Griff and Sigrid have spoken to NME about their award-winning collaborative single and the “genuine” friendship that has blossomed because of it.
The pair chatted to NME on the red carpet at the start of last night’s (March 2) BandLab NME Awards 2022, where they went on to win Best Collaboration for their song ‘Head On Fire’ and then serve up its electrifying live debut.
After telling NME at the exact same time that they were “excited” for the night to follow, Griff laughed to Sigrid: “We’re just going to start saying things together, aren’t we?”
“We’re literally the same,” Sigrid responded, with Griff adding that the pair were sharing a dressing room at the O2 Brixton Academy, commenting: “We can’t get away from each other!”
“It’s the two of us now,” Sigrid smiled in response.
Asked why they think their collaboration ‘Head On Fire’ has been such a success, Griff reasoned: “I think we’re genuinely friends. I feel like it was birthed out of us actually really getting along with each other, and when we got into the studio, it wasn’t that we wanted to write a collab, it was that we just wanted to hang out.”
Sigrid added: “We literally just wanted to go and get coffee, but it was easier to tell our teams that we were going to the studio!”
“That’s hopefully translated,” Griff told NME, “that it’s not some industry set-up collab.”
When picking up the Best Collaboration award on stage from presenters Jessie and Lennie Ware, Sigrid said: “Thank you so, much this is an incredible honour.”
“I really love this collaboration because nowadays there’s a lot of competition and comparison, especially in pop music and for girls in music,” added Griff.
They beat collaborations from Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar (‘Family Ties’), Coldplay and BTS (‘My Universe’), FKA twigs and The Weeknd (‘Tears In The Club’), and Rina Sawayama and Elton John (‘Chosen Family’).
Reviewing the pair’s performance on the night, NME wrote: “And though the pair arrive on stage staggered, it’s as if they’re tethered to each other, circling each and prodding, prompting and encouraging the other to keep pushing forward. They may sing of the danger of “both hands holding onto the wire”, but it’s much harder to cling on for your dear life when your friend has your back.”
Other performances at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, co-hosted by Daisy May Cooper and Lady Leshurr, started with an opening performance from Sam Fender. CHVRCHES and Robert Smith of The Cure also performed their song ‘How Not To Drown’, while Rina Sawayama also took to the stage. The night was closed with a six-song set by Bring Me The Horizon that featured an appearance from Nova Twins themselves.
Check out all the news, interviews, winners and more from the BandLab NME Awards 2022.