‘90s Hitmaking Rocker Wins First Grammy After Losing 34 Years Ago

Nuno Bettencourt finally got his Grammy.

The singer-guitarist of 1990’s hitmaking rock act Extreme won a Grammy on Feb. 1 as part of the ensemble of musicians who played on Yungblud’s cover of the Black Sabbath classic “Changes.” The track was recorded at the “Back to the Beginning” concert that served as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath and also marked their final performances. Others featured on the recording include Anthrax bassist Frank Bello and Adam Wakeman II, who put in more than 20 years playing keyboards with Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

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It was Bettencourt’s second nomination, but first win. His first nomination came with “More Than Words,” Extreme’s chart-topping hit that was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, but they lost at the Grammys in 1992 to R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” R.E.M. also won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album that year for Out of Time and Best Music Video Short Form, for “Losing My Religion.”

Bettencourt celebrated his long-awaited Grammy victory by posting a photo on his official Instagram account of himself shirtless, with an open jacket, posing with his new award.

Fans and even some fellow rockers, including Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5, were there to congratulate him in the comments.

“You should have won several of them a long time ago! Congratulations, Nuno 👏🙌🔥👑🤘🤘🤘 I’m so proud of you, and proud to be your fan !!! 👏🤘,” wrote one.

“If somebody deserves a Grammy is you. No doubt about it. Congratulations Nuno 💜,” added another fan.

For his part, Bettencourt spoke backstage at the Grammys about the new opportunities that are emerging for the new generation of rockers.

‘The biggest thing about the newer generation is to remember that with all the AI that’s happening, and everybody’s worried—don’t be. This is the biggest opportunity for rockers and rock’n’roll. Real music and real songs are true stories that touch you, there’s blood on the page and you put yourself on that page and nobody’s reproducing that,” he said, per Forbes.com.

“Imperfection is what rock’n’roll is all about. Everybody’s cleaning up the imperfections but this is where it lives. And if you can do it on stage, which is where rock’n’roll lives, AI ain’t messing with you.”

Meanwhile, Extreme is back together and touring this summer with Mötley Crüe and Tesla on the Return of the Carnival of Sins tour, beginning on July 17 and Burgettstown, Pa. and running through Sept. 25 in Ridgefield, Wash. The band is also set to play Monsters of Rock on April 5 in São Paulo, Brazil.