The annual Grammy Awards for 2022 were held on Sunday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with Trevor Noah hosting the ceremony once again.
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who recently passed away on March 25th in Bogota, Colombia just before the band was scheduled to perform at the Festival Estérep Picnic received a special tribute from the Recording Academy during the ceremony. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to head to Lollapalooza Brazil but decided to cancel all of their appearances after Taylor Hawkins’ untimely and devastating demise.
The drummer, who was adored by millions of fans and artists across the world, received an emotional tribute after host Trevor Noah took the center stage to introduce a video montage of Taylor Hawkins performing as the song "My Hero" played in the background. The Foo Fighters won three Grammy Awards during the ceremony, including Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Album, and Best Rock Song. They canceled their scheduled performance at the Grammys after Taylor Hawkins’ demise, and the band urged privacy to heal.
Trevor Noah, while introducing the tribute video, said to the audience that it was his moment in the show where he was supposed to introduce the Foo Fighters for their much-awaited performance and they would have celebrated their win of three Grammys, but since they were not here due to Taylor Hawkins’ passing away, he’d like to take a moment to remember the legendary drummer and expressed his condolences to the family, friends and the band's fans across the world.
Billie Eilish also paid tribute to the late drummer in her way as she took the stage to perform her successful song "Happier Than Ever" and wore a T-shirt that featured Taylor Hawkins’ face on it. Earlier, Miley Cyrus, who was a close friend of Taylor Hawkins, had dedicated her performance while performing at Lollapalooza Brazil. Miley Cyrus broke down during the show in Brazil and shared with the audience that if she and her crew had not had to make an emergency landing en route to the Asunciónico Music Festival in Paraguay, she would have spent the day with Taylor Hawkins as the Foo Fighters headlined the music festival a day prior.
Miley Cyrus dedicated her song "Angels Like You" to Taylor Hawkins and extended her condolences to the family, friends, fans, and band members of Taylor Hawkins. Various other close friends and artists had extended their condolences to the family and friends for Taylor Hawkins after his demise.
The Recording Academy said via a statement that the entire music community is still mourning the loss of the light that we lost last week with Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ passing. The academy added that they will continue to send their love and extend their deepest condolences to the drummer’s family, friends, and fans.
On April 3rd, the Saturday Night Live show also paid tribute to the drummer as a picture of Taylor Hawkins appeared on-screen with his name. He was 50-years-old when he passed away, and fans expressed and appreciated the SNL bosses for paying tribute to the legendary drummer who's untimely death shook the entire world. A user wrote that the show makes their jokes, but at the end of the day, they always have respect for the artists. Taylor Hawkins appeared on Saturday Night Live for the first time in 1995, alongside musical guest Alanis Morissette. The Foo Fighters recently canceled their upcoming tour dates after sharing the news of Taylor Hawkins' passing away.
The cause of Taylor Hawkins’ death has not been ruled out yet, but the preliminary urine toxicology test reports suggested that ten different substances were found in Taylor’s body, including opioids, THC, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, etc.
During the ceremony, Stephen Sondheim, iconic rapper DMX, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Don Everly, Meat Loaf, and Vicente Fernandez were also paid tribute in the Memoriam section of the ceremony.