Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album

The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,^[1] to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."^[2]

Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
Midnights by Taylor Swift is the most recent recipient.
Awarded for	Quality vocal pop music albums
Country	United States
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded	1968
Currently held by	Taylor Swift – Midnights (2024)
Most awards	Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift (2)
Most nominations	Kelly Clarkson (6)
Website	grammy.com

The honor was first presented in 1968 at the 10th Grammy Awards as Best Contemporary Album to The Beatles for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The category was then discontinued until 1995 where it emerged with the new name Best Pop Album. In 2001, the category became known as Best Pop Vocal Album. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented to artists that perform "albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded pop vocal tracks."^[3]

The award goes to the artist, producer and engineer/mixer, provided they worked on more than 50% of playing time on the album. A producer or engineer/mixer who worked on less than 50% of playing time, as well as the mastering engineer, do not win an award, but can apply for a Winners Certificate.^[4]

Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift are the only two-time winners of this award, and Clarkson was the first to win twice. Clarkson leads all performers with six nominations.

Recipients

 

Celine Dion's Falling into You, the 1997 winner, also won Album of the Year.^[5]

 

Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, the 2001 winner, also won Album of the Year.^[5]

 

Norah Jones' debut album, Come Away with Me, won this award and Album of the Year in 2003.^[5]

 

Ray Charles' final album, Genius Loves Company, won this award and Album of the Year in 2005.^[5]

 

Justin Timberlake has been nominated five times. His album Justified won in 2004.

 

Kelly Clarkson has the most nominations with six, and is the first artist to win this award twice. Breakaway won in 2006; Stronger won in 2013.

 

Adele has won this award twice: for 21 in 2012, and for 25 in 2017. Both albums also won Album of the Year.^[5]

Year	Winner(s)^[6]	Work	Nominees	Ref.
1968	The Beatles	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	The Association – Insight Out Vikki Carr – It Must Be Him The 5th Dimension – Up, Up and Away Bobbie Gentry – Ode to Billie Joe	^[7]
1995	Bonnie Raitt	Longing in Their Hearts	Ace of Base – The Sign José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti with Zubin Mehta – The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 Lyle Lovett – I Love Everybody Seal – Seal	^[8]
1996	Joni Mitchell	Turbulent Indigo	Mariah Carey – Daydream Eagles – Hell Freezes Over Annie Lennox – Medusa Madonna – Bedtime Stories	^[9]
1997	Celine Dion	Falling into You	Toni Braxton – Secrets Tracy Chapman – New Beginning Shawn Colvin – A Few Small Repairs Sting – Mercury Falling	^[10]
1998	James Taylor	Hourglass	Paula Cole – This Fire Fleetwood Mac – The Dance Jamiroquai – Travelling Without Moving Sarah McLachlan – Surfacing	^[11]
1999	Madonna	Ray of Light	Eric Clapton – Pilgrim Celine Dion – Let's Talk About Love Natalie Imbruglia – Left of the Middle Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Dirty Boogie	^[12]
2000	Sting	Brand New Day	Backstreet Boys – Millennium Cher – Believe Ricky Martin – Ricky Martin Sarah McLachlan – Mirrorball	^[13]
2001	Steely Dan Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, producers; Phil Burnett, Roger Nichols, Dave Russell and Elliot Scheiner, engineers/mixers	Two Against Nature	Don Henley – Inside Job Madonna – Music NSYNC – No Strings Attached Britney Spears – Oops!... I Did It Again	^[14]
2002	Sade Sade Adu and Mike Pela, producers	Lovers Rock	Nelly Furtado – Whoa, Nelly! Janet Jackson – All for You Elton John – Songs from the West Coast NSYNC – Celebrity	^[15]
2003	Norah Jones Arif Mardin and Jay Newland, producers; S. Husky Höskulds and Jay Newland, engineers/mixers	Come Away with Me	Avril Lavigne – Let Go No Doubt – Rock Steady Pink – Missundaztood Britney Spears – Britney	^[16]
2004	Justin Timberlake Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, producers; Serban Ghenea, engineer/mixer	Justified	Christina Aguilera – Stripped George Harrison – Brainwashed Annie Lennox – Bare Michael McDonald – Motown	^[17]
2005	Ray Charles and various artists John R. Burk, producer; Al Schmitt, engineer/mixer	Genius Loves Company	Norah Jones – Feels like Home Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow Joss Stone – Mind Body & Soul Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Presents Smile	^[18]
2006	Kelly Clarkson Clive Davis, producer; Serban Ghenea, engineer/mixer	Breakaway	Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine Sheryl Crow – Wildflower Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard Gwen Stefani – Love. Angel. Music. Baby.	^[19]
2007	John Mayer Steve Jordan, producer; Michael H. Brauer, Joe Ferla and Chad Franscoviak, engineers/mixers	Continuum	Christina Aguilera – Back to Basics James Blunt – Back to Bedlam Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint – The River in Reverse Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds	^[20]
2008	Amy Winehouse Mark Ronson, producer	Back to Black	Bon Jovi – Lost Highway Feist – The Reminder Maroon 5 – It Won't Be Soon Before Long Paul McCartney – Memory Almost Full	^[21]
2009	Duffy	Rockferry	Sheryl Crow – Detours Eagles – Long Road out of Eden Leona Lewis – Spirit James Taylor – Covers	^[22]
2010	Black Eyed Peas Dylan Dresdow and Padriac Kerin, engineers/mixers	The E.N.D.	Colbie Caillat – Breakthrough Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted The Fray – The Fray Pink – Funhouse	^[23]
2011	Lady Gaga Lady Gaga and RedOne, producers; Robert Orton, RedOne and Dave Russell, engineers/mixers	The Fame Monster	Justin Bieber – My World 2.0 Susan Boyle – I Dreamed a Dream John Mayer – Battle Studies Katy Perry – Teenage Dream	^[24]
2012	Adele	21	CeeLo Green – The Lady Killer Lady Gaga – Born This Way Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans Rihanna – Loud	^[25]
2013	Kelly Clarkson Serban Ghenea and John Hanes, engineers/mixers	Stronger	Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials Fun – Some Nights Maroon 5 – Overexposed Pink – The Truth About Love	^[26]
2014	Bruno Mars Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine and Bruno Mars, producers; Ari Levine and Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers	Unorthodox Jukebox	Lana Del Rey – Paradise Lorde – Pure Heroine Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience	^[26]
2015	Sam Smith Jimmy Napes, producer; Steve Fitzmaurice, engineer/mixer	In the Lonely Hour	Coldplay – Ghost Stories Miley Cyrus – Bangerz Ariana Grande – My Everything Katy Perry – Prism Ed Sheeran – x	^[27]
2016	Taylor Swift Max Martin and Shellback, producers	1989	Kelly Clarkson – Piece by Piece Florence and the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Mark Ronson – Uptown Special James Taylor – Before This World	^[28]
2017	Adele Tom Elmhirst, engineer/mixer	25	Justin Bieber – Purpose Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman Demi Lovato – Confident Sia – This Is Acting	^[29]
2018	Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran, producer; Joe Rubel, Chris Sclafani and Mark "Spike" Stent, engineers/mixers	÷	Coldplay – Kaleidoscope EP Lana Del Rey – Lust for Life Imagine Dragons – Evolve Kesha – Rainbow Lady Gaga – Joanne	^[30]
2019	Ariana Grande Pharrell Williams, producer; Mike Larson, engineer	Sweetener	Camila Cabello – Camila Kelly Clarkson – Meaning of Life Shawn Mendes – Shawn Mendes Pink – Beautiful Trauma Taylor Swift – Reputation	^[31]
2020	Billie Eilish Finneas O'Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski and Finneas O'Connell, engineers/mixers	When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?	Beyoncé – The Lion King: The Gift Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next Ed Sheeran – No.6 Collaborations Project Taylor Swift – Lover	^[32]
2021	Dua Lipa	Future Nostalgia	Justin Bieber – Changes Lady Gaga – Chromatica Harry Styles – Fine Line Taylor Swift – Folklore	^[33]
2022	Olivia Rodrigo Dan Nigro, producer	Sour	Justin Bieber – Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) Doja Cat – Planet Her (Deluxe) Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever Ariana Grande – Positions	^[34]
2023	Harry Styles	Harry's House	ABBA – Voyage Adele – 30 Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres Lizzo – Special	^[35]
2024	Taylor Swift	Midnights	Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation Olivia Rodrigo – Guts Ed Sheeran – −	^[36]

Artists with multiple wins

2 wins

• Adele
• Kelly Clarkson
• Taylor Swift

Artists with multiple nominations

6 nominations Kelly Clarkson 5 nominations Ariana Grande Justin Timberlake (including 2 with NSYNC) Taylor Swift 4 nominations Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Pink Ed Sheeran 3 nominations Adele Coldplay Don Henley (including 2 with Eagles) Madonna Paul McCartney (including 1 with The Beatles) Sarah McLachlan James Taylor

2 nominations Christina Aguilera Sheryl Crow Miley Cyrus Lana Del Rey Celine Dion Eagles Billie Eilish Florence and the Machine George Harrison (including 1 with The Beatles) Norah Jones Annie Lennox Maroon 5 Bruno Mars John Mayer NSYNC Katy Perry Olivia Rodrigo Britney Spears Gwen Stefani (including 1 with No Doubt) Sting Harry Styles

See also

• Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

References

General

• "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 29, 2011.

Specific

1. "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
2. "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
3. (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
4. "AWARDS, CERTIFICATES, AND GRAMMY TICKETS" (PDF). Grammy.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
5. "Winners Album Of The Year". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
6. "GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees for Best Pop Vocal Album". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
7. "1967 Grammy Awards Finalists". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 7. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 17, 1968. p. 10. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
8. "The 37th Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1995. p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
9. "List of Grammy nominees". CNN. January 4, 1996. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
10. Kot, Greg (January 8, 1997). "Pumpkins A Smash With 7 Grammy Nominations". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. p. 4. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
11. . USA Today. Gannett Company. March 5, 1999. Archived from the original on February 10, 1999. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
12. Sullivan, James (January 6, 1999). . San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
13. "42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations". CNN. January 4, 2000. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
14. . CNN. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
15. "Complete List Of Grammy Nominees". CBS News. January 4, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
16. "Complete list of Grammy nominees; ceremony set for Feb. 23". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. January 8, 2003. p. 1. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
17. "They're All Contenders". The New York Times. December 5, 2003. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
18. "Grammy Award nominees in top categories". USA Today. Gannett Company. February 7, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
19. "The Complete List of Grammy Nominations". The New York Times. December 8, 2005. p. 1. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
20. "49th Annual Grammy Grammy Nominees". CBS News. December 7, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
21. "50th annual Grammy Awards nominations". Variety. Reed Business Information. December 6, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
22. "Grammy Awards: List of Winners". The New York Times. January 31, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
23. . National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
24. "Grammy Awards 2011: Winners and nominees for 53rd Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
25. "Grammy Awards 2012: full list of winners". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
26. "Maroon 5, fun. among early Grammy nominees". Associated Press. December 5, 2012.
27. "57th Grammy Nominees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
28. . Grammys. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
29. . Grammys. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
30. "60th Grammy Nominees". Grammy.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
31. "61st Grammy Nominees". Retrieved 7 December 2018.
32. "2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners & Nominations Lists". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
33. Shafer, Ellise (March 14, 2021). "Grammys 2021 Winners List". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
34. "Olivia Rodrigo Wins Best Pop Vocal Album for Sour at 2022 Grammys". Pitchfork. 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
35. "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
36. McClellan, Jennifer; Ruggieri, Melissa (November 10, 2023). "SZA leads Grammy nominees, Miley could get 1st win and Taylor Swift is poised to make history". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2023.

External links

• Official site of the Grammy Awards