20 of the Wildest Grammys Red Carpet Looks Through the Years

Yes, this is an absolutely wild outfit — but it might just be the most Dolly Parton outfit we could imagine. The queen of country wore this pink western-inspired outfit to the 1977 Grammys, when she was nominated for (but didn't win) best country vocal performance, female for "All I Can Do." At least she got to see Shaun Cassidy perform that night?

Considering the fact that Prince was always a fashion icon, it's no surprise that his polka-dot ensemble blew everyone away when he showed up to the Grammys like this in 1988. That year, he was up for three nominations, but left empty-handed. A true shame!

Long before her years as a judge on American Idol, Paula Abdul (obviously) had a huge pop career, and definitely turned heads at the 1990 awards when she wore this gold fringe dress. At the following year's ceremony, Paula would take home the award for best music video for her hit "Opposites Attract."

It would have been hard to ignore Mary J. Blige on the 1996 Grammys red carpet in this hooded animal print jumpsuit! It wasn't just her outfit that got her attention that year, though; it was the first time she was nominated — and won — for an award, bringing home the Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need To Get By."

At this point, enough time has definitely passed that we can say that Jennifer Lopez's green Versace dress from 2000 is one of the most unforgettable Grammys looks of all time.

"The first time I wore it, I actually didn't have another dress," Jennifer admitted years later in an interview with Vanity Fair. "Usually I have choices. It was a last-minute thing that caused a sensation that was unexpected."

In honor of the iconic fashion moment's 20th anniversary, Jennifer wore the dress again in September 2020 to close out Versace's fashion show in Milan.

The night that Toni Braxton won the award for best female R&B vocal performance for "He Wasn't Man Enough" was the same night all eyes were on her for this barely-there outfit designed by Richard Tyler.

"I've always gone a little risqué with all my other awards [show outfits]," she told People at the time, according to Magic Baltimore. "I decided that before I got married and had babies, I'd wear this."

Christina Aguilera was at the height of her early 2000s pop star fame when she wore this low-cut dress to the Grammys in 2001. That year, she was nominated for best female pop vocal performance and best Latin pop album, but sadly, she didn't end up going home with either trophy.

In case you hadn't already noticed, 2001 was quite a year for wild Grammys fashion, and this one was a group effort by Destiny's Child. Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams won best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal for "Say My Name" the night they wore these coordinating emerald dresses designed by Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles.

Speaking of coordinating outfits, here's an unforgettable one. In 2007, the group OK Go wore some bizarre face-covering red and gold suits on the red carpet, at one point even lying down on the ground to show how well they blended in. Hey, it clearly worked for them — and they went home with a Grammy for best short form music video for "Here It Goes Again."

Though Lady Gaga has taken her style in a far more classic direction these days, earlier in her career, she was known for her outrageous red carpet looks. In 2010, she wore this Armani Privé dress before performing at the show for the first time, walking away with three awards in the process.

The following year, Lady Gaga managed to outdo herself. She arrived at the Grammys being carried inside an egg, crawling out of it when it was time for her to perform. Later, she told Ryan Seacrest that she lived inside of it for 72 hours to get in the right mindset.

"It was time for me to really prepare and think about the meaning of the song and get prepared for the performance," she said at the time. "I really wanted to be born on stage. The creative vessel was helpful for me to stay focused. We had it backstage so that I was able to really stay in this sort of creative, embryonic incubation."

We can't decide if this reminds us more of The Handmaid's Tale or Little Red Riding Hood, but either way, it made an impression. In 2012. Nicki Minaj arrived at the Grammys dressed in a Versace cloak, accessorizing with a Pope look-alike who later appeared on stage with her when she performed "Roman Holiday."

Truly, who could forget a giant hat like the one Pharrell Williams wore to the 2014 Grammys (or all the memes it inspired)? The singer wore the vintage Vivienne Westwood hat on more than one occasion before he auctioned it off for charity — funnily enough, Arby's had the winning bid at more than $44,000, and the fast-food brand tweeted that it was glad to "get our hat back" when it won.

In 2014, Sia's music video for "Chandelier" — featuring Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler — went viral, and the two continued working together for a long time afterward. The following year, they attended and performed at the Grammys together, wearing coordinating outfits and giant wigs.

Madonna has had a lot of history with the Grammys over the course of her decades-long career in music, but 2015 was the year she donned her wildest outfit on the red carpet. She paired a risqué Givenchy bodysuit with fishnet tights and a veil.

CeeLo Green's 2017 Grammys outfit was pretty perplexing, but it was for a reason — at least, according to the singer. It was part of his process in launching his new persona, Gnarly Davidson, so this was technically more of a costume than anything else.

The word "subtle" has never been in Billy Porter's vocabulary, so maybe the world should have been a bit less surprised when he showed up to the 2020 Grammys in a Baja Fresh jumpsuit that he wore with a motorized hat with fringe that opened and closed like curtains at the push of a button. Impressive!

A year after "Old Town Road" was released (and subsequently went viral), Lil Nas X (real name: Montero Lamar Hill) attended his first Grammys ceremony sporting this strappy hot pink western-inspired look by Versace. He also won his first award that night, taking home the awards for best oop duo/group performance and best music video.

Skeletons and all things creepy have always been part of Phoebe Bridgers' aesthetic, so of course she wore a skeleton suit on the Grammys red carpet in 2021. Fancier than her usual look, this one was created on a dress by Thom Browne that was certainly glam enough for the occasion.

Billie Eilish has often worn oversized outfits to events, but this one was one of her wildest — and it didn't exactly earn her rave reviews. The all-black Rick Owens ensemble was a bit confusing, looking like it might be an overcoat masquerading as a dress.