The 2022 Grammys paid special tribute on Sunday to Taylor Hawkins, the longtime Foo Fighters drummer who passed away last month at the age of 50.
Foo Fighters — who won three Grammys on Sunday, bumping up their career tally to 15 — had been scheduled to perform at the ceremony until announcing last week that they were canceling all scheduled performance dates in light of the death of Hawkins, who officially joined the band in 1997.
“So, this is the moment in the show when I was supposed to be introducing the Foo Fighters,” host Trevor Noah said from the stage. “We would have been celebrating with them, as they won three Grammy Awards earlier today. But they are, of course, not here due to the tragic passing of their legendary drummer, Taylor Hawkins.”
The comedian continued, “Our thoughts go out to Taylor’s family, his friends, the Foo Fighter family and all of their fans around the globe. We’d like to take a moment now to remember Taylor.”
This led to footage, sound-bites and photos of Hawkins with the band, during which the Foo Fighters song “My Hero” could be heard. Included in the segment was previously recorded audio of frontman Dave Grohl saying, “He’s the best drummer in the world. We love him so much.”
Billie Eilish performs onstage wearing Foo Fighters Drummer Taylor Hawkins t-shirt during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Following the Hawkins tribute, the show aired the In Memoriam segment, honoring the other members of the music community who died in the past year.
During her performance of “Happier Than Ever” earlier in the night, Billie Eilish also paid tribute to Hawkins with a black T-shirt featuring an image of the drummer on the front and his name on the back.
On March 25, the band, which had been scheduled to perform in Colombia that day, announced “the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins.” A cause of death was not given. Four days later, the group confirmed that all tour dates had been canceled amid the “staggering loss.”