Maalvika Manoj wins Best Indian Act at MTV EMA 2024 in Manchester

Chennai-bred and Mumbai based singer-songwriter Maalvika Manoj A.K.A Mali bagged the Best Indian Act Award at MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 in Manchester. Other artists nominated in this category include Tsumyoki, Dee MC, Divine and When Chai Met Toast.

The EMA were initially planned on 5th November 2023 at the Paris Nord Villepinte in Paris, France. But mid October it got cancelled due to the Israel- Hamas war. This is the first time in history the EMAs have been cancelled. Although post cancellation, the authorities kept the voting lines active till 31st October. The winning artists were revealed on 5th November.

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Last year the Maalvika Manoj had performed at the first edition of Lollapalooza India in Mumbai as well as the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center. The 31 year old artist also represented Apple Music India and met Tim Cook during his visit to India. The Apple CEO even took to social media to post about his experience. He expressed how Mali had used Apple products to create her music: the iPhone for songwriting and the MacBook Pro for creating unique beats.

It was late 2023 that she received the nomination.

A massive fire break on Wednesday destroyed Tomorrowland's main stage. The festival will still go on from 18th July, Friday as scheduled.

Maalvika Manoj: Notable works and songwriting process

On February 2021, Mali was included in India’s Forbes Under 30 list. Mali’s debut LP Caution To The Wind, released on the same year in April, is a tribute to the synth-pop music she grew up listening to.

Mali’s songs are usually inspired by melancholy. The songwriter had described songwriting as her way of closure when she is overthinking. In her words it feels like “crying to your friend when you are sad”. Inspired by a diverse range of musicians from Skrillex to AR Rahman, from Norah Jones to Ella Fitzgerald, Mali says she also uses changes in life as a motivation to write. Whether it be “moving to a different place” or “going through a break-up”. The multi-instrumentalist has also sung for quite a few Tamil feature films.