File photo of composer and music producer Ricky Kej in Bengaluru, Jan. 2, who won a Grammy at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for his album \u201cWinds of Samsara,\u201d a collaboration with South African flutist Wouter Kellerman.<\/p>\n
British crooner Sam Smith bagged four gongs including song of the year and record of the year for his mega hit \u201cStay With Me\u201d while Indian artists Ricky Kej and Neela Vaswani won two trophies at the 57th Grammy Awards, in Los Angeles, Feb. 9. Ricky Kej and activist Neela Vaswani won at the 57th Grammy awards for their work in album \u201cWinds of Samsara\u201d and the documentary on Malala Yousafzai, respectively. A Press Trust of India <\/strong>report.<\/p>\n Bangalore-based musician Ricky Kej was declared a winner for his collaborative album \u201cWinds of Samsara\u201d in the New Age Album category, at the 57th<\/sup> Grammy Awards, Feb. 9. The artist teamed up with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman on the album.<\/p>\n A self-taught musician Kej, 33, has previously composed soundtracks for Kannada films. \u201cWinds of Samsara\u201d is his 14th<\/sup> studio album.<\/p>\n Other albums nominated in the category were \u201cBhakti\u201d by Paul Avgerinos, \u201cRitual\u201d by Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai, \u201cSymphony Live In Istanbul\u201d by Kitaro and \u201cIn Love And Longing\u201d by Silvia Nakkach and David Darling.<\/p>\n Vaswani, who is the author of the short story collection \u201cWhere the Long Grass Bends\u201d and memoir \u201cYou Have Given Me a Country,\u201d won the trophy in the Best Children’s Album category for \u201cI Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World (Malala Yousafzai).\u201d<\/p>\n In the album, she had narrated the audio version of the book of the same name.<\/p>\n Anoushka Shankar, 33, daughter of late sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, lost in the best world music album category. It was her third nomination in the category.<\/p>\n This year she was nominated for \u201cTraces of You,\u201d her seventh album featuring her half-sister Norah Jones on the track \u201cThe Sun Won’t Set.\u201d<\/p>\n Eminem won best rap album and shared best rap\/sung with Rihanna while Kendrick Lamar took best performance and song this year for \u201cI\u201d in the rap category.<\/p>\n Jack White took best performance for his album \u201cLazaretto\u201d and the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D won for best metal performance. Paramore’s \u201cAin’t It Fun\u201d won best rock song.<\/p>\n Miranda Lambert won the best country album for \u201cPlatinum\u201d while Glen Campbell’s \u201cI’m Not Gonna Miss You\u201d won best song, Carrie Underwood’s ‘Something in the Water’ best solo performance and the Band Perry best duo or group performance for \u201cGentle on My Mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga nabbed best traditional pop vocal album and St. Vincent won the best alternative rock album.<\/p>\n The ceremony was full of 23 performances with AC\/DC, Rihanna, West, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Beyonce, Williams, Gaga, Bennett, Kisten Wiig, Katy Perry turning up on the stage.<\/p>\n President Barack Obama made an appearance to condemn sexual violence, saying, “It’s not OK \u2026 and it has to stop.”<\/p>\n The ceremony, which awards musicians in 83 categories, was hosted by rapper L.L. Cool, who returned for the fourth time.<\/p>\n Smith playfully thanked his ex-lover for making it all possible. “I want to thank the man who this record is about. Thank you so much for breaking my heart ’cause you got me four Grammys,” he said.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old singer was also a winner for best newcomer and best pop vocal album for his debut \u201cIn the Lonely Hour\u201d but he failed to make a hat-trick with Beck emerging as the dark horse of the night\u2019s ceremony by bagging the album of the year trophy for his critically-lauded \u201cMorning Phase.\u201d<\/p>\n Beck, 44, also a winner for best rock album, looked surprised as his name was announced but the audience was in for a bigger shock when Kanye West mock repeated his 2009 Taylor Swift stunt by trying to upstage the musician.<\/p>\n Beck was presented the award by Prince, who referenced killings of black people by police with a short speech. “Like books and black lives, albums still matter,” he said.<\/p>\n The other big winners of the musical extravaganza were Beyonce and Pharrell Williams as they both scored three gongs.<\/p>\n Williams, who performed on \u201cHappy,\u201d won best music video and best pop solo performance, while his \u201cG I R L\u201d won best urban contemporary album.<\/p>\n Beyonce, another major performer of the night, took home best R&B performance and R&B song for \u201cDrunk in Love\u201d and best surround sound album for self-titled \u201cBeyonce.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Williams and Beyonce subtly referred to the Ferguson killing by including ‘hands up don’t shoot’ gesture in their performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" File photo of composer and music producer Ricky Kej in Bengaluru, Jan. 2, who won a Grammy at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for his album \u201cWinds of Samsara,\u201d a collaboration with South African flutist Wouter Kellerman. British crooner Sam Smith bagged four gongs including song of the year and record of the year for…<\/p>\n
\n