Green Day fans left confused as band are compared to Busted at the BRIT Awards
Host Roman Kemp referred to Billie Joe Armstrong and Tré Cool as “rock gods” before making the comparison.
Images: Jeff Spicer (L) and Ethan Miller (R) / Getty Images
Green Day fans were left a little perplexed during the weekend’s BRIT Awards ceremony, as the band were dubbed the “American Busted”.
At the event, host Roman Kemp introduced Billie Joe Armstrong and Tré Cool to the stage to present Jungle with the Group Of The Year award when he made the unlikely comparison.
Kemp – who presented the show alongside Maya Jama and Clara Amfo – called the pair “two genuine rock gods”, before adding: “They’ve sold 75 million records and released 14 albums – they’re very much the American Busted. Please welcome, from Green Day, it’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Tré Cool.”
Though pop-rock band Busted have seen huge success in the UK over the years – including two BRIT awards – there’s no denying that there’s some pretty big differences between both bands. Namely, the sort of music they respectively put out – Green Day often delve into topics such as politics or mental health, with Busted’s popular hits exploring love, lust and not fitting in.
Though many believe that the remark was intended as a joke, fans and industry figures took to the internet to share their thoughts, with journalist Alex Taylor writing (via NME), “Green Day as the American Busted? A) That’s utterly laughable to anyone who vaguely listens to music, let alone Green Day… if anything, Busted rode the waves of Blink-182 to mask their bubblegum pop. B) Not everything needs to be made spoon-fed relative to Britain.”
He adds in another post, “Should say there’s nothing wrong with Busted, nor bubblegum pop, but they were not political, socially aware or the ongoing leaders of a US pop-punk scene like Green Day, who are still headlining festivals after 30 years. Comparisons matter.”
Green Day as the American Busted?
A) That's utterly laughable to anyone who vaguely listens to music, let alone Green Day… if anything, Busted rode the waves of Blink-182 to mask their bubblegum pop
B) Not everything needs to be made spoon-fed relative to Britain 🙄 #BRITs— Alex Taylor (@Tayloredword) March 2, 2024
Should say there's nothing wrong with Busted, nor bubblegum pop, but they were not political, socially aware or the ongoing leaders of a US pop-punk scene like Green Day, who are still headlining festivals after 30 years
COMPARISONS MATTER #BRITs
— Alex Taylor (@Tayloredword) March 2, 2024
Take a look at some of the further reactions below:
Not Roman Kemp calling Green Day ‘the American Busted’?! I’m sorry, I love Busted but that is no way a direct comparison
— Captured by Corinne (@CorinneDinDin) March 3, 2024
‘Green Day are the American Busted’ actually Busted are the English Blink 182, hope that helps
— abi 🌱 (@hxrrop) March 3, 2024
Gosh I’m sure Green Day, with 75 million album sales, are thrilled at being described as the ‘American Busted’- Busted sold 5 million. #BritAwards
— Cristo (@cristo_radio) March 2, 2024
Interestingly, Billie Joe Armstrong recently shared his belief that if Green Day were to launch in today’s music scene, they would actually find themselves sitting among artists such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.
“If Green Day were a new band in this era, I feel like we would fit right in next to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift in a lot of ways,” he told Guitar World. “Because I just feel that if it’s good songs – if it’s great songs – you can bust through any genre or any sort of popularity contest. So I just always go to where I’m strongest, and that’s good lyrics, good melodies, good songwriting.”