Qatar resident Gayathri Karunakar Menon has been nominated for the 2025 Grammy Awards as song writer/composer for her collaborative works in 'Telos', a 2024 album by Zedd (Anton Zaslavski).
Telos is one amongst the five contesting works for the 'Album of the Year' at the 67th Grammy Awards which will take place live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 2, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.
The songs co-written by the Indian national, 'Out of time' and 'Tangerine rays' are available on streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music. The nominations are in 'dance/electronic music' category.
Gayathri wrote 'Out of Time' with Zedd, Ava Brignol and Bea Miller, and 'Tangerine Rays' with Zedd, Bea Miller, Ellis Robert McKay Lawrie, and George Ku.
Zedd, a German music producer and DJ, gained fame with his 2012 single 'Clarity,' featuring Foxes. The song became a massive hit, reaching the top 10 in several countries and earning him a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. He continued to release successful singles and albums.
Before the awards, final round voting will take place from December 12, 2024 to January 3, 2025. The Recording Academy's voting members, composed of music creators, including artists, producers, songwriters, and engineers determine the Grammy winners across all categories revealed on Grammy night.
"To my knowledge, Gayathri is the first Indian woman to be nominated in the English music category," her father and long-time Doha resident Karunakar Menon told Gulf Times Friday.
Brooklyn-based Gayathri had a Grammy nomination last year too, as a vocal collaborator in 'Shuruaat' album of Berklee Indian Ensemble in the global music album category.
Gayathri was the the first student to be registered at Birla Public School, Doha, from where she completed Grade X in 2015-2016, before moving on to Peepal Grove School in Andhra Pradesh, India.
She did her honours with Berklee College of Music, Boston. In 2020, Gayathri won the 'Songs for Social Change' contest conducted by Berklee, featuring 120 international music students.
In 2022, Gayathri signed an exclusive co-publishing deal with Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter, composer, and rapper Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins.
"She wrote/composed few songs for the Jerkin's project but then had to quit it as it became a stumbling block for pursuing her own production. Further, she had restrictions to work elsewhere once she signed up as a song writer with the universal music group," explained Menon, a business manager, singer, and sports analyst.
Gayathri's mother Bindu Karunakar is an entrepreneur, drama artist, and cultural activist and sister Gauri Karunakar Menon is a Grade IX student at Peepal Grove School.
Gayathri Karunakar Menon
