Foo Fighters to Receive First-Ever VMAs Global Icon Award

Foo Fighters will be the first-ever recipients of the VMAs Global Icon Award, MTV announced on Thursday.

Originating from MTV’s Europe Music Awards (EMAs), the Global Icon Award will be presented to the band during the 2021 VMAs ceremony, live from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Sunday, September 12th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Foo Fighters are also set to perform at the ceremony, marking their first VMAs performance since 2007. In addition to the Global Icon Award, the band is nominated for three VMA categories this year, including Best Rock, Best Choreography and Best Cinematography, all for their video for “Shame Shame.”

The band’s recognition from the VMAs comes a year after the Foo Fighters’ 20th-anniversary tour — and their new album, Medicine at Midnight — was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Medicine at Midnight finally arrived in February 2021, leading to Foo Fighters performing one of the first post-pandemic, fully-vaccinated arena shows in New York at Madison Square Garden. The concert was later the subject of a documentary short, The Day the Music Came Back.

Amidst promoting the album, Foo Fighters have also launched a Bee Gees tribute band, the Dee Gees, with a debut album Hail Satin arriving last month for Record Store Day.