Grammys 2023: Tracking Indian Composer Ricky Kej's Win And South Asian Nominations

The 65th Grammy Awards, which are currently underway in Los Angeles, United States, turned out to be monumental for the South Asian Community. Apart from nominations in solid categories, we witnessed a great moment in history as an Indian composer, Ricky Kej, grabbed a Grammy award for his music album.

Indian music composer Ricky Kej did his country proud once again as he fetched his third Grammy at the musical award ceremony on Sunday.

Ricky Kej Grammy Award

Based out of Bengaluru, Ricky Kej was a resident of the United States and a music composer by profession. The 41-year-old composer, who has performed in over 30 countries, has won not one but three Grammy awards to date including one at the Award's 65th edition.

Kej lifted a Grammy for his album Divine Tides. He collaborated with Stewart Copeland on the album. Copeland is the drummer of the iconic British rock band The Police. The duo walked on the stage and received the gramophone trophy after they won the  Best Immersive Audio Album of the year.

Kej took to Twitter to express his gratitude post the award ceremony. "Just won my 3rd Grammy Award. Extremely grateful, am speechless. I dedicate this Award to India," he wrote. Other nominations in this category included Christina Aguilera for Aguilera, The Chainsmokers for Memories... Do Not Open, Jane Irabloom for Picturing The Invisible- Focus 1, and Nidarosdomens Jentekor and Trondeheimsolistene for Tuvahyun - Beatitudes for a Wounded World.

Kej's award-winning album Divine Tides spreads a significant message about every individual's contribution to maintaining the balance of the world and life. Kej is the youngest Indian to have won an award at the Grammys. His first award was for his album Winds of Samsara in 2015.

South Asian Nominations at Grammys 2023

The group Berklee Indian Ensemble earned its first nomination at the prestigious Grammys in the 65th edition Awards. They earned a nomination in the Best Global Music Album for their work in the album Shuruaat. Another South Asian duo that earned a well-deserved nomination are British-India Anoushka Shankar and Pakistan's Arooj Aftab, who also got a nod in the category of Global Music this year. With this, Shankar's total nominations at the Grammys round up to 9.

Suggested reading: Beyoncé’s Record-Breaking Win To All Winners: Here’s A Wrap On Grammys 2023