Grammy day kicked off with early wins, tough losses and plenty of emotion. For Indian musician Anoushka Shankar, it was a mixed moment marked by pride, perspective and purpose rather than trophies.
The
2026 Grammy Awards began with the Premiere Ceremony in Los Angeles early Monday morning, where 86 awards were presented across multiple categories ahead of the main telecast. One of the categories announced during this ceremony was Best Global Music Performance, which featured Anoushka Shankar among the nominees.
Shankar, however, missed out on the win, with the Grammy going to global superstar Bad Bunny for his track ‘EoO’. Her nominated song ‘Daybreak’, which featured Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar, was among the contenders in the category.
Other nominees for Best Global Music Performance included Ciro Hurtado for ‘Cantando en el Camino’, Angélique Kidjo for ‘Jerusalema’, Yeisy Rojas for ‘Inmigrante Y Que?’ and Shakti for ‘Shrini’s Dream (Live)’.
The Premiere Ceremony was held at the Peacock Theater and officially set the tone for Grammy day. Actor and musician Darren Criss hosted the event and presented the first award of the ceremony.
Ahead of the awards, Shankar had already made it clear that she would not be attending the Grammys this year. Taking to Instagram, she reflected on her nominations and her choice to stay away from the event.
“It’s Grammy day today! I’m proud to be twice nominated – for my album Chapter III: We Return to Light and for ‘Daybreak,’ the lead song from the album,” she wrote.
“These are my 12th and 13th nominations, which in itself is HUGE! At the same time, it feels really good NOT to be in LA getting sucked into the whirlwind of interlocking excitement and stress that comes with major awards events.”
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Shankar went on to explain why she chose to skip the ceremony, saying, “This year, I made a conscious decision not to go, and to be on the road in India during the ceremony. I wanted to practice what I preach, which is that awards don’t matter like the actual connection playing music for people affords us as artists. I wanted to take care of my mental health too.”
Anoushka Hemangini Shankar (born June 9, 1981) is a British-American sitar virtuoso and musician, who also dabbles in writing and acting. Trained in Indian classical music, she is known for effortlessly moving between genres, blending classical and contemporary sounds, and experimenting with both acoustic and electronic music.
She made her recording debut with her solo album Anoushka in 1998 and has since released seven solo studio albums. Over the years, she has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including electronic musician Karsh Kale on Breathing Under Water (2007), and has frequently performed with her legendary father, Ravi Shankar. Anoushka has earned fourteen Grammy nominations and made history as the first musician of Indian origin to both perform live and present at the Grammy Awards.
