Watch: The Strokes’ awkward acceptance video for their first-ever Grammy
The perils of virtual awards ceremonies.
Image: Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
When The Strokes were announced as the winners of the Best Rock Album category at the Grammys 2021, they didn’t know it.
Band members Julian Casablancas, Nikolai Fraiture and Fab Moretti, who were appearing via webcam at the virtual ceremony, stood awkwardly in silence as connection issues led them to miss the announcement that they had won for their 2020 comeback album, The New Abnormal.
“It’s cutting out, who won?” a bemused Fraiture ventured a few moments after the livestream timed out and left the band members frozen onscreen.
It was only after premiere ceremony host Jhené Aiko repeated the announcement that the band erupted in celebration. “Whoa! Damn, sorry we couldn’t hear,” frontman Casablancas said before thanking people. It’s the New York indie-rock band’s first-ever Grammy.
Watch the full acceptance speech here:
The New Abnormal, which is The Strokes’ sixth studio album, was released in April 2020, seven years after their previous LP, Comedown Machine.
In other Grammy 2021 news, H.E.R. picked up the coveted Song of the Year award for her single I Can’t Breathe, a reflection on the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the US last year.