Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker admits he slept through his 2026 Grammys win

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala missed out on his 2026 Grammy win —‌ because he was asleep.

During a recent chat with Mac DeMarco for Interview magazine, Parker revealed he was catching some Z's when Tame Impala secured the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for "End of Summer" from the 2025 album Deadbeat at this year’s event.

After the indie vocalist congratulated Parker on his Grammy success, the Aussie artist confessed, "Honestly, I completely overlooked them."

"So did I," DeMarco, who was an opening act for Tame Impala on the 2015 Currents tour, responded. "But the difference is, I'm not in the running for any Grammys. You are."

Parker, now 40, then shared that he forgot about the nomination and was taken aback when he began receiving congratulatory texts.

"Imagine my surprise because in Australia, we wake up and catch up with what happened in the States… so my phone was absolutely swamped," Parker described. "I had 30 messages on my phone, all congratulating me. None of them explain what for. And I’m thinking, 'What’s going on?'"

Tame Impala's victory at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards marks his second Grammy, as his music project previously nabbed the same category for "Neverender" in 2025. 

The solo band has been up for five Grammy nominations throughout Parker's career, including Best Alternative Music Album nods for The Slow Rush in 2021, Currents in 2016, and Lonerism in 2014.

At another point in the conversation, Parker and DeMarco reflected on their beginnings as performers and the changes in live performances.

"It's amusing, whether it's partly the sober thing or not, but returning to stage now is almost heightened," DeMarco stated. “If the show is great, it's fantastic. If it's a flop, it's really dreadful. In those moments, I'm kind of like, 'Oh, that was horrendous.' Yet it's so bad, you can sense it."

Parker resonated with this and added that he's come to value when things don't go as planned during performances.

"Increasingly, I've gained appreciation for when things veer off-script because the bigger the gigs, the more structured everything has to be," Parker clarified. "If you deviate, then the entire show can unravel since it’s all synced and locked in. So when mishaps occur, that's the kind of excitement for me."