Grammy Awards this year are being held in Los Angeles for the first time since the pandemic. Last year, the awards were held in Las Vegas. Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony. Beyonce broke the record for the most number of Grammys. Beyonce announced her 2023 world tour last week and is the most nominated artist at Grammys this year with nine nods. Kendrick Lamar (eight nominations), Adele (seven nominations), and Carlile (seven nominations) are also among the top nominees. Indian music composer Ricky Kej won his third Grammy a proud moment for the country. Award on Monday for the album ‘Divine Tides’ with rock-legend Stewart Copeland. He won the award for ‘Divine Tides’ as he was nominated in the Best Immersive Audio Album category. The result was announced at the live ceremony held at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, USA.

Who is Ricky Kej?

Kej, who was born in the US, relocated to Bengaluru when he was eight years old. Although he had a degree in dentistry, music had always been his obvious option for a career. While still in college, he joined the progressive rock group, Angel Dust. Later, he opened his recording studio. He started working as a musician full-time and began his career as a composer in 2003. In addition to producing 17 studio albums throughout his 20-year career, he has written jingles for several commercials and music for Kannada movies.

Kej has released more than a dozen studio albums and composed the music for more than 3,000 Kannada films and commercial jingles. The music for the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony was also written by him. It’s interesting to note that while most of his albums were physically released in the US, they weren’t in India.

Ricky Kej’s Grammy wins

Ricky won his first Grammy in 2015 in the Best New Age Album category for ‘Winds of Samsara’. The project debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard New Age Albums Chart – a first for any person of Indian origin. The Indian musician won his second Grammy in the Best New Age Album category at the 64th Grammy Awards 2022. He had won the award for the same album along with rock legend Stewart Copeland.

Ricky is the youngest person from India to have won a Grammy Award, and only the 4th Indian to do so. 

Kej has supported numerous causes over the years and was appointed a “Goodwill Ambassador” for the UNHCR in December last year. He has been featured on several global lists honor ‘leaders’ and ‘heroes’ and is part of the school curriculum for ISCE English textbooks.  He is the founder and drummer of the British rock group ‘The Police’ who have sold over 75 million albums worldwide.