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Anoushka Shankar faces double loss at Grammys 2026
Shankar has so far been nominated 14 times, including the two nominations this year, but has so far failed to end her Grammy dry-spell.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Mon, 02, Feb 2026
- 01:41 EST
- 18
Anoushka Shankar / Anoushka Shankar via Instagram
Music sensation Anoushka Shankar lost the Best Global Music Performance Grammy and the Best Global Music Album Grammy at the 2026 awards as Bad Bunny and Brazilian music icon Maria Bethânia bagged the coveted awards.
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are underway in Los Angeles. Ahead of the star-studded televised event, the Recording Academy presented 86 awards during the Premiere Ceremony, honoring outstanding musical achievements from artists across the globe.
Shankar was nominated once for her album 'Chapter III: We Return to Light' and again for 'Daybreak', the album’s lead track. Her lead track 'Daybreak' lost to Bad Bunny's 'EoO' and her album lost to Maria Bethânia's álbum 'Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo'.
Shankar decided to skip the Grammys and is currently in India. Shankar celebrated her nominations on Instagram before the results were announced and also noted that she was skipping the ceremony.
She said, " 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."
ALSO READ: ‘Not yours to comment’: Anoushka Shankar rejects body-shaming
Shankar had also accurately predicted the award going to a bigger star with better resources and connections. She noted that apart from being in India, where the album is rooted, she also wanted to stay away from the stress of the event and from "starting to hope to win and then not winning (again and again!)."
She added, "There is always a bigger mainstream artist dropping into our global categories who has MORE money to spend on marketing; there is always an artist who chooses to spend months networking, attending nominee events and ensuring their music and name lands in front of voters. I don’t say this from bitterness, but just to acknowledge what the behind-the-scenes reality can be."
Bad Bunny's 'EoO' also defeated Fusion band Shakti's 'Mind Explosion'. Apart from Shankar, Indian composer Siddhant Bhatia, whose album Sounds of Kumbha was also nominated in the global music category, lost the Grammy race.
Among other nominations was Indo-American jazz pianist and composer Charu Suri who was nominated in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Shayan. Suri lost to Arkai's 'Brightside'.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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