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There are incredibly successful rappers and performers who have achieved elite status but never made it to No. 1. Many performers and fans look at Missy Elliott as an icon in the rap world. Still, she has never made it to No. 1 on the charts. 

Missy Elliott has 22 Grammy nominations

According to IMDb, Missy Elliott, with the name Melissa Arnette Elliott, was born on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Elliott started her singing career in 1991 with a neighborhood singing group named Sista. She was already writing consistently with her long-time collaborator, Timbaland. Elliott and Timbaland worked together to produce Sista’s first album, 4 All the Sistas Around the World, in 1994. 

In 1997, Elliott released her studio album, Supa Dupa Fly. This album featured a few fellow artists, namely Lil Kim, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes. She also released hits like “The Rain” and “Beep Me 911.” Supa Dupa Fly received three nods from the Grammy Awards in 1998. She was honored with nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance for “The Rain.” She also got a Grammy nomination for her work with Lil Kim on “Not Tonight.”

Elliott continued her work after her success at the Grammys. She released her second album, Da Real World, in 1999. She also continued to write songs for other A-listers, such as Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, and even Whitney Houston. 

Elliott’s fourth studio album, Under Construction, was released in 2002 and brought her first Grammy win. She took home the award for Best Rap Solo Performance for “Get Ur Freak On.” She went on to win three more Grammy’s in the early 2000s for “Scream a.k.a Itchin,” “Work It,” and “Lose Control.”

Elliott has a total of 22 Grammy nominations to call her own and has a net worth of $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. She was also presented with the 2019 MTV Video Vanguard Award and became the first female rapper to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in June of that year. 

Missy Elliott has two No. 2 hits 

Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, and Eminem at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City
Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, and Eminem at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards | KMazur/WireImage via Getty Images

According to Billboard, Missy Elliott has achieved the elite status of producing a No. 2 hit twice. The two songs to rise to No. 2 are “Work It” and “1,2 Step.”

“Work It” stayed in the No. 2 spot, but it never made it to the No. 1 spot. “Work It” stayed at No. 2 for so long that it tied with Foreigner’s “Waiting For a Girl Like You” for the single at No. 2 without making it to No. 1. Both singles spent 10 weeks at No. 2. 

Eminem is responsible for keeping Elliott out of the No. 1 spot. His song “Lose Yourself” stayed right in front of “Work It” at No. 1 for the entirety of the 10 weeks that “Work It” spent at No. 2. 

There is a surprising number of artists who never had a No. 1 hit

Related

Timbaland vs. Missy Elliott: Which Hip-Hop Icon Has a Higher Net Worth?

Missy Elliott is not the only insanely successful artist not to make it to the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 List. 

Here is a list of some of the artists and their singles that rose high, but not the highest:

  • One Direction: “Best Song Ever”
  • Bruce Springsteen: “Dancing in the Dark” 
  • Imagine Dragons: “Radioactive” 
  • Backstreet Boys: “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” 
  • David Guetta: “Turn Me One” 
  • James Brown: “I Got You” 
  • Don Henley: “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”
  • Martha & The Vandellas: “Heat Wave”
  • Chaka Khan: “Tell Me Something Good”
  • Bob Dylan: “Like a Rolling Stone”
  • Sheryl Crow: “All I Wanna Do”
  • MC Hammer: “Pray”
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