Selvaganesh, Kalyani Nair, Bruce Lee Mani Among New Grammy Inductees

Over the span of a week, several Indian and Indian-origin artists marked their entry (and for some, a renewal) into the Recording Academy as voting members and professional members for the Grammy awards.

The likes of kanjira veteran V. Selvaganesh – whose work with Indo-jazz fusion group Shakti won them a Grammy earlier this year for Best Global Music Album – announced he was now inducted into The Recording Academy.

Chennai singer-composer Kalyani Nair too celebrated that she was now part of the Recording Academy Class of 2024. She said on a post on Instagram, “A big thank you to my family, who has been a pillar of support in all my endeavours, all my friends, colleagues and seniors in the music industry who have placed their trust in me.” The artist behind several Tamil film songs as well as her own music also sent out special thanks to Indo-American violinist, vocalist and composer Harini Raghavan aka Rini and The Indian Choral Ensemble, where Nair serves as director.

Although he hasn’t publicly announced it on social media yet, Bengaluru rock favorites Thermal And A Quarter’s Bruce Lee Mani has also been inducted as a voting member this year. Mani also recently released a solo album, Ripe, drawing from his musical heroes of the years.

Among other Indian and desi-origin inductees to the Recording Academy Class of 2024 are Australia-based, India-origin artist Bobby Beebob, Goa-based singer Sherise D’Souza, Australia-based sarod player and composer Avra Banerjee, New York-based composer-producer and guitarist Noshir Mody, music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy, Bengaluru-based podcaster Aditya Veera, singer-composer Arianna Afsar and more.

Indian artists who have renewed their membership after being inducted in previous years include Ahmedabad guitarist-composer Chirag Todi, singer-composer Falu and many more.  

The Recording Academy welcomed nearly 4,000 new members in a bid to reflect the music industry’s diverse and inclusive growth in terms of representation. According to a press release, the 2024 class of invitees is 45 percent women, 57 percent people of color and 47 percent under the age of 40. The members are in two categories – voting members and professional members. The voting ballot opens on Oct. 4 and closes on Oct. 15 for the upcoming 67th Annual Grammy Awards, with nominees slated to be announced on Nov. 8. The awards night will be held on Feb. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles.