Foo Fighters take home three, bittersweet Grammys and Taylor Hawkins gets emotional tribute
One week after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters swept the Grammy rock categories
Update: Ahead of the In Memoriam segment of the 64th annual Grammy awards, the Academy played a short tribute to Hawkins. The Foo Fighters, as host Trevor Noah mentioned, were scheduled to perform at tonight’s show. Set to the Foo Fighters’ classic “Hero,” the tribute video showed Hawkins in his element, behind the kit and backstage with the band.
Just over a week after the death of long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters swept the rock categories at the Grammys tonight, taking home all three golden gramophones the band was nominated for. The Foos won Best Rock Performance (“Making A Fire”), Best Rock Song (“Waiting On A War”), and Best Rock Album (Medicine At Midnight).
The category included mostly legacy acts, many of which the Foo Fighters rose to fame alongside. The band fought AC/DC (Power Up), Black Pumas (Capitol Cuts—Live From Studio A), Chris Cornell (No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1), and McCartney (McCartney III) for Best Rock Album. It also beat AC/DC (“Shot In The Dark”), Chris Cornell (“Nothing Compares 2 U”), and Deftones (“OHMS”) for Best Rock Performance. And for Best Rock Song, Foo Fighters won over Paul McCartney (“Find My Way”), Kings Of Leon (“The Bandit”), Mammoth WVH (“Distance”), and Weezer (“All My Favorite Songs”).
Obviously, given the tragic week, the last thing the Foo Fighters need is another Grammy, so no, no one from the band was on hand to accept the awards. The group has 12 to date, and 29 nominations in total.
Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia on March 25. Since then, the band, which was on a global tour, canceled all upcoming tour dates.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” Foo Fighters said in a statement. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
In addition to a new, Grammy-winning album, the Foo Fighters also recently released their first film Studio 666, a comedy that features guest appearances by the most famous musicians in the world, including fellow Grammy-nominee Paul McCartney.