The Grammys announced their nominees for 2025 last Friday and unsurprisingly, not even they could escape Kpop Demon Hunters’ cultural domination. The song “Golden” received four nominations — for Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Song Written for Visual Media — while the David Guetta remix received a nomination for Best Remixed Recording. This represents KPop’s current global reach and is a big feat for a fictional singing group like HUNTR/X.
However, it may surprise some that HUNTR/X are not the first fictional performers nominated for a Grammy. They’re not even the first fictional nominees for multiple awards. Throughout the awards’ history, there have been numerous fictional groups which either received nominations, or even won the music industry’s highest award. Here are five fictional groups of various genres that have competed for the Grammy (and occasionally won).
David Seville and the Chipmunks – Record of the Year, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Children’s Recording “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late )” (1959)
Surprisingly the very first Grammy award ceremony had the first fictional artist to be nominated for a Grammy; David Seville and the Chipmunks. Yes, Alvin & the Chipmunks with their human leader David were the first fictional artists nominated for a Grammy, even earning a nomination for the coveted Record of the Year.
David Seville, the alter ego of musician Ross Bagdasarian Sr., would win two awards that night for Best Comedy Performance and Best Children’s Recording. The song also won for Best Engineered Record (Non-Classical) for its engineer Ted Keep. So far, this is the most wins for a fictional singing group — meaning that if HUNTR/X dominates this year and wins all of their awards, they’ll beat a 66 year old record.
The Partridge Family – Best New Artist (1971)
The Best New Artist category at the 1971 awards ceremony was a wild one. The nominees included The Carpenters (who won), Elton John, Melba Moore, Anne Murray, and everyone’s favorite fictional TV family band, The Partridge Family. Keep in mind, 1970 gave us debut albums by Black Sabbath, future Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie, and Todd Rundgren, so it’s pretty wild that the Grammys saw fit to nominate a very fictional band on TV for this award. However, The Partridge Family had a massive hit that year with “I Think I Love You”, sung by show star David Cassidy, which explains their nomination. That said, this was the band’s only nomination during their five year television run.
The Soggy Bottom Boys – Best Country Collaboration With Vocals “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (2002)
The 2002 Grammys went crazy for the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers’ film O’ Brother Where Art Thou?, which received multiple nominations (and wins) for both the album and songs on it. While most of the artists contributed under their real names for their contributions, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” was credited to The Soggy Bottom Boys.
In the film, they’re played by George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson. However, their singing vocals consisted of a supergroup of bluegrass singers Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen, and Pat Enright, who still perform under that name. There’s an interesting history to the song itself, which is an old folk song covered by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Stanley Brothers, and Cream drummer Ginger Baker. This rendition, though, certainly became an iconic one in its own right and worthy of the Grammy it won that night.
Spinal Tap – Best Comedy Album Back from the Dead (2009)
This one should come as no surprise as This is Spinal Tap one of the best comedies of all time. Spinal Tap, England’s loudest rock band, received a nomination in 2009 for best comedy album. It’s more surprising that it took so long for them to get nominated for anything, especially with such classic songs as “Hell Hole”, “Sex Farm”, and “Big Bottom.” That last one was once covered by recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Soundgarden!
Unfortunately, they lost that year to the late George Carlin, who had then recently passed. We salute you, our half-inflated dark lords, for your nomination.
4*Town – Best Song Written for Visual Media “Nobody Like U” (2022)
One of the most brilliant touches in Pixar’s best movie this decade, Turning Red, was the fictional boyband 4Town. If you lived through the late 90s, early 00s boyband crazy every detail was pitch perfect. So it’s not surprising that the 4Town song “Nobody Like U” got a nomination. Much like the Soggy Bottom Boys, the nomination actually went to the songwriting team of Billie Eilish and Finneas while the performers were listed as 4*Town.
Right now, don’t bet against the musical siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas when it comes to writing music for films. The two have won both Academy Awards and Grammys for films as diverse as No Time To Die and Barbie. Unfortunately, they lost to Lin-Manuel Miranda and Encanto‘s monster earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” However, their contributions now belong to a legacy starting with the first Grammy ceremony, and now continuing with the HUNTR\X nominations.
