Lights, Kurtas, Applause— The Grammy 2025 WINNERS are HERE!
South Asia showed up at the 2025 Grammys—but did it conquer? While some artists walked away with major wins, others faced the classic “it’s an honor just to be nominated” moment (or worse, didn’t even make the cut). From Arooj Aftab snagging another nomination to Coke Studio’s bold submissions getting snubbed, here’s a rundown of who won big and who’s heading home empty-handed.
South Asian artists are having a moment. Here are the eight nominees we were watching:
South Asians Shine and Stumble at the Grammys 2025
Chandrika Tandon
Indian-American artist Chandrika Tandon won big beating Ricky Kej and Anoushka Shankar. Her album Triveni, a fusion of ancient Vedic chants and world music, marked a milestone for South Asian representation on the global stage. Accepting the award in a silk salwar kurta, Tandon embodied the cultural bridge her music celebrates. Triveni was nominated for the category of Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album. She collaborates with cellist Eru Matsumoto and flautist Wouter Kellerman.
Arooj Aftab
Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab was nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album at the 2024 Grammy Awards for Night Reign but lost to Meshell Ndegeocello, who won for No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin. Her song ‘Raat Ki Rani’ also earned a nomination in the Best Global Music Performance category.
We are still reeling from her 2022 Grammy win for Mohabbat. Her single made it to the Obama’s list of summer favorites of 2021.
Charli XCX
The British songwriter and singer who is part Gujarati gained attention from “Boom Clap” and “I Love It” and became a meme with ‘Brat’ this year. She bagged a nomination in the highly coveted Album of the Year category (whichich ultimately went to Beyonce though some would say unfairly). She was competing with likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Tay-or Swift across multiple categories and eventually took home an award for the bop Von Dutch.
Anoushka Shankar
Daughter of legend Ravi Shankar Anoushka Shankar began studying the sitar and Indian classical music from the age of nine. She has received eleven Grammy Awards nominations and was the first musician of Indian origin to perform live and to serve as a presenter at the ceremony.
Shankar’s album, Ch II: How Dark it is Before Dawn, was nominated in the category of Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album and the single A Rock Somewhere landed her a nomination for the Best Global Music Performance category
Norah Jones
Another huge win for talented singer-songwriter (and Anoushka Shankar’s sister),
Her album, Visions is a mixture of blues and jazz scored best traditional pop vocal album.With 20 nominations and 10 wins, Come Away With Me is still Norah’s one of the famous albums.
Ricky Kej
The three-time Grammy Award winner was nominated yet again for his album Break of Dawn for Grammy 2025. Selected for the category of Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album – though he didn’t take home the award his vast repertoire of work includes 16 studio albums and we can’t wait for more. He also brought on the looks in a dashing eastern outfit.
Ricky Kej also made it to the “Real Leaders 100 List in 2018 for his works and leadership.
Radhika Vekaria
Nominated for her album Warriors of Light, Radhika Vekaria has come a long way. From her speech impairment to her Grammy nomination, Radhika Vekaria aims to be an inspiration, and beacon for others.
Four Tet
Kieran Hebden, also known as Four Tet’s album Three, and single Loved make it the list of nominations for the categories of Best Dance/ Electronic Album, and Best Dance/ Electric Recording category for Grammy 2025.
Also: Watch something unforgettable this weekend. Farha is difficult yet enigmatic.
