If Morgan Wallen watched the 2024 CMA Awards on TV last week, for most of the show, he probably felt he’d made the right decision to stay away from the proceedings at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. He lost six awards in a row, including male vocalist, single and song of the year. The night was shaping up to be a replay of the 2022 CMA Awards, where he went 0-2 or the 2023 show, where he went 0-3. Voters, it seemed, were reluctant to honor an artist who had been caught on video using a racial slur.
Then Jeff Bridges came onstage to present the evening’s final award. This time, Wallen won. Bridges mispronounced Wallen’s last name, but that clumsy move didn’t change the fact that Wallen had just won the biggest award in country music – and he wasn’t there to accept it.
Suddenly, Wallen’s decision to stay away looked very different. He had just been received an award that has gone to many of the greatest country stars of the past six decades – and he wasn’t there to accept it. If he had shown up, he could have thanked his fans and the country music community for their loyalty and for giving him a second chance. Instead, all we remember from that moment is an actor’s botched pronunciation of his last name.
Several previous CMA entertainer of the year winners were also no-shows. Eddy Arnold wasn’t present when he became the inaugural winner at the 1967 show, nor was John Denver in 1975 or Garth Brooks in 1997 or 1998. (A CMA official notes: “Good reminder that CMA does not know winners in advance.”)
This happens at all awards shows, where a top winner isn’t there in person to accept. It happened fairly often in the early years of the Grammy telecast, which launched in 1971. At the 1973 telecast, the only “Big Four” recipient who was on hand to accept was Ringo Starr, a featured artist on album of the year winner The Concert for Bangla Desh. No-shows happen much less often than they used to, especially at top-level shows like the Oscars and the Grammys. The coinage of the term EGOT in 1984 makes winning at these shows even more consequential than it used to be.
Three years ago, most thought the late Chadwick Boseman would win best actor at the Oscars for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The producers of the Oscar telecast even positioned that award last in the show – after best picture – thinking they would end the show with a powerhouse emotional moment. But the award instead went to previous winner Anthony Hopkins for The Father, who wasn’t even there to accept. Hopkins was the first best actor winner not to be there to accept since Paul Newman in 1987.
It’s a similar story in the best actress category at the Oscars. The last best actress winner who wasn’t on hand to win in person was Katharine Hepburn in 1982.
Here are 20 times a big winner at an awards show was a no-show. This being Billboard, naturally we focus on music.
The English composer won two Oscars for Born Free – best original song and best original score, and wasn’t there to accept. (He’s the only double winner for song and score to skip the ceremony.) Two years later, he was again MIA when he won best original score for The Lion in Winter. Barry finally wised up and showed up when he won his fourth and fifth Oscars for Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves.
In 1972, King became the just the second artist to win album, record and song of the year at the Grammys in a single year. (Paul Simon had become the first the year before.) But King had a newborn baby to care for and elected not to make the trip from California to New York where that year’s Grammys were held. Her producer Lou Adler picked up her three televised awards, for Tapestry as album of the year, “It’s Too Late” as record of the year and “You’ve Got a Friend” as song of the year. When King won record of the year, co-presenter Herb Alpert quipped, “Well, she had triplets.”
King had won a fourth award on the pre-telecast awards – best pop vocal performance, female for Tapestry. (So technically she had quadruplets.) She hasn’t won another Grammy since that night.
Flack won record of the year at the 1973 Grammys for the ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” but she didn’t show up to accept it. Instead, it was accepted by Donny Hathaway, her duet partner on the mellifluous “Where Is the Love.” That same year, George Harrison didn’t show up to accept album of the year for The Concert for Bangla Desh, though Ringo Starr, one of the featured artists on the album, was there to accept. These no-shows in the top two categories helped Helen Reddy dominate the morning-after coverage with her clever acceptance speech for her feminist anthem “I Am Woman,” which was voted best female pop vocal performance. She concluded her brief speech by saying “…And I would like to thank God because She makes everything possible.”
Flack may have missed out on her moment of glory in 1973, but she was on hand the following year when she won record of the year again for “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” She was the first artist in Grammy history to win in this marquee category two years running. (U2 and Billie Eilish have since equaled that feat.) No-shows beware: You rarely get such second chances.
Though best known as a comedy legend, Chaplin was also a composer of note. He composed the future standard “Smile” for his 1936 film classic Modern Times and both composed and wrote the lyrics for “This Is My Song,” which Petula Clark took to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1967. He was among the composers of the score for Limelight, which won best original dramatic score, but he was a no-show. Chaplin had appeared at the Oscar ceremony just the year before to receive an honorary award, and the thunderous ovation he received on that night would have been impossible to top.
Actress Candice Bergen accepted for him, saying: “I think I should explain that Limelight was made 20 years ago but has not been released in this country until this year. And from one of the warmest, most wonderful men I have met, thank you very much from Charlie Chaplin.”
Newton-John’s “I Honestly Love You” won record of the year, but ONJ was MIA when the Grammys were presented at Uris Theater in New York. Art Garfunkel, wearing a faux tux-T-shirt, accepted her award from presenters Paul Simon, John Lennon and show host Andy Williams. Simon and Garfunkel exchanged some witty, but barbed, banter. “I thought I told you to wait in the car,” Simon told his former partner. Garfunkel got off a zinger in return, “Still writing, Paul?”
This was Newton-John’s only record of the year nod, but she was nominated for album of the year four years later for the Grease soundtrack.
The CMAs enlisted Charlie Rich, their 1974 entertainer of the year winner, to announce the 1975 winner in that category. What could go wrong, right? Rich took out a cigarette lighter and set the card with the name of the winner on fire, before announcing the winner was “my friend, Mr. John Denver.”
Denver accepted the award via satellite – apparently not knowing about the snub.
Most assume that Rich was protesting that a pop/country crossover artist walked off with country music’s top honor. But the country audience had embraced Denver, who had by that point had two No. 1 hits on Hot Country Songs (“Back Home Again” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”) and two No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums (Back Home Again and An Evening With John Denver).
It may be debatable whether a crossover star should have won country’s top award. It’s not debatable that Rich’s stunt was rude and unprofessional.
The legendary composer wasn’t on hand in 1976 when “Send in the Clowns” won the Grammy for song of the year (the third and most recent song from a Broadway show to take that honor). Judy Collins, who popularized it, accepted in his place. Fifteen years later, Sondheim skipped the Oscars when he won an Oscar for best original song, for “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from Dick Tracy. That film’s co-star Madonna performed the song on the telecast.
Eagles came up short the first time they were nominated for record of the year, in 1976, when “Lyin’ Eyes” lost to the Captain & Tennille’s pop megahit “Love Will Keep Us Together.” So, they probably thought they were headed for another loss two years later when “Hotel California” was nominated alongside smash ballads by four women solo artists (Linda Ronstadt, Crystal Gayle, Barbra Streisand and Debby Boone). This time, they won – and made history in the process. “Hotel California” was the first rock track to win record of the year. The group members were in Los Angeles, but didn’t venture out to the Shrine Auditorium, where the show was being held. (Unlike some other award shows, the Grammys don’t know who’s going to win in advance, and so don’t tip off managers, as this episode proved.)
Don Henley showed up the two times he was nominated for record of the year as a solo artist, for “The Boys of Summer” and “The End of the Innocence,” but he didn’t win. (He did take best rock vocal performance, male honors for both hits.)
Joel’s old-school pop ballad “Just the Way You Are” won record and song of the year, but Joel wasn’t present at the Shrine Auditorium to pick up his awards. His producer, the late, great Phil Ramone, accepted record of the year on his behalf. Ramone also accepted the following year, when Joel won album of the year for 52nd Street. Joel has since attended many Grammy ceremonies, but these are his only wins in “Big Four” categories.
Vangelis was a no-show when he won best original score for Chariots of Fire. The film won three other Oscars that night, including best picture. The soundtrack and its title track went on to become massive hits. The soundtrack headed the Billboard 200 for four weeks beginning April 17, 1982. “Chariots of Fire – Titles” topped the Hot 100 on May 8.
Deep Oscar Trivia: Vangelis wasn’t the first Greek composer to be a no-show on the night of his big Oscar win. Manos Hadjidakis didn’t show in 1961 to accept his best song award for the zesty “Never on Sunday” from the movie of the same name – the first song from a film in a language other than English to win an Oscar.
The 1984 Grammys were a coronation of Michael Jackson, who became the first artist to win eight Grammys in a single night. The only artist to beat him that night was Sting and his trio The Police for the pop smash “Every Breath You Take.” Sting won song of the year for composing the song (besting two Jackson songs, “Beat It” and “Billie Jean”). The Police won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal, beating the Jackson/Paul McCartney trifle “The Girl Is Mine.”
Alas, Sting didn’t make the trip to Los Angeles for the show. The win for “Every Breath You Take” is his only victory in a Big Four category.
Fun Fact: While Jackson won more Grammys than Sting that night (eight to four), Sting has won more Grammys than Jackson overall (17 to 13).
Moroder was MIA when “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” which he composed, won best original song. The song’s lyricists, Irene Cara and Keith Forsey, accepted the award. “Our brilliant composer Giorgio Moroder is not with us today but I’m sure he’s as overwhelmed as myself and Keith Forsey,” Cara said.
Three years later, Moroder won again in the category with “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun. This time, he was there in person to accept.
Both of these songs topped the Hot 100, for Cara and Berlin, respectively.
When the Recording Academy ruled Whitney Houston ineligible for best new artist because she had recorded a pair of duets prior to the eligibility period in which her blockbuster debut album was released – picky, picky – that turned a contest that seemed a shoo-in into a suddenly competitive race. Sade wound up winning. But the group wasn’t present to accept their award.
Simon had won album of the year for Graceland at the 1986 Grammys, so he probably didn’t think he had much chance of winning record of the year the following year for the album’s title track. The single’s nomination was a surprise. It wasn’t much of a hit, having peaked at No. 81 on the Hot 100. Simon was in Brazil on Grammy night in 1987, when that track was a surprise winner. It made him the first artist to win three times in that category (counting a pair of Simon & Garfunkel hits), a record tied in 2022 by Bruno Mars.
Michael received just two nominations for his blockbuster solo debut, Faith, which had topped the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks and yielded four No. 1 singles on the Hot 100. “Father Figure” was nominated for best pop vocal performance, male, and the album was nominated for album of the year. Michael probably figured that disappointing showing meant he wasn’t going to win. And “Father Figure” did lose the vocal performance award to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” But Faith won album of the year, signaling that the music industry recognized that Michael had outgrown his lightweight Wham! image and become a credible mainstream pop artist. And he wasn’t there to savor his big moment
Michael had won his first Grammy two years earlier for his Hot 100-topping duet with Aretha Franklin, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” which was voted best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal. But he never won another Grammy after Faith.
Brooks in the 1990s had the most explosive success of any artist in country music history. It showed up in his unprecedented album sales and his ability to play stadiums. Yet, by 1997 he had won entertainer of the year just twice, in 1991 and 1992. In subsequent years he lost to Vince Gill (twice), Alan Jackson (once) and Brooks & Dunn (once).
Brooks could be excused for thinking he was being under-recognized in the entertainer of the year category, so he stayed away in 1997 and 1998, when he won his third and fourth awards in the category. He was the first artist to win four times in the category, and he subsequently padded his lead with fifth, sixth and seventh wins. At that point, he graciously pulled himself out of future competition to let other people have a chance.
Eminem missed out on his history-making moment, when “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile became the first rap song to win an Oscar. One of his co-writers, Luis Resto, accepted the award, paying tribute to the superstar born Marshall Mathers. “Oh my. This all goes to Marshall. I’m privileged, grateful, to be involved with this song, along with my co-writers and friends, Jeff Bass, Marshall Mathers, who couldn’t be here. It’s a great thing working with Marshall day in, day out. He’s creative. He has symphonies in his head that I’m privileged to put on the tape. He’s a good man, good heart. Here’s to you, Marshall.”
With Eminem not available, no one performed “Lose Yourself” on the 2003 Oscar telecast. Eminem finally performed the song on the 2020 telecast. The Oscars’ invitation to Eminem to give a make-up performance is an indication of the song’s staying power and Eminem’s sustained stardom.
Donald Glover made history when “This Is America” became the first hip-hop single to win record of the year and the first hip-hop song to win song of the year. The smash won in two other categories, too: best music video and best rap/sung performance. But he wasn’t on hand to accept his awards.
The German composer was MIA when he won his second Oscar for best original score for Dune. He had been present 27 years earlier when he won for the first time for The Lion King. But he seemed uncomfortable in that moment: “I’m incredibly nervous. I tell you what, writing a score is much easier than this. Thank you. Just let me go, okay.”
Zimmer was the first original score winner to skip the Oscar ceremony since Dave Grusin, who won for The Milagro Beanfield War in 1989.
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