The artist who literally gave half his Grammy to the person he thought should have won is John Mayer.

Quick answer

  • John Mayer won Song of the Year at the 2005 Grammy Awards for “Daughters.”
  • He believed Alicia Keys ’ song “If I Ain’t Got You” deserved the award instead.
  • As a gesture of respect, he broke the Grammy trophy in half and gave the top, golden part to Alicia Keys, keeping the base himself.

Why this moment is talked about

  • Fans often bring this up in forum discussions as an example of rare humility and sportsmanship in a very competitive awards world.
  • It has since become a small piece of Grammy lore, retold in quizzes, YouTube explainers, and pop-culture trivia as “the time John Mayer gave half his Grammy to Alicia Keys.”

TL;DR: John Mayer is the artist who gave away half his Grammy, sharing his 2005 Song of the Year trophy with Alicia Keys because he felt her song should have won.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.