New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI):
The 67th Grammy Awards, held on Sunday at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, faced fierce criticism from Indian music aficionados after four-time Grammy winner and legendary tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain was omitted from the ceremony’s traditional ‘In Memoriam’ segment.
Hussain, who passed away on December 15 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at a hospital in San Francisco, was 73. Just last year, he had made history by becoming the first musician from India to win three Grammys in a single edition—an accolade that cemented his place as one of the country’s most celebrated global icons.
Each year, the Recording Academy’s ‘In Memoriam’ montage pays tribute to industry stalwarts who died in the preceding year. This time, the segment honored luminaries such as Liam Payne, Kris Kristofferson, Cissy Houston, Tito Jackson, Joe Chambers, Jack Jones, Mary Martin, Marianne Faithfull, Seiji Ozawa, and Ella Jenkins, among others.
However, Hussain’s omission prompted a flurry of angry reactions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where fans directly tagged the Recording Academy. One user wrote:
Another user expressed disappointment, saying:
Yet another user criticized the oversight:
During the live event, Chris Martin—fresh off Coldplay’s India leg of the ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour—took the stage alongside guitarist Grace Bowers for the solemn tribute performance. The evening was hosted by Trevor Noah, marking his fifth consecutive stint as the Grammy Awards emcee.
In India, viewers can stream the 2025 Grammy Awards live on Disney+ Hotstar.
