The Grammy awards ceremony, the highest honors in the music industry, was held live in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3.
The organizers were criticized by South Asian music fans for failing to pay homage to the recently deceased melody queen Lata Mangeshkar in its “In Memoriam” segment. Only a week ago, the Academy Awards also failed to mention the music icon in its homage segment.
These mega ceremonies have been accused in the past of lacking in its inclusive approach.
However, several South Asian singers and songwriters were recognized by the Grammys this year for their wonderful contribution to the music industry.
Rickey Kej
Indian singer Rickey Kej, in collaboration with Stewart Copeland, won his second Grammy for the album “Divine Tides” in the Best New Album category. On Sunday night, he greeted the audiences with a Namaste before receiving his award.
The North Carolina-born musician currently resides in Bengaluru. He bagged his first Grammy in 2015 for Winds of Samsara in the Best New Age Album category.
“So grateful to have won the Grammy Award for our album Divine Tides. Absolutely love this living-legend standing next to me – Stewart Copeland. Love all of you too! This is my 2nd Grammy Award and Stewart’s 6th,” Kej posted on Instagram.
Falguni Shah
New-York based Indian singer Falguni Shah, better known as her stage name Falu, took home her debut Grammy Award in the Best Children's Album category. She bagged the award for her critically-acclaimed first album “A Colorful World.”
The young singer has already collaborated with notable music personalities such as Yo-Yo Ma, Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler and AR Rahman.
“I have no words to describe today’s magic. What an honor to perform for the opening number of the Grammy Premier Ceremony, and then take home a statue on behalf of all the incredible people who worked on A Colorful World. We are humbled and thank the Recording Academy for this tremendous recognition,” she wrote on Instagram.
Arooj Aftab
Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab won a Grammy Award for the song “Mohabbat” in The Best Global Music Performance. Based in Brooklyn, she is the first female Grammy winner from Pakistan.
“Oh my gosh. I am so proud of this moment personally, but also for the industry itself… tonight we celebrated music as a collective, unapologetically making what we want to make in all its genre-less limitless crossover glory,” Aftab later posted on Instagram.