Contestants on Wednesday's JEOPARDY! episode missed a final question many observers considered easy, resulting in a rare triple stumper. The category was The Grammys, and the clue asked for a band that won Best New Artist at the 7th Annual Grammys, was nominated the following six years, and then not again until the 39th and 67th events.
None of the three contestants provided the correct response. Sarah Gillis, the reigning champion, offered "Who is the Marine Marching Band," which has never received a Grammy nomination.
Challenger Michelle Tsai wrote "Who is Bruce Springsteen?" but Springsteen is a solo artist, and his career timeline did not match the span described in the clue covering nearly 60 years of Grammy ceremonies.
Dan Moren, the other challenger, responded "Who are the Rolling Stones?" Host Ken Jennings pointed out that band was not nominated for a Grammy until much later (1979) and lacked the consecutive nominations required by the clue. The Rolling Stones did win a Grammy earlier this year for their album Hackney Diamonds.
The correct answer was The Beatles. The band won Best New Artist at the 1965 ceremony (the 7th annual), received nominations each year from 1966 through 1971, and were nominated again in 1997 (39th Grammys) and earlier this year (67th Grammys), winning awards on both later occasions for work like The Beatles Anthology and their song "Now and Then."
Despite the miss on the final question, Dan Moren secured the win for the night with $17,200. He entered Final Jeopardy with a significant lead and smartly wagered nothing, preserving his score when the triple stumper occurred. Sarah Gillis wagered her entire score and Michelle Tsai lost a portion of hers.
The outcome demonstrated that even experienced contestants can encounter categories outside their area of knowledge.
