When it comes to music, there are lots of talented bunch of them in this world. Talking about prodigies, not so much. We believe it’s fair to say that an eleven-year-old drummer who can beat Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl in a drum battle counts as one.
With her victory in a drum duel against Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl, eleven-year-old drum phenom Nandi Bushell has gained attention in the music industry. She now belongs to a unique breed of musical prodigies thanks to this incredible achievement.
Nandi, who was raised in Ipswich, UK, after being born in South Africa, started her musical career at a young age. When she was five years old, Ringo Starr’s drumming captured her attention more than John Lennon or Paul McCartney when she saw The Beatles play “Hey Jude.” Her urge to play the drums was piqued by this.
Nandi’s parents gave her a drum kit as a reward for her academic success in school since they could tell she was very interested. She rapidly improved her drumming abilities under her father’s tutelage. Her talent became widely known a year later when her parents began posting footage of her performances on YouTube.
Nandi’s remarkable drumming abilities have brought her a sizable internet fan base as well as a plethora of options. She has given her incredible talents public recognition by participating in John Lewis commercials, sharing the stage with Lenny Kravitz, and making an appearance as a guest on Ellen.
This all happened in the Global Icon Award at the 2021 VMAs in Madison Square Garden amidst a global pandemic. The Foo Fighters’ two-and-a-half-hour set started with a slow rendition of “Time Like These”.
There was enough leeway to include a couple of oldies. A massive disco ball dropped from the Forum ceiling about midway through the Foo Fighters concert, and they changed into their disco personas, the Dee Gees, to perform a cover of Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.” After masterfully performing the Barry Gibb falsetto with a little assistance from his support singers, including daughter Violet Grohl, Grohl exclaimed, “Oh sh*t it’s been a weird year.”
All this, but the highlight of the show was Grohl bringing out Nandi Bushell, an 11-year-old British drumming prodigy who challenged him to a drum off. Grohl said, “flips my f******* ass in front of the entire planet online.”
While the stage crew set up a compact yet powerful pink drum kit, Grohl described the unique qualities of Bushell.
The drummer for Nirvana and frontman of Foos said: “This person inspired me last year so much and I’ll tell you why. Because in a time when you would pick up your phone or turn on a computer and all you have is bad news. For that one day, you can pick up your phone and see this connection between two people that have never met making music together and spreading joy and love all across the world.”