Anoushka Shankar Headlines India’s Grammy 2026 Line-Up With Her 11th Nomination

The 2026 Grammy nominations are out, kicking off the countdown to one of the biggest nights in international music. Global icons Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga lead the pack with nine and seven nominations respectively, while producer-songwriters Jack Antonoff and Cirkut follow closely with seven each.

While Taylor Swift missed this year’s eligibility window for her latest album Life of a Showgirl, the Grammy conversation is buzzing over surprising snubs, notably, Lorde for her acclaimed album Virgin and The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), both left out despite strong critical acclaim.

Amid the heavyweight global names, Indian representation shines bright. Celebrated sitarist Anoushka Shankar has earned her 11th Grammy nomination, this time in the Best Global Music Performance category for Daybreak, featuring her cousin Alam Khan and percussionist Sarathy Korwar. The track is from her recent album Chapter III: We Return to Light, the final installment of her conceptual trilogy exploring renewal and dawn.

The recognition carries emotional resonance, echoing the 1984 Grammy nomination shared by her father, Pandit Ravi Shankar, and his brother-in-law Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, for their legendary Raga Mishra Piloo Duet for Sitar recorded live at Carnegie Hall. Over four decades later, their children continue that legacy of dialogue between sitar and sarod on the global stage.

Shankar, Khan, and Korwar are also contenders for Best Global Music Album, where they’ll compete with Sidhant Bhatia’s Sounds of Kumbh (Vedam Records), a cultural project commissioned by the Government of Uttar Pradesh that blends field recordings from Prayagraj with ancient mantras.

The category also features Shakti’s Mind Explosion: 50th Anniversary Tour Live (2024), a milestone Indo-jazz collaboration featuring John McLaughlin, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, Vikku Vinayakram, V Selvaraj, and Ganesh Rajagopalan. Their track Sreeni’s Dream, a tribute to mandolin virtuoso U Srinivas, is nominated alongside Daybreak in the Global Performance category.

Competing for Best Global Album alongside the Indian nominees are Burna Boy (Nigeria), Youssou N’Dour (Senegal), and Brazilian legends Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia.

Another standout story this year is that of Charu Suri, the Madurai-born, New York-based jazz pianist, who continues to carve a niche with her unique blend of jazz improvisation and Indian classical ragas. Her album Shayan (Sleep), designed to help listeners rest through the meditative use of ragas, has earned her a nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

Suri will join the constellation of nominees walking the red carpet at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on February 1, 2026, as the world tunes in to see who takes home the golden gramophones.