After the success of Thriller, Grammys' Album of The Year. He only took home one award that year for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Jackson was frustrated that he'd been confined to only R&B categories because he was a Black artist. The snub led to him completely reinventing himself as the King of Pop and putting out his best-selling album, Thriller. Unfortunately, the Grammy success of Thriller didn't transfer to his following album, Bad.

Michael Jackson Only Won 1 Grammy For Bad

Jackson Lost All Other Categories

Unfortunately, Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad only won one Grammy. In 1990, Jackson won the Best Short Form Music Video award for "Leave Me Alone." However, this was two years after Bad was nominated for most of its awards, since "Leave Me Alone" was released as a single in 1989. At the 1988 ceremony, Jackson was nominated for four Grammys, including Album of The Year, but lost all of them. In 1989, he was nominated for Record of The Year for the album's single "Man In The Mirror," but lost that award as well.

What makes the losses especially shocking is that Bad made Jackson the first artist to have five #1 singles on one album. The record was matched 23 years later by Katy Perry, but no other artist has accomplished it since. Coincidentally, Perry was never awarded any Grammys for her album Teenage Dream, which is the record that matched Jackson's accomplishment. However, with worldwide timeless hits like "Smooth Criminal," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and the album's title track "Bad," it's shocking that Jackson was not properly honored for the album.

As The Follow-Up To The Historic Thriller, Bad's Grammys Snub Was Hurtful

The Grammys Did A Complete 180 At The 1988 Ceremony

When Michael Jackson attended the 1984 Grammys, he was the star of the night. After previously feeling snubbed by the Grammy Awards, Thriller was his revival. The singer took home a historic eight Grammys that night, including the highly coveted Album of The Year. In the next few years, Jackson would take home a few more Grammys, which made his Bad losses especially shocking.

While Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, Bad was still a massive success. Seeing Jackson go from being the most-awarded artist of the night in 1984 to taking home no awards at all in 1988 felt like a slap in the face from the Academy. A few online videos claim that Jackson looked visibly disappointed in the audience after his loss that night.

Seeing Jackson go from being the most-awarded artist of the night in 1984 to taking home no awards at all in 1988 felt like a slap in the face from the Academy.

However, the biggest evidence of how hurt Michael Jackson was is that he stopped attending major awards shows unless he was honored with a special award. After 1988, Jackson was not present at the 1990 Grammy Awards when he won for "Leave Me Alone." Instead, he appeared again in 1993 when he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jackson's Bad Album Proves The Grammys Aren't Always Right

The Grammys Often Make Mistakes When Choosing Winners

While the Grammys might be the most highly respected award show in the music industry, that doesn't mean they're always right about their decisions. After all, it took them 25 years to give Beyoncé Album of The Year, and major artists like Prince never took the award home at all. While they fairly awarded Thriller in 1984, their 1988 decisions were less understandable.

It's possible that the success of Thriller contributed to the snub of Bad, as the Grammys sometimes ignore artists after having a big year. For example, after her 2016 wins, Taylor Swift didn't win another Grammy until 2020.

There's also speculation in Jackson's case that race played a role, and the Academy was not happy seeing a Black artist win so much and decided to tone it down for Jackson's next album. Whatever the case, Bad remains an incredible album, whether the Grammys acknowledged it or not, and Michael Jackson continued to make groundbreaking work for the remainder of his career.