Glass Animals were forced to miss the 2022 Grammy Awards after frontman Dave Bayley tested positive for COVID.
The Oxford band were nominated for the Best New Artist statue at this year’s ceremony, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada last night (April 3).
Shortly before the event kicked off, however, Bayley took to social media to confirm that he’d “received a positive result on a rapid PCR and my lateral flow tests are showing the same”.
“I feel fine, and am showing no symptoms so far, but nonetheless it would be truly irresponsible for me to attend the Grammy ceremony,” the singer continued.
“I am so overwhelmingly heartbroken. Not just within myself, but for everyone who has worked so insanely hard with us over the past couple of chaotic years, and for every one of you who supported and believed in this project enough to get us here through thick and thin.”
Bayley added: “I wanted to be there for all of us as this has been a colossal team effort. I wanted to do it for Joe [Seaward, drummer] who survived that horrible accident and was strong enough to recover.”
The frontman went on to praise Glass Animals’ label, management and crew, and said that he’d wanted to attend the Grammys “for my best friend who passed away”, who the record-breaking ‘Heat Waves’ was written about.
“‘Heat Waves’ is a song about missing someone and loss in difficult times,” Bayley wrote. “That difficult time has bitten us tonight, and we will miss sharing the evening with you all. The meaning in the lyrics is hitting me hard right now.”
He then explained that all of his bandmates had tested negative, but had spent the day with him on Saturday. “Out of an abundance of caution, and solidarity and love and kindness they are going to hang back tonight too,” Bayley said.
Bayley signed off by telling fans that Glass Animals would be at the Grammys ceremony “in spirit”, concluding: “Love forever. Dave and Dudes x.” You can read the statement in full above.
Glass Animals were beaten to the Best New Artist award by Olivia Rodrigo, who also won Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Drivers License’ and Best Pop Vocal Album for her debut record ‘Sour’.
While collecting the latter trophy, Rodrigo thanked the fans who have “completely changed my life over the past two years” and dedicated the award to her parents.
Glass Animals recently matched the Spice Girls’ best performance on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the US after ‘Heat Waves’ – which appears on their third album, 2020’s ‘Dreamland’ – topped the chart for a fourth week.
Speaking to NME at the BRIT Awards 2022 in February, frontman Dave Bayley said of ‘Heat Waves’ success: “There’s something in it. It landed at the right time.
“I feel like everyone in the pandemic has been feeling nostalgic. No one was going out and creating new memories, they were all reliving the old ones. This song is about that – it’s about memories, it’s about missing someone, everyone’s been missing people in this age.”