Mariah Carey isn’t holding back about how she feels about the Grammys. Despite selling millions of records and earning 34 nominations, the 56-year-old singer has only won five Grammy Awards — and hasn’t received a nomination since 2009.
In a recent appearance on Pitchfork’s Over/Under YouTube series, Carey was asked about the award show and responded bluntly: “Ha, I think the Grammys are overrated.” She doubled down, saying both the ceremony and the award itself were “overrated,” before softening slightly with, “But we love everybody.”
This isn’t the first time Carey has voiced frustration over her Grammy record. On the Las Culturistas podcast last October, when hosts commented she didn’t have enough wins, Carey laughed and replied, “They scammed me. They toy with me.”
Her Grammy history dates back to 1991, when she won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Vision of Love. In 2006, she took home three awards for The Emancipation of Mimi and her hit single We Belong Together.
But her last nomination came in 2009 for I Understand, and she hasn’t been recognized since. Even when she received the Global Impact Award at the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective event in February 2024, Carey couldn’t resist a jab. Holding the plaque, she joked, “Is this a real Grammy? I haven’t seen one in soooooo long. It’s weird. I don’t know. We’ll figure out what this is later.”