Despite 34 nominations and a legendary career, the pop icon says she still hasn’t received the Grammy recognition she deserves
Mariah Carey may hold the record for the most No. 1 singles by a solo artist and continue to dominate pop culture decades into her career, but there’s one achievement she feels doesn’t reflect her legacy: her Grammy tally.
Appearing on Live With Kelly and Mark to promote her new album Here for It All, Carey opened up about her complicated relationship with the Recording Academy. Despite amassing 34 nominations since 1991, the elusive chanteuse has won just five Grammys in her career, along with the special Grammy Global Impact Award in 2024.
When host Kelly Ripa greeted her by calling her “such a Grammy winner,” Carey pushed back. “Eh, not really,” she said. “I mean, I’m not being politically correct about it, because I really went through a lot with that.”
Reflecting on the mid-1990s, when she was at the height of her career with chart-topping hits like One Sweet Day (with Boyz II Men), Always Be My Baby, and Fantasy, Carey recalled being nominated across nearly every major category — but walking away empty-handed. “I was there, we opened the show. Yeah, so we just sat there like, ‘Yay!’” she said with a laugh.
Mark Consuelos reminded her that while the Grammys may have overlooked her, she’s still being celebrated elsewhere — including this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, where she earned the Video Vanguard Award for career excellence. Carey responded with mock enthusiasm: “Let’s just say yay for the Grammys. Yay! Yay Grammys! Woo!”
This isn’t the first time Carey has called out the Recording Academy. In 2024, she joked on the Las Culturistas podcast that the Grammys had “scammed” her, telling hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, “They toy with me.”
Over her three-decade career, Carey has taken home Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance and Best New Artist in 1991, and three awards in 2006 for her comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi, including Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best R&B Song (We Belong Together). But she hasn’t received a Grammy nomination since 2009.
Still, the singer remains one of music’s most enduring figures. Her holiday classic All I Want for Christmas Is You continues to top the charts every December, 25 years after its release, and her latest single Type Dangerous has already entered the Billboard Hot 100 ahead of Friday’s release of Here for It All.
For Carey, the Grammys may remain a sore spot — but her cultural dominance proves her legacy goes far beyond awards.
