38th Annual Grammy Awards#Spoken

{{Short description|Award ceremony}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox award

| name = 38th Annual Grammy Awards

| image =

| caption =

| date = February 28, 1996

| location = Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles

| host = Ellen DeGeneres

| network = CBS

| most_awards = Alanis Morissette (4)

| most_nominations =

| previous = 37th

| main = Grammy Awards

| next = 39th

}}

The 38th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1996, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Alanis Morissette was the main recipient, being awarded four trophies, including Album of the Year.{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=&year=1995&genre=All|title=1995 Grammy Award Winners|publisher=Grammy.com|access-date=1 May 2011}} Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men opened the show with their Record of the Year nominated "One Sweet Day".

The ceremony was controversial for its unexpected snub of Mariah Carey's Daydream album, which proved to be one of the bestselling and most acclaimed albums of 1995.{{Cite book|last=Nickson|first=Chris|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39024852|title=Mariah Carey revisited : her story|date=1998|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=0-312-19512-5|edition=|location=New York|pages=152|oclc=39024852}} When the Grammy Award nominees were announced, and Daydream was nominated for six different awards, critics began raving how it would be "cleaning up" that year.{{Cite book|last=Nickson|first=Chris|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39024852|title=Mariah Carey revisited : her story|date=1998|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=0-312-19512-5|edition=|location=New York|pages=154|oclc=39024852}} Carey, being a multiple award nominee, was one of the headlining performers. Together with Boyz II Men, she sang a live rendition of "One Sweet Day", to a very positive response.{{Cite web|title=Watch 11 unforgettable moments from the '96 Grammys|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/grammys-flashback-11-unforgettable-moments-1996-award-ceremony-t72216|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-02|website=Today|language=en|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160215175956/http://www.today.com/popculture/grammys-flashback-11-unforgettable-moments-1996-award-ceremony-t72216 |archive-date = 2016-02-15 }} The album had lost all of its six nominations, shocking most critics who branded it the "album of the year".{{Cite web|title=Five of the Biggest Snubs in the History of Grammy Awards|url=https://blog.dtlr.com/2019/12/five-of-the-biggest-snubs-in-the-history-of-grammy-awards/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-02|website=The Lifestyle|language=en-US|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210415223844/https://blog.dtlr.com/2019/12/five-of-the-biggest-snubs-in-the-history-of-grammy-awards/ |archive-date = 2021-04-15 }} Carey did not perform again until the 2006 ceremony, when she was nominated for eight awards (winning three) for The Emancipation of Mimi.{{Cite web|last=Cinquemani|first=Sal|title=Screaming Mimi: 48th Annual Grammy Awards Recap|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/screaming-mimi-48th-annual-grammy-awards-recap/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-02|website=Slant Magazine|language=en-US|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200225141426/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/screaming-mimi-48th-annual-grammy-awards-recap/ |archive-date = 2020-02-25 }}

The ceremony is also significant for Tupac Shakur introducing Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley of Kiss for the first time in full makeup and costume since 1979. Shakur said "And I've seen just about everything now," in response to seeing Kiss walk on stage to announce the nominees for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal.{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-grammys-1996/|title=When Kiss Made a Surprise Comeback at the Grammys|last=Christopher|first=Michael|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|language=en|access-date=2020-04-16}}