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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Rock Performance.

14 ceremonies, 2012–2025. 13 different winners.

Who won most recently?
The Beatles in 2025 for Now and Then.
Who has won the most?
Foo Fighters, 2 wins (2012, 2022).
  1. Now and ThenThe Beatles
  2. Not Strong EnoughBoygenius
  3. Broken HorsesBrandi Carlile
  4. Making a FireFoo Fighters
  5. ShameikaFiona Apple
  6. This LandGary Clark Jr.
Years explored
2012–2025
Different winners
13
Category leader
Foo Fighters · 2
About this record

Best Rock Performance was first awarded in 2012, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

It merged Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and from 2014 it also took in hard rock.

It took over from Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance and Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

2012–2025

14 ceremonies

20122025

01 / The reigns

13 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2012–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Foo Fighters2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run.
Foo Fighters'12
The Black Keys'13
Imagine Dragons'14
Jack White'15
Alabama Shakes'16
David Bowie'17
Leonard Cohen'18
Chris Cornell'19
Gary Clark Jr.'20
Fiona Apple'21
Foo Fighters'22
Brandi Carlile'23
Boygenius'24
The Beatles'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Sony leads the recorded label credits with 3 wins, 2012–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Sony3 wins
Warner3 wins
Independent2 wins
Apple1 win
ISO1 win
KidinaKorner1 win
Wins by label
  1. Sony321%
  2. Warner321%
  3. Independent214%
  4. Apple17%
  5. ISO17%
  6. KidinaKorner17%
  7. Other321%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2012–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Arctic Monkeys
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Beck
    2 noms
  3. 03
    Black Pumas
    2 noms
  4. 04
    Brittany Howard
    2 noms
  5. 05
    Coldplay
    2 noms
  6. 06
    Idles
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Alabama Shakes
    3L · 1W
  2. 02
    Arctic Monkeys
    3L · 0W
  3. 03
    Foo Fighters
    3L · 2W
  4. 04
    The Black Keys
    3L · 1W
  5. 05
    Beck
    2L · 0W
  6. 06
    Black Pumas
    2L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2012–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025The Beatles (Now and Then)
beat 5 others
  • The Black Keys (Beautiful People (Stay High))
  • Green Day (The American Dream Is Killing Me)
  • Idles (Gift Horse)
  • Pearl Jam (Dark Matter)
  • St. Vincent (Broken Man)
Apple
2024Boygenius (Not Strong Enough)
beat 4 others
  • Arctic Monkeys (Sculptures of Anything Goes)
  • Black Pumas (More Than a Love Song)
  • Foo Fighters (Rescued)
  • Metallica (Lux Æterna)
Interscope
2023Brandi Carlile (Broken Horses)
beat 6 others
  • Bryan Adams (So Happy It Hurts)
  • Beck (Old Man)
  • The Black Keys (Wild Child)
  • Idles (Crawl!)
  • Ozzy Osbourne featuring Jeff Beck (Patient Number 9)
  • Turnstile (Holiday)
Low Country Sound/Elektra
2022Foo Fighters (Making a Fire)
beat 4 others
  • AC/DC (Shot in the Dark)
  • Black Pumas (Know You Better (Live from Capitol Studio A))
  • Chris Cornell (Nothing Compares 2 U)
  • Deftones (Ohms)
Roswell/RCA
2021Fiona Apple (Shameika)
beat 5 others
  • Big Thief (Not)
  • Phoebe Bridgers (Kyoto)
  • Haim (The Steps)
  • Brittany Howard (Stay High)
  • Grace Potter (Daylight)
Epic/Clean Slate
2020Gary Clark Jr. (This Land)
beat 4 others
  • Bones UK (Pretty Waste)
  • Brittany Howard (History Repeats)
  • Karen O and Danger Mouse (Woman)
  • Rival Sons (Too Bad)
Warner Bros.
2019Chris Cornell (When Bad Does Good)
beat 4 others
  • Arctic Monkeys (Four Out of Five)
  • The Fever 333 (Made an America)
  • Greta Van Fleet (Highway Tune)
  • Halestorm (Uncomfortable)
UME
2018Leonard Cohen (You Want It Darker)
beat 4 others
  • Chris Cornell (The Promise)
  • Foo Fighters (Run)
  • Kaleo (No Good)
  • Nothing More (Go to War)
Columbia
2017David Bowie (Blackstar)
beat 4 others
  • Alabama Shakes (Joe (Live from Austin City Limits))
  • Beyoncé featuring Jack White (Don't Hurt Yourself)
  • Disturbed (The Sound of Silence)
  • Twenty One Pilots (Heathens)
ISO/Columbia
2016Alabama Shakes (Don't Wanna Fight)
beat 4 others
  • Florence and the Machine (What Kind of Man)
  • Foo Fighters (Something from Nothing)
  • Elle King (Ex's & Oh's)
  • Wolf Alice (Moaning Lisa Smile)
ATO
2015Jack White (Lazaretto)
beat 4 others
  • Ryan Adams (Gimme Something Good)
  • Arctic Monkeys (Do I Wanna Know?)
  • Beck (Blue Moon)
  • The Black Keys (Fever)
Third Man
2014Imagine Dragons (Radioactive)
beat 5 others
  • Alabama Shakes (Always Alright)
  • David Bowie (The Stars (Are Out Tonight))
  • Led Zeppelin (Kashmir (Live))
  • Queens of the Stone Age (My God Is the Sun)
  • Jack White (I'm Shakin')
KidinaKorner/Interscope
2013The Black Keys (Lonely Boy)
beat 4 others
  • Alabama Shakes (Hold On)
  • Coldplay (Charlie Brown)
  • Mumford & Sons (I Will Wait)
  • Bruce Springsteen (We Take Care of Our Own)
Nonesuch
2012Foo Fighters (Walk)
beat 4 others
  • Coldplay (Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall)
  • The Decemberists (Down by the Water)
  • Mumford & Sons (The Cave)
  • Radiohead (Lotus Flower)
RCA