9 Grammys Upsets Heard Round the World

Steely Dan's Two Against Nature beat out strong competition that included Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and Radiohead's Kid A for album of the year in 2001. There was much ado about Eminem's album for its antigay and lesbian content, but it still came as a big shock that he didn't take home the win for the groundbreaking album.

Ray Charles won two major Grammys in 2005: album of the year for Genius Loves Company and record of the year for "Here We Go Again." His work bested Green Day's American Idiot, Alicia Keys's The Diary of Alicia Keys, Usher's Confessions, and Kanye West's The College Dropout. Charles had died the previous year, and the wins may have served as more of a nod to his entire career rather than his last album.

Album of the year went to Herbie Hancock in 2008 for River: The Joni Letters. Overlooked: Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Kanye West's Graduation, and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black — though Winehouse did beat out Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake for record of the year. West and Winehouse were favored to win, having dominated the radio that year, so losing to a collection of Joni Mitchell covers was pretty unexpected.

"Halo" by Beyoncé, "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas, "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, and "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift were all candidates for record of the year in 2010, but the prize went to Kings of Leon for "Use Somebody." Though the song was just as popular as the other nominees, it was shocking to see the rockers win over radio favorites like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

Though The Suburbs was a hit in the indie-rock scene, no one really expected to see Arcade Fire win over the likes of Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Lady Antebellum. Singer Win Butler credited the win to the possibility that the vote was split by popular music, and Arcade Fire reaped the benefits. Still, lots of people (including Rosie O'Donnell and Kathie Lee and Hoda) didn't know what an Arcade Fire was, and a joke Tumblr page turned up called Who Is Arcade Fire??!!?

Aside from being virtually unknown, Spalding beat out some stiff competition when she won for best new artist in 2011. She was up against Drake, Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, and, of course, Justin Bieber. Fans were so upset that they hacked Spalding's Wikipedia page, while Bieber tweeted that he was upset about the loss.

Indie band Bon Iver (fronted by singer/songwriter Justin Vernon) won best new artist in 2012, besting fellow nominees Nicki Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole, and Skrillex. People were shocked, mostly because Bon Iver — aside from not being very popular with the mainstream crowd — had released a debut album back in 2007. Those who didn't know who he was were really confused about the band name, dubbing it "Bonnie Bear." Vernon gracefully accepted the award but has since said that he hates the Grammys.

"Thrift Shop" duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis bested James Blake, Kacey Musgraves, Ed Sheeran, and most notably, Kendrick Lamar in 2014. Fans of Lamar were upset, and even Macklemore felt so weird about his win that he texted Lamar after the show, telling him he "was robbed."

In one of the biggest stories to come out of the Grammys this year, Beck won for Morning Phase over Beyoncé's self-titled album, Ed Sheeran's X, Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour, and Pharrell Williams's G I R L. Kanye West rushed the stage, then ranted about how Beyoncé should have won. Though a lot of people agree with West's sentiment, we could have done without the stunts.