After five years with no new Tame Impala, Kevin Parker returned in October 2025 with his latest album, Deadbeat. He’s embarking on a global tour in April 2026, bringing along Djo and Dominic Fike for support during the North American leg. On February 1, however, he was blissfully asleep at home in Australia when the Grammy Awards were happening in L.A.
Not usually a big deal, the Grammys aren’t mandatory. Except that Tame Impala was nominated that night. Furthermore, Tame Impala won that night. “End of Summer”, the lead single off Deadbeat, won Best Dance/Electronic Recording, and Parker had no idea.
Speaking with fellow musician and friend Mac DeMarco for Interview Magazine, Parker admitted that the Grammys slipped his mind.
“Look, I’m going to be dead honest with you. I forgot they were even on,” he said. Parker added, “I forgot that I was nominated as well.”
He continued, “You have to imagine my confusion because in Australia, we wake up and then we find out about what happened in America last night, so my phone has absolutely blown up.”
Kevin Parker on Learning of Tame Impala’s Grammy Win Second-Hand After Forgetting He Was Nominated
“I’ve got 30 messages on my phone, all saying congratulations,” Parker continued. “None of them are saying what for. And I’m like, ‘What for, motherf***er?’”
Despite Kevin Parker’s slip of memory, “End of Summer” scooped up the same Grammy Award Tame Impala won in 2025. In 2024, Parker released “Neverender” with French duo Justice for their album Hyperdrama. The single won Best Dance/Electronic Recording at the following ceremony, earning Parker his first Grammy.
He’d previously been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album in 2014, 2016, and 2021. While neither Lonerism, Currents, nor The Slow Rush won that award, the Grammys aren’t everything. Tame Impala has scored a fair share of ARIA Awards, celebrating Parker’s work in his home country. In 2025, “End of Summer” actually grabbed two ARIA Awards as well, for Best Produced and Best Engineered Release.
Kevin Parker and Mac DeMarco in Conversation: the Grammys, Canadian/Australian Drinking Culture, and Live Shows
Elsewhere in the conversation with DeMarco, the two musicians spoke about the similar drinking culture of Canada and Australia, leading to a comparison of their experiences with getting hammered on stage. DeMarco explained that he got sober about five years ago, and playing shows now is starkly different.
“I don’t know if it’s partially the sober thing, but going back out and playing now it’s almost amplified,” said DeMarco. “If it’s a good show, it’s really good. If it’s a bad show, it’s really f***ing bad. In the moment, I’m kind of like, ‘Oh, that was horrible.’ But it’s horrible in a way you can taste.”
When DeMarco noted the absurdity of their career choices (“Sometimes I go out there now and I’m just like, ‘I’m a clown. This is what I do for my job?’” he said), Parker chimed in, saying, “That’s why we drink, right?”
He added, “It’s just sort of to bring it down to a simmering sort of enjoyment of everything.” Parker then explained how he has his “routine absolutely locked” when it comes to drinking and playing shows.
“I follow it to the T,” he said. “I don’t really drink much before the show, but I like to drink throughout because it’s fun and I’m up there with my friends. And for anyone who’s not, let’s say, Australian, English, or Canadian, the idea of getting drunk and then going on stage would be the challenge. But now the challenge is to do it sober.”
Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images
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