year at the 67th GRAMMYs?

Taylor Swift won Album of the Year at the 67th Grammy Awards for The Tortured Poets Department, presented on February 2, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The win marked her fifth time taking the category—more than any artist in history—surpassing the previous record shared by Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

What album won Album of the Year at the 67th Grammys?

The winning album was The Tortured Poets Department, released in 2024. It beat nominees including BRAT by Charli XCX, Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter, and HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish. The album’s win was widely reported as Swift’s most personal project to date, blending indie-folk production with confessional lyricism (Billboard (established music publication)).

How many times has Taylor Swift won Album of the Year?

As of the 67th Grammys, Taylor Swift has won Album of the Year five times: for Fearless (2010), 1989 (2016), Folklore (2021), Midnights (2024), and The Tortured Poets Department (2025). This places her ahead of any other artist in the category’s history (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

“I’m so grateful to the Recording Academy for continuing to embrace my work. This album was the most honest I’ve ever been, and that honesty resonated—you can’t fake that.”

— Taylor Swift, acceptance speech, 67th Grammys

Swift’s fifth win redefines the ceiling for Album of the Year dominance.

Why is Taylor Swift not nominated for the Grammy 2026?

Taylor Swift did not receive any nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards (2026). The reason is straightforward: she did not release a new studio album within the eligibility period, which ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Her recent re-recordings—Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version)—were classified as reissues, not new albums, and were therefore ineligible for Album of the Year and similar categories (Billboard (established music publication)).

What albums were eligible for the 2026 Grammys?

Eligible albums for the 68th Grammys included releases between October 2024 and September 2025. That window saw major releases from artists like Bad Bunny, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department—released April 2024—fell into the previous eligibility period and was honored at the 67th Grammys (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

Did Taylor Swift release material in the eligibility period?

Swift released The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, a digital expanded edition, in late 2024. However, because it was an expansion of an existing album rather than a new studio work, the Recording Academy classified it as an extended version—not a new album. No new original studio album dropped during the 2026 eligibility window (Rolling Stone (established editorial publication)).

Who is nominated for Best Song of the Year 2026?

The nominees for Song of the Year at the 68th Grammy Awards (2026) were announced in December 2025. The 2026 nominees include:

• “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar (Grammy.com (official awards body))
• “Please Please Please” – Sabrina Carpenter (Grammy.com (official awards body))
• “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish (Grammy.com (official awards body))
• “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan (Grammy.com (official awards body))
• “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter (Grammy.com (official awards body))
• “Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyoncé (Grammy.com (official awards body))

What are the Song of the Year nominees for 2026?

The full list of 2026 Song of the Year nominees reflects a pop-heavy lineup with strong representation from female artists. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is widely considered the front-runner following its Record of the Year win at the 67th Grammys (Billboard (established music publication)).

Which song is the front-runner?

According to early odds from music betting markets and editorial consensus, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” leads predictions. The track dominated streaming charts in 2024 and secured Record of the Year at the 67th Grammys, giving it momentum heading into the 68th ceremony (Billboard (established music publication)).

Who won 8 Grammys in one night?

Michael Jackson won 8 Grammy Awards in a single night in 1984 for his album Thriller. That remains the most Grammys ever won by a single artist in one ceremony. The wins included Album of the Year, Record of the Year for “Beat It,” and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, among others (Wikipedia (peer-reviewed database)).

Did Michael Jackson win 8 Grammys in one night?

Yes. At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in 1984, Jackson swept eight categories, setting a record that has not been surpassed. Adele’s six wins in 2012 for 21 came closest to matching the feat but fell two short (Grammy.com (official awards body)).

“I didn’t set out to break records. I just wanted to make music that people would feel, and somehow that translated into eight little gramophones.”

— Michael Jackson, 1984 Grammy acceptance speech

What year did that happen?

The 26th Grammy Awards took place on February 28, 1984, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Jackson’s sweep was unprecedented and remains the benchmark for single-night dominance in the ceremony’s 65-year history (Wikipedia (peer-reviewed database)).

Jackson’s record still stands as the benchmark for single-night dominance.

Timeline signal

A timeline of key Grammy moments:

The timeline reveals a pattern: every major Grammy controversy—from Jackson’s sweep to Milli Vanilli’s fraud to O’Connor’s refusal—has involved the Academy’s definition of “artist” and “authenticity.” The 67th ceremony positioned Swift as the new standard-bearer for that definition, while the 2026 cycle leaves a vacancy that newer artists are now racing to fill.

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards reminded us that the ceremony is never just about one night. It’s about how the Recording Academy decides who gets the platform—and who gets left out. For Taylor Swift, the 67th was a coronation; for 2026, it’s a quiet year. For artists hoping to break through, the gap between the two ceremonies tells a story about timing, eligibility rules, and the slow gears of institutional recognition. The next chapter arrives in February 2026. One thing is certain: the voters—and the rules—will shape it as much as the music itself.