Foo Fighters Taught Us All To Fly With Career-Spanning VMA Performance

Back in 2015, a male named Fabio Zaffagnini convinced 1,000 people in his hometown of Cesena, Italy, to pull off a seeming logistical nightmare: a mass simultaneous efficiency of Foo Fighters's indelible alt-rock hit "Learn to Fly," without any rehearsal. It worked, and the results are nothing short of inspirational. "A lot of people if they visualize the video mention it doesn't seem like a Italian thing," Zaffagnini told MTV News then. "It looks like more the American Dream, you know?"


"Learn to Fly" was chosen for its simplicity and universality — three chords plus a lot of heart — something that's made the Foo Fighters such a rock institution since 1995. That spirit is precisely why the order is being honored at this year's VMAs with the Global Icon Award.


"This is quite an award to receive," musical group leader Dave Grohl mentioned accepting the group's third Moonperson ever. "We've been a musical group for 26 years, so it's pretty good!" One of these years, by the way, was 1997, any time their sophomore LP The Colour and the Shape dropped and so they performed on the roof of Radio City Music Hall for the VMAs. Memories!


Grohl, accompanied by fellow members Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee, stood onstage next to Foo fan and follower Billie Eilish, who introduced them. He mentioned they'd made top list of every MTV person they required to remember to thank, one that spans the decades. And then he shouted some of these out: "Kurt Loder, Tabitha Soren, JJ Jackson, Matt Pinfield, Steve Isaacs, Amy Finnerty."


It's been quite the journey for a musical group that started as Grohl's post-Nirvana solo project. He played every musical instrument on its 1995 self-titled debut and has expanded and shifted the lineup in the following decades, releasing 10 studio albums along with a flood of modern-rock hits.


Before the categorize grabbed their latest trophy, they whipped through a medley of some all-time classic Foo jams, including "Learn to Fly." Drummer Hawkins flashed a "Charlie R.I.P." Note on his bass drum, in homage to recently departed Rolling Stones's percussionist Charlie Watts. Soon after, they connected past to display with "Shame Shame," a dance-tinged new tune they dropped earlier this year.


"Shame Shame" noticed the crew embracing their friskier side, similar to what they explored on the Hail Satin disco comp they recorded and released in July. Its placement between two stone-cold Foos classics suggests its potential future power — and closing with "Everlong," the band's signature song, allowed for projections from the band's past to color a poignant new moment in their career.


"Thank you very much for this award," he concluded immediately following the efficiency. "We'll visualize you in 26 years!"


Grohl, clad in his all-black rock star uniform and trademark baby-blue guitar, fronting his squad because the first-ever Global Icons at the VMAs? Right now that's what I call the American Dream.


The 2021 VMAs are airing live on MTV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Find the whole list of winners right here and keep up with all the night's biggest VMA moments!