Ricky Kej says his parents were furious when he told them he wants to be a musician: ‘I made a deal with them…’

Amid the flood of congratulatory messages and phone calls, music composer Ricky Kej says he hardly had the time to process that his once “unattainable dream” of winning a Grammy has become a reality for the second time. Ricky also revealed that initially, his parents were furious when he told them that he wanted to be a musician. (Also Read: Ricky Kej: Winning second Grammy beautiful recognition of my life choices)

The Bengaluru-based musician bagged the Grammy in the best new album category for Divine Tides on Sunday in Las Vegas. Ricky greeted the audiences with a namaste when he took the stage with Stewart Copeland to receive the prestigious gramophone.

In an interview with PTI, Ricky said his last 24 hours have been a flurry of media interactions, red carpet events and basking in the “surreal” glory of winning the “biggest musical accolade that one can ever imagine”.

“I won my first Grammy at the age of 33, I am 40 now. The Grammys always felt like an unattainable dream, I wouldn’t even think about it. It felt like it was not possible, me being a person from India, living in India, making niche music in the country. I didn’t even give it a second thought, because it was just impossible. Then, when I won, I thought what is my goal now? I never had any long term plans. Today, when I have won my second, it feels surreal, it is yet to sink in.”

Ricky, who was born in North Carolina in the US and moved to Bengaluru at the age of eight, took to music at a young age. While he was always fascinated with music, studying in Bengaluru’s Bishop Cotton Boys School furthered his drive when he watched his friends play the guitar. He enrolled in a college to study dentistry and simultaneously took formal education in western classical and Indian classical music.

“My parents were furious that I wanted to be a musician, I made a deal with them that I would finish my degree in dental surgery, and they wouldn’t question my life choices. I finished the five year degree and decided to not practise it for a single day.”

In 2019 alone, he did over 70 concerts in 13 countries. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Ricky had the opportunity to focus on recording, and thus Divine Tides was born. The album contains nine songs.

New York-based Indian singer Falguni Shah also made the country proud at the 2022 Grammys. Known by her stage name Falu, she earned her first Grammy Award for A Colorful World in the best children’s album category.