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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Rock Song.

34 ceremonies, 1992–2025. 25 different winners. The longest run belongs to U2, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
St. Vincent in 2025 for Broken Man.
Who has won the most?
Bruce Springsteen, 4 wins (1995, 2003, 2008, 2009).
  1. Broken ManSt. Vincent
  2. Not Strong EnoughBoygenius
  3. Broken HorsesBrandi Carlile
  4. Waiting on a WarFoo Fighters
  5. Stay HighBrittany Howard
  6. This LandGary Clark Jr.
Years explored
1992–2025
Different winners
25
Category leader
Bruce Springsteen · 4
About this record

Best Rock Song was first awarded in 1992, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19922025

01 / The reigns

U2 set the longest run.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Bruce Springsteen3 wins
  2. 02
    Foo Fighters3 wins
  3. 03
    Red Hot Chili Peppers2 wins
  4. 04
    St. Vincent2 wins
  5. 05
    U22 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by label; hover for details.
Red Hot Chili Peppers'00
Creed'01
Train'02
Bruce Springsteen'03
The White Stripes'04
U2'05–'06×2
Red Hot Chili Peppers'07
Bruce Springsteen'08–'09×2
Kings of Leon'10
Neil Young'11
Foo Fighters'12
The Black Keys'13
Paul McCartney and Nirvana'14
Paramore'15
Alabama Shakes'16
David Bowie'17
Foo Fighters'18
St. Vincent'19
Gary Clark Jr.'20
Brittany Howard'21
Foo Fighters'22
Brandi Carlile'23
Boygenius'24
St. Vincent'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Sony leads the recorded label credits with 9 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Sony9 wins
Warner6 wins
Independent4 wins
Universal3 wins
ISO1 win
Low Country Sound1 win
Wins by label
  1. Sony935%
  2. Warner623%
  3. Independent415%
  4. Universal312%
  5. ISO14%
  6. Low Country Sound14%
  7. Other28%

03 / The near misses

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

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Coldplay
    4 noms
  2. 02
    Green Day
    3 noms
  3. 03
    Mumford & Sons
    3 noms
  4. 04
    Muse
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Radiohead
    3 noms
  6. 06
    3 Doors Down
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Bruce Springsteen
    4L · 3W
  2. 02
    Coldplay
    4L · 0W
  3. 03
    Foo Fighters
    4L · 3W
  4. 04
    Green Day
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Kings of Leon
    3L · 1W
  6. 06
    Mumford & Sons
    3L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025St. Vincent (Broken Man)
beat 4 others
  • The Black Keys (Beautiful People (Stay High))
  • Pearl Jam (Dark Matter)
  • Green Day (Dilemma)
  • Idles (Gift Horse)
Total Pleasure/Virgin
2024Boygenius (Not Strong Enough)
beat 4 others
  • The Rolling Stones (Angry)
  • Olivia Rodrigo (Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl)
  • Queens of the Stone Age (Emotion Sickness)
  • Foo Fighters (Rescued)
Interscope
2023Brandi Carlile (Broken Horses)
beat 4 others
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers (Black Summer)
  • Turnstile (Blackout)
  • The War on Drugs (Harmonia's Dream)
  • Ozzy Osbourne featuring Jeff Beck (Patient Number 9)
Low Country Sound/Elektra
2022Foo Fighters (Waiting on a War)
beat 4 others
  • Weezer (All My Favorite Songs)
  • Kings of Leon (The Bandit)
  • Mammoth WVH (Distance)
  • Paul McCartney (Find My Way)
RCA
2021Brittany Howard (Stay High)
beat 4 others
  • Phoebe Bridgers (Kyoto)
  • Tame Impala (Lost in Yesterday)
  • Big Thief (Not)
  • Fiona Apple (Shameika)
ATO
2020Gary Clark Jr. (This Land)
beat 4 others
  • Tool (Fear Inoculum)
  • The 1975 (Give Yourself a Try)
  • Vampire Weekend (Harmony Hall)
  • Brittany Howard (History Repeats)
Warner Bros.
2019St. Vincent (Masseduction)
beat 4 others
  • Greta Van Fleet (Black Smoke Rising)
  • Twenty One Pilots (Jumpsuit)
  • Bring Me the Horizon (Mantra)
  • Ghost (Rats)
Loma Vista
2018Foo Fighters (Run)
beat 4 others
  • Metallica (Atlas, Rise!)
  • K.Flay (Blood in the Cut)
  • Nothing More (Go to War)
  • Avenged Sevenfold (The Stage)
RCA
2017David Bowie (Blackstar)
beat 4 others
  • Radiohead (Burn the Witch)
  • Metallica (Hardwired)
  • Twenty One Pilots (Heathens)
  • Highly Suspect (My Name Is Human)
ISO/Columbia
2016Alabama Shakes (Don't Wanna Fight)
beat 4 others
  • Elle King (Ex's & Oh's)
  • James Bay (Hold Back the River)
  • Highly Suspect (Lydia)
  • Florence and the Machine (What Kind of Man)
ATO
2015Paramore (Ain't It Fun)
beat 4 others
  • Beck (Blue Moon)
  • The Black Keys (Fever)
  • Ryan Adams (Gimme Something Good)
  • Jack White (Lazaretto)
Fueled by Ramen/Atlantic
2014Paul McCartney and Nirvana (Cut Me Some Slack)
beat 4 others
  • Gary Clark Jr. (Ain't Messin 'Round)
  • The Rolling Stones (Doom and Gloom)
  • Black Sabbath (God Is Dead?)
  • Muse (Panic Station)
RCA
2013The Black Keys (Lonely Boy)
beat 4 others
  • Jack White (Freedom at 21)
  • Mumford & Sons (I Will Wait)
  • Muse (Madness)
  • Bruce Springsteen (We Take Care of Our Own)
Nonesuch
2012Foo Fighters (Walk)
beat 4 others
  • Mumford & Sons (The Cave)
  • Coldplay (Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall)
  • The Decemberists (Down by the Water)
  • Radiohead (Lotus Flower)
RCA
2011Neil Young (Angry World)
beat 4 others
  • Mumford & Sons (Little Lion Man)
  • Kings of Leon (Radioactive)
  • Muse (Resistance)
  • The Black Keys (Tighten Up)
Reprise
2010Kings of Leon (Use Somebody)
beat 4 others
  • Pearl Jam (The Fixer)
  • U2 (I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight)
  • Green Day (21 Guns)
  • Bruce Springsteen (Working on a Dream)
RCA
2009Bruce Springsteen (Girls in Their Summer Clothes)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Radiohead (House of Cards)
  • Death Cab for Cutie (I Will Possess Your Heart)
  • Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire)
  • Coldplay (Violet Hill)
Columbia
2008Bruce Springsteen (Radio Nowhere)
beat 4 others
  • Lucinda Williams (Come On)
  • The White Stripes (Icky Thump)
  • Daughtry (It's Not Over)
  • Foo Fighters (The Pretender)
Columbia
2007Red Hot Chili Peppers (Dani California)
beat 4 others
  • Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars)
  • Neil Young (Lookin' for a Leader)
  • Bob Dylan (Someday Baby)
  • The Killers (When You Were Young)
Warner Bros.
2006U2 (City of Blinding Lights)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Foo Fighters (Best of You)
  • Weezer (Beverly Hills)
  • Bruce Springsteen (Devils & Dust)
  • Coldplay (Speed of Sound)
Island/Interscope
2005U2 (Vertigo)
beat 4 others
  • Green Day (American Idiot)
  • Velvet Revolver (Fall to Pieces)
  • Modest Mouse (Float On)
  • The Killers (Somebody Told Me)
Island/Interscope
2004The White Stripes (Seven Nation Army)
beat 4 others
  • Evanescence (Bring Me to Life)
  • Train (Calling All Angels)
  • Bruce Springsteen and Warren Zevon (Disorder in the House)
  • Nickelback (Someday)
V2/XL/Third Man
2003Bruce Springsteen (The Rising)
beat 4 others
  • Foo Fighters (All My Life)
  • Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott (Hero)
  • Godsmack (I Stand Alone)
  • 3 Doors Down (When I'm Gone)
Columbia
2002Train (Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me))
beat 4 others
  • U2 (Elevation)
  • Aerosmith (Jaded)
  • U2 (Walk On)
  • Coldplay (Yellow)
Columbia
2001Creed (With Arms Wide Open)
beat 4 others
  • Lenny Kravitz (Again)
  • Matchbox Twenty (Bent)
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers (Californication)
  • 3 Doors Down (Kryptonite)
Wind-up/Epic
2000Red Hot Chili Peppers (Scar Tissue)
beat 4 others
  • Melissa Etheridge (Angels Would Fall)
  • Bruce Springsteen (The Promise)
  • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Room at the Top)
  • Garbage (Special)
Warner Bros.