Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their Global Icon award to Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins at the MTV VMAs 2022 tonight (August 28).
The band were honoured at the ceremony, which is being co-hosted by Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow and LL Cool J at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
After performing ‘Black Summer’ and ‘Can’t Stop’, Red Hot Chili Peppers accepted the Global Icon award. As drummer Chad Smith took the microphone, he paid tribute to Hawkins, saying: “There’s another musical icon, global icon, and his name is my brother Taylor Hawkins. I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family and I miss him every day and fly on Hawk, fly on brother.”
Hawkins died in March while Foo Fighters were on tour in Bogota, Colombia. He was 50 years old. He will be remembered at two special memorial concerts in London and Los Angeles next month.
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith dedicates his performance at the #VMAs to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins who passed away earlier this year:
“Fly on Hawk, fly on brother.” pic.twitter.com/f8BCxUeVxN
— The Recount Alt (@therecountalt) August 29, 2022
Earlier in the speech, frontman Anthony Kiedis thanked his bandmates for their influence on his life.
Harlow, Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar led the nominations going into the night, with seven each. Doja Cat and Harry Styles follow behind on six nods, while Taylor Swift is in the running for five awards. Keep up with all of the winners as they happen here.
More performances at the MTV VMAs 2022 will come from Måneskin, Panic! At The Disco, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more. Harlow kicked off the night with a special performance of ‘First Class’ with Fergie, while Lizzo brought her new single ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)’ to the VMAs stage.
BLACKPINK also made their debut appearance at the VMAs with ‘Pink Venom’, Minaj ran through hits from across her discography, and Eminem and Snoop Dogg shared a metaverse-inspired performance of ‘From The D 2 The LBC’.