Iggy Pop, Diane Warren, and Ensemble Intercontemporain received the Polar Music Prize on Tuesday.
The two artists and the French music ensemble were awarded the prize during a ceremony held in Stockholm, Sweden.
When Iggy Pop accepted the prestigious award, he thanked his parents, calling them “great people” and “real people”.
He continued, “I am neither great nor real. I’m in showbiz. At this point, I am a myth. Happily, music is a form of myth as children are mythic. All beauty derives from believing in myth but every so often, you gotta get real…like balls. That’s how I got here. So when you think about music, when you think about this prize, and if you remember me, think about the balls.”
After the Covid-19 pandemic prevented 2020 laureate Warren from receiving her prize, she took to the stage to finally receive the honour.
After accepting the prize, the legendary songwriter reflected on her career.
“I’ve always looked at my songs as a passport. They have taken me, a kid from Van Nuys, California, with a crazy dream of becoming a songwriter, to so many places I could only imagine going to, to the voices of some of the greatest singers on the planet, to the hearts of people I will never know, all over the world, that my songs have touched and somehow have become a part of the soundtrack of their lives,” the star continued.
She then confessed, “I’m getting really emotional.”
Matthias Pintscher and Olivier Leymarie accepted the prize on behalf of Ensemble Intercontemporain.
