Wolfgang Van Halen is feeling “pretty damn grateful” for his first-ever Grammy nomination.
The son of late Van Halen axe-slayer Eddie Van Halen was shortlisted for Best Rock Song for his track ‘Distance’ about his late pop – which he released as Mammoth WVH – at the ceremony in Las Vegas on Sunday night (03.04.22).
The prize ended up going to Foo Fighters and their song ‘Waiting on a War’, but Wolfgang is happy to have even received the nod alongside some of his favourite artists.
In a typed-out message on Twitter, the 31-year-old rocker – who was joined by his mom Valerie Bertinelli and girlfriend Andraia Allsop on the red carpet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena – began: “We came, we saw, but we did NOT conquer and that’s ok!
I got to have a wonderful night with the two most important women in my world.
“Such an honor to be nominated for the first song I ever released on my own, in a category with artists I’ve looked up to my entire life. I don’t know if that’ll ever set in fully. (sic)”
Wolfgang noted that his father – who passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer in October 2020 – also didn’t win the first time he was nominated in 1985.
He continued: “Pop didn’t win the first time he was nominated too, so it looks like I’m following in his footsteps quite nicely.”
Wolfgang concluded: “Who knows what the future holds. All I know is I’m feeling pretty damn grateful. What a wild experience this was.
“Thank you to the @recordingacademy for the recognition, and thank YOU for the support. Y’all mean the world to me.”
Earlier on the red carpet, Wolfgang’s actress mother said she could feel the ‘Jump’ hitmaker’s presence at the Grammys and said he would have been so proud of his son.
Valerie told People: “There’s only one other person that would be prouder than me. And that’s pretty impossible, but it would be Ed.”
“I feel him so strongly right now. He’s here with us. He is.
“I’m not gonna make you cry too, baby. But yeah. He’s here. Thanks, Ed. It’s fun.”