Indians To Watch Out For At Grammys 2026: All Eyes On Anoushka Shankar, Shakti And Charu Suri

The Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. As nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards are announced, Indian artists have once again secured strong representation across multiple categories. This year's list highlights a blend of classical, fusion, and contemporary music, placing Indian musicians among the key names to watch.

Anoushka Shankar Emerges as a Key Indian Nominee 

Anoushka Shankar is among the most prominent Indian artists nominated this year. The sitarist and composer has received multiple nominations. Her EP Chapter III: We Return to Light, created with sarod player Alam Khan and percussionist Sarathy Korwar, is nominated in the Best Global Music Album category. The EP blends Indian classical influences with modern soundscapes, a style Anoushka Shankar has explored throughout her career.

Indian Collaborations Feature Strongly in Global Music Album Category

The Best Global Music Album category includes several Indian collaborations this year. Composer Siddhant Bhatia has earned a nomination for Sounds of Kumbha. The album is inspired by the spiritual and sonic environment of the Kumbh Mela and brings together multiple artists and musical styles.

Also nominated in the category is Mind Explosion (50th Anniversary Tour Live) by Shakti. The album celebrates five decades of the legendary jazz-fusion group and is led by John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain.

Indian Artists Earn Multiple Performance Nominations

Anoushka Shankar and Shakti have both secured second nominations in the Best Global Music Performance category. Anoushka Shankar's track Daybreak, created with Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar, is competing alongside Shakti's Shrini's Dream (Live). The dual nominations reflect the growing global interest in Indian and Indian-inspired performances.

Charu Suri

Indo-American pianist and composer Charu Suri has also earned a nomination this year. Her album Shayan has been nominated in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category. Known for blending jazz with Indian influences, Charu Suri has been steadily building her presence on the global jazz circuit. She also contributed as a producer to Siddhant Bhatia's Sounds of Kumbha.

Indian Grammy Winners Till Date

Indian artists have been making their mark at the Grammy Awards for decades, with wins that span classical, world music, film soundtracks, and contemporary global collaborations.

India's Grammy journey began in 1968, when sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar won Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, his celebrated collaboration with violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Pandit Ravi Shankar went on to add another Grammy in 1973 as a contributing artist on The Concert for Bangladesh, which won Album of the Year.

In the early 1980s, Indian-born conductor Zubin Mehta emerged as a major force in Western classical music, winning multiple Grammys across categories such as Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist, and Best Engineered Recording, Classical. Zubin Mehta's wins included recordings like Isaac Stern 60th Anniversary Celebration and Shostakovich concertos.

The 1990s saw Indian musicians shine in global and fusion categories. Tabla maestro T. H. Vinayakram and Ustad Zakir Hussain won Best World Music Album in 1991 for Planet Drum. The following year, Indian slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt won the same award for A Meeting by the River.

A major milestone came in 2010 when Indian composer AR Rahman swept two Grammys for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. The musician won Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media for Jai Ho. Lyricist Gulzar shared the song award, while singer Tanvi Shah and sound engineers PA Deepak and H Sridhar also won Grammys for their contributions.

Indian composer and environmental musician Ricky Kej became one of India's most decorated Grammy winners in recent years. Ricky Kej won his first Grammy in 2015 for Winds of Samsara, followed by wins in 2022 for Divine Tides (with Stewart Copeland) and in 2023 for the immersive audio version of the same album.

The 2024 Grammys marked one of the strongest showings for Indian artists. Ustad Zakir Hussain won three awards – Best Global Music Performance for Pashto, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for As We Speak, and Best Global Music Album as a member of the fusion group Shakti for This Moment. Shakti's win was shared with vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, and percussionist V. Selvaganesh. Flutist Rakesh Chaurasia also won two Grammys that night.

At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Indian-origin artist Chandrika Tandon won Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album for Triveni, created with Wouter Kellerman and Eru Matsumoto. The category also featured nominations for Indian composer Ricky Kej's Break of Dawn and Indian sitarist Anoushka Shankar's Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn.

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