For each Album of the Year race from 2015 to 2025 we compared US Google search for the winner and four big-name rivals over the 12 months before the ceremony. The winner was the most-searched act in the group 6 times (Taylor Swift 2016, Bruno Mars 2018, Billie Eilish 2020, Taylor Swift 2021, Harry Styles 2023, Taylor Swift 2024; Harry Styles was tied with Bad Bunny). Adele in 2017 ranked fourth, behind Drake, Beyoncé and Justin Bieber. Three winners were the least-searched act in their group: Beck in 2015 (Beyoncé was searched more than five times as much), Kacey Musgraves in 2019 (behind Drake, Cardi B, Post Malone and Kendrick Lamar) and Jon Batiste in 2022 (behind Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Kanye West and Olivia Rodrigo). Even in 2025, Taylor Swift was searched about four times as much as the winner, Beyoncé.
Album of the Year: winner vs four rivals, 12 months of US search before the ceremony
| Year | Winner | Winner's average | Winner's rank | Most-searched in group | Rivals (average) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Beck | 7 | 5 of 5 | Beyoncé (39) | Beyoncé 39, Sam Smith 10, Ed Sheeran 9, Pharrell 9 |
| 2016 | Taylor Swift | 42 | 1 of 5 | — | The Weeknd 13, Kendrick Lamar 9, Chris Stapleton 3, Alabama Shakes 2 |
| 2017 | Adele | 4 | 4 of 5 | Drake (19) | Drake 19, Beyoncé 15, Justin Bieber 9, Sturgill Simpson 0 |
| 2018 | Bruno Mars | 21 | 1 of 5 | — | Kendrick Lamar 19, Jay-Z 17, Lorde 5, Childish Gambino 4 |
| 2019 | Kacey Musgraves | 1 | 5 of 5 | Drake (27) | Drake 27, Cardi B 21, Post Malone 10, Kendrick Lamar 3 |
| 2020 | Billie Eilish | 34 | 1 of 5 | — | Ariana Grande 25, Lizzo 18, Lil Nas X 8, Lana Del Rey 5 |
| 2021 | Taylor Swift | 27 | 1 of 5 | — | Post Malone 13, Dua Lipa 7, Coldplay 3, HAIM 2 |
| 2022 | Jon Batiste | 0 | 5 of 5 | Taylor Swift (19) | Taylor Swift 19, Billie Eilish 14, Kanye West 14, Olivia Rodrigo 11 |
| 2023 | Harry Styles | 26 | 1 of 5 | — | Bad Bunny 26, Beyoncé 21, Kendrick Lamar 11, Adele 10 |
| 2024 | Taylor Swift | 50 | 1 of 5 | — | SZA 4, Olivia Rodrigo 4, Miley Cyrus 4, Lana Del Rey 3 |
| 2025 | Beyoncé | 6 | 2 of 5 | Taylor Swift (26) | Taylor Swift 26, Sabrina Carpenter 5, Billie Eilish 4, Chappell Roan 3 |
How to read it
- Each row is one query with five names on a shared scale; numbers compare within a row.
- "Average" is the 12-month average on the 0–100 scale, where 100 is the busiest week of the busiest name in that row.
What it means
Fame shows up in reads, streams and searches, but it starts with a song. If you have a hook of your own, an AI song generator can turn it into a full track with vocals in a few minutes. For a soundtrack to your own day, an AI music generator can score it to whatever mood you need.
Method
- Google search interest, US, web search, weekly, 365 days before each ceremony.
- Fields: the winner plus four of the best-known other nominees. Some years had 8 nominees; the lesser-known ones (for example Brandi Carlile in 2019, H.E.R. in 2019 and 2022) are not included.
Cite and download
Free to use and cite with a link back to this page.
aisong.lol Research. (2026). Grammy snubs: artists searched more than the winners who beat them. aisong.lol. https://aisong.lol/research/grammy-snubs-artists-searched-more-than-the-winners-who-beat-them
Use this data. Every table in this study as one spreadsheet-ready file.
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