Fiji-born Mumbai-based singer and international concert performer Sumeet Tappoo has become the first Fijian to win a prestigious music award in India.
He was nominated in six awards categories in the CLEF Music Awards, and was declared a winner in three of them, including Artist of the Year 2023, Ghazal of the Year 2023 and Song of the Year 2023.
The CLEF Music Awards, an event by Radioandmusic.com, had become India’s premier independent music awards function which celebrates excellence by artists in various music genres and languages from throughout India.
The 3rd edition of The CLEF Music Awards was hosted in Mumbai recently.
The prestigious event featured the biggest names in the music industry with all the glitz and glamour that an awards night has.
Bollywood’s legendary singers Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal were also winners among a whole host of musical talent from across the nation.
Mr Tappoo won the coveted “Artist of the Year” award in the Ghazal Category for his rendition of Ret Ka Ghar.
He won prestigious “Ghazal of the Year” award for his ghazal Ret Ka Ghar which was released in January this year.
And, Shivohum, a devotional song by Sumeet Tappoo, Prithvi Gandharv and Meenal Jain, won the coveted “Song of the Year” award in the general category – a first for a spiritual song to be given this honour as the other nominations were across all genres of music.
Mr Tappoo said he was stunned by the wins.
“Receiving six nominations was in itself such an honour,” he said.
“I really didn’t think I’d be considered for winning any of them, although deep down I was hoping and praying to win at least one of them.
“But to have won three CLEF Music Awards in India is such an incredible feeling and a tremendous blessing because that room was buzzing with best artists in India.
“I join all the music industry artists from across India in paying our sincere gratitude to radioandmusic.com and The CLEF Music Awards for creating such an incredible platform.”
Dedicating the awards to his wife, children and parents, Mr Tappoo thanked the people of Fiji, the Fijian diaspora from around the world, the Indian music industry and the music lovers in India for their constant love and support of his music releases as well as of his international concert performances.
