Finalists for the 12th annual hennemusic Rock News Awards are chosen by readers: the Rock News Story Of The Year is determined by page views, while the Rock News Artist Of The Year is based on the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.
The 2021 hennemusic Rock News Awards winners will be announced on Friday, December 17.
2021 Rock News Artist Of The Year – Top 10
10 – RUSH
09 – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
08 – DEEP PURPLE
07 – PINK FLOYD
06 – FLEETWOOD MAC
05 – JOURNEY
Rock News Artist of The Year No. 4 – MAMMOTH WVH
Wolfgang Van Halen launched his solo project, Mammoth WVH, in 2020 under the most difficult of circumstances, as the young rocker issued his debut single, “Distance”, in November and dedicated it to his late father, Eddie Van Halen, who passed away on October 6 at the age of 65 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
The first preview to the self-titled debut album for the project topped the iTunes Top 100 songs chart in its first day of release.
Fast forward to February 2021, as Wolfgang revealed the track list for the "Mammoth WVH" album, released “You’re To Blame”, performed “Distance” on ABC-TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and delivered an acoustic version of the track on NBC-TV’s The Today Show.
Following the Grammy Awards in March, Wolfgang took issue with what he deemed too short a tribute to his father on the broadcast while revealing that he had declined an invitation to perform Eddie’s signature solo, “Eruption”, on the program.
The following month saw Wolfgang release a video for “Don’t Back Down” and stream the tunes “Think It Over”, and “Feel”, while “Mammoth” arrived in late May just weeks before the release of the full album.
“Mammoth WVH” debuted atop multiple US Rock charts in June, while peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard 200.
The band launched their live performance schedule in Lawrence, KS in late July before joining Guns N’ Roses on their stadium tour of the US three days later; the pair would perform throughout the summer and early fall before wrapping up with two shows in Florida in early October.
In early October, Wolfgang saluted David Lee Roth after the Van Halen rocker announced his retirement with news of a Las Vegas residency; days later he offered a heartfelt tribute to his father on the first anniversary of his passing.
Wolfgang sprained his ankle while on tour in late October; a month later, “Distance” earned him his first Grammy Award nomination: the tune is a finalist in the songwriters category, Best Rock Song, at the 64th Grammy Awards in January.
Mammoth WVH will launch a 2022 North American tour with Dirty Honey in Chicago, IL on January 21.
See also:
Search Van Halen at hennemusic
Pink Floyd sweep the 2020 hennemusic Rock News Awards
The Rolling Stones sweep the 2019 hennemusic Rock News Awards
AC/DC and Pink Floyd win 2018 hennemusic Rock News Awards
The Eagles sweep the 2017 hennemusic Rock News Awards
AC/DC sweep the 2016 hennemusic Rock News Awards
