Ariana Grande and Christina Aguilera have a ton of fans; Between them, they have seven No. 1 albums, eleven No. 1 singles, 35 Grammy nominations (with seven wins), and millions of albums sold. Music lovers might be surprised to hear, though, that among their fans is a 53-year-old man named Shawn Crahan. Crahan is also known as Clown, and he co-founded Slipknot, the long-running metal band that doesn’t have much to do with pop music, back in 1995, and is the group’s only remaining original member.
In a recent interview with The Independent, the drummer was asked about what music he’s listening to and he responded, “That’s always a loaded question. My hardcore fans are gonna hate me for what I say. Well, not hate me, but they’re gonna be upset: I’m listening to a lot of Ariana Grande, some Christina Aguilera. I have a real love of pop.”
While Slipknot doesn’t really have any ties to the world of pop music, they frequently achieve pop-like levels of success. Their past three albums topped the US charts, while the ones before those managed peaks at Nos. 2, 3, and 51. They also frequently top the US rock charts with songs like “Wait And Bleed,” “Spit It Out,” and “Duality.” Furthermore, they picked up a Grammy in 2006, when “Before I Forget” won Best Metal Performance.
Slipknot is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.