Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets

1988: Jethro Tull over Metallica

A nation of heshers waited anxiously for the announcement of the very first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance... and a collective cry of ''LAME!'' rang out when the absolutely non-heavy, completely un-hard Jethro Tull won for their Crest of a Knave album. That's right: A record with flute solos bested Metallica's thrash-speed touchstone And Justice for All. This night, the devil horns were never unleashed.

1992: Eric Clapton over Nirvana

Never too comfortable with anti-authority figures, the Recording Academy greeted the arrival of grunge with a shrug. Nirvana were completely shut out at the '92 Grammys — most ridiculously in the Best Rock Song category, where ''Smells Like Teen Spirit'' (and Pearl Jam's ''Jeremy'' too) lost out to Eric Clapton's ''Layla,'' a track that was not only 20 years old, but was part of slowhand's mega-popular Unplugged album. Since when is r-o-c-k created with strummy acoustic guitars?



1989: Milli Vanilli over anybody

In the most disgraceful Grammy upset of all time, Milli Vanilli won the Best New Artist Award over acts who, um, actually created their music, like alterna-R&B singer Neneh Cherry, folk femmes Indigo Girls, U.K. collective Soul II Soul, and laid-back L.A. rapper Tone Loc. The rest of the story is already a Behind the Music classic: The Euro duo's award was later revoked when the public discovered that Rob and Fab didn't actually sing.



1964: Mary Poppins over the Beatles

On one side, we've got arguably the greatest and most important popular music group of our time. On the other, a magical nanny with a really impressive umbrella. The winner? The soundtrack to Mary Poppins, which beat the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture.



2001: O, Brother over U2, OutKast, and Dylan

Here's proof that the Grammys, unlike the Oscars, are nearly impossible to predict. Facing off against arena giants U2, universally admired rap iconoclasts OutKast, and Bob ''Voice of a Generation'' Dylan, voters decided to hand Album of the Year to... the old-timey, fiddle-filled O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. A moment that made for great TV, if just to see producer T. Bone Burnett (pictured) and ancient bluegrass legend Ralph Stamey on a national broadcast.



1978: A Taste of Honey over Elvis Costello and the Cars

Example No. 231 that the Recording Academy voters are terrible judges of future returns: In '78, both Elvis Costello and the Cars were bested by the boogie. Disco act A Taste of Honey — of ''Boogie Oogie Oogie'' fame — snuck off with the Best New Artist trophy. They celebrated, we assume, by breaking into the hustle.



1980: Christopher Cross over Sinatra, Streisand, and Co.

A Hall of Fame-worthy cast of musicians — Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Barbara Streisand, Pink Floyd, Bette Midler, the Pretenders — were totally overshadowed by a portly, fragile-voiced Texan: Christopher Cross. The soft-rocker made Grammy history that night, sweeping all of the big four categories, but then sailed away into the sunset, never to return to the winner's circle again.



1981: Rick Springfield over Bruce Springsteen

Is there a better karaoke song than ''Jessie's Girl''? Rick Springfield's power-pop ode to forbidden love has a fist-pumping chorus that has fueled countless boozy sing-alongs. Is it better than Bruce Springsteen's ''The River,'' a nuanced and haunting portrait of working-class, small-town life? Probably not. Still, in 1981 voters chose Rick over Bruce for Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male).


1995: Mariah Carey goes 0-for-6

Mariah Carey has probably lined the butterfly-decorated walls of her apartment with countless platinum plaques. But she's got plenty of room for more Grammys, as she's only snagged five over a 16-year career (for comparison's sake, Norah Jones won that many in a single night in 2002). 1995 was a particularly bad year for Mimi. Nominated in six different categories (for her album Daydream, hit single ''Fantasy,'' and Boyz II Men collaboration ''One Sweet Day''), Carey was passed over every time, for a variety of acts — some older (Annie Lennox) , some younger (Alanis Morissette), and some more Irish (the Chieftans with Van Morisson).



1998: Will Smith over Biggie, Missy, and Busta

In the late '90s, the Recording Academy still wasn't quite familiar with what separates a good hip-hop song from a just okay hip-hop song. Perfect proof: In '98 voters chose the safe, familiar, and completely unoffensive (Will Smith's ''Men in Black'') over one all-time-top-10 song (the Notorious B.I.G.'s ''Hypnotize''), a hip-grinding club favorite (Missy Elliot's ''The Rain''), and one of the twitchiest, freakiest beats ever (Busta Rhymes' ''Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See''). And by the way, Biggie never won a Grammy.