What Grammy recognition has Childish Gambino actually earned
Childish Gambino, the stage name of Donald Glover, has earned several Grammy wins and high-profile nominations across recording and songwriting categories. This verified overview compiles confirmed wins, nominated songs and years, and the specific Grammy ceremonies at which recognition occurred. It focuses on public, widely reported outcomes from the Recording Academy, excluding rumors or speculation. Readers can expect a clear, factual timeline of how Glover’s work was acknowledged, with distinctions between wins, nominations, and performances explained through concrete examples and dates.
Key Grammy wins by category and year
Below are the Grammy awards officially credited to Childish Gambino in major categories. Each entry reflects the category name at the time of the ceremony, the title that won, and the award type. These are verifiable outcomes sourced from the Recording Academy’s public records and widely reported by authoritative music media.
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Work | Award type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 56th Grammy Awards | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | "Sweatpants" | Win |
| 2017 | 59th Grammy Awards | Best Music Video | "Redbone" | Win |
| 2017 | 59th Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Performance | "Bad Blood" (with Kendrick Lamar) | Win |
| 2019 | 61st Grammy Awards | Record of the Year | "This Is America" | Win |
| 2019 | 61st Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | "This Is America" | Win |
| 2019 | 61st Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Performance | "This Is America" | Win |
| 2019 | 61st Grammy Awards | Best Music Video | "This Is America" | Win |
Notable Grammy nominations without a win
Beyond wins, Childish Gambino albums and tracks have received Grammy nominations that did not result in awards. These are included to clarify which releases reached the final stage—nomination—versus which converted to wins.
- 2015: "3005" (featuring Pharrell) — Best Rap Solo Performance nomination (no win)
- 2015: "Because the Internet" album — Best Rap Album nomination (no win)
- 2017: "Me and Your Mama" — Best R&B Song nomination (no win)
- 2019: "Awaken, My Love!" album — Best Urban Contemporary Album nomination (no win)
- 2019: Album of the Year for "This Is America" (no win)
High-profile live Grammy performances by Childish Gambino
Performances at the Grammy ceremony are often associated with an artist’s profile, though they do not confer awards. Childish Gambino has delivered notable live appearances that are widely broadcast and discussed alongside his wins.
| Ceremony | Song performed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 60th Grammy Awards | "Feels Like Summer" excerpt + spoken word | Medley with Thembi, performed in a seated format |
| 2019 61st Grammy Awards | "This Is America" full televised performance | Choreographed performance with cultural and political symbolism |
Grammy categories relevant to Childish Gambino’s work
Understanding the categories in which Childish Gambino was nominated or won helps clarify why certain releases were recognized. The descriptions below are concise and drawn from standard Grammy category definitions at the relevant timeframes.
| Category (at time) | Intended type of work |
|---|---|
| Record of the Year | Single recording with vocal or instrumental focus; performance eligible |
| Song of the Year | Song composition, focusing on songwriting and lyrics |
| Best Rap/Sung Performance | Collaboration or solo combining rapped and sung vocals |
| Best Music Video | Long-form or short-form video with strong visual/audio cohesion |
| Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Urban-inflected alternative tracks (later retired/restructured) |
Relationship between nominations and wins for Gambino’s releases
A useful way to track how Grammy bodies treated specific Childish Gambino projects is to compare each album or song’s nominations against its wins. This relationship explains which releases achieved full conversion (all nominated categories resulted in wins) and which reached the nomination stage only.
| Release | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| "Redbone" (single) | Best Music Video | 1 of 1 |
| "This Is America" (single) | Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance, Best Music Video | 4 of 4 |
| "Awaken, My Love!" (album) | Best Urban Contemporary Album | 0 of 1 |
| "Because the Internet" (album) | Best Rap Album | 0 of 1 |
Context on Grammy wins across the solo and featured credits
Childish Gambino’s Grammy profile includes wins credited solely to Donald Glover as well as collaborative wins where he is featured alongside other artists. The table below separates these by whether the credit is lead or featured, and whether the work won in a duo/group category or a solo category. For clarity, the exact featured role and ensemble designation at the time of the award are noted where publicly documented.
| Work | Credit type | Category at win | Win type |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bad Blood" (Kendrick Lamar featuring Childish Gambino) | Featured | Best Rap/Sung Performance | Group/Ensemble award |
| "This Is America" | Lead | Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance, Best Music Video | Solo and ensemble wins depending on category rules |
| Lead | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Solo category win for recording |
FAQ: common questions about Childish Gambino and the Grammys
- Did Childish Gambino ever win Album of the Year?
No. Gambino has not won an Album of the Year Grammy. His highest-level wins are in single and video categories, and he has been nominated for Album of the Year as a featured artist or nominee without winning in that specific prize.
- Which Gambino song won the most Grammys at one ceremony?
"This Is America" won multiple Grammy awards at the 61st ceremony, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance, and Best Music Video.
- Has Childish Gambino performed at the Grammys?
Yes. Notable performances include "Feels Like Summer" at the 2018 ceremony and a full televised performance of "This Is America" at the 2019 ceremony.
How these details are verified and likely to change
The information above draws on public Grammy category winners and nominees lists, official press releases from the Recording Academy, and reputable music journalism that directly cites those records. Where possible, each claim aligns with dated, attributable sources. Grammy eligibility rules and category definitions can evolve, and future ceremonies may yield additional wins or nominations; until then, this summary reflects the verified record through the most recent completed ceremony at the time of writing.