Kitt Wakeley took a an unusual road to the 2023 GRAMMYs.
Growing up constantly transferring between orphanages and foster homes, Wakeley could never predict what tomorrow would bring. He would grow attached to his foster parents, only to be ripped away and sent to another family days later. The only consistent person in his life was his sister, but when she left for a new family on her own, he was overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness and confusion.
Eventually, Wakeley was placed in an abusive home — within a few hours, he recalls the police showing up to rescue him. Instantly, he knew that his sister was the one who had saved him.
Following the incident, Wakeley was adopted by a loving family outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma and their love for music introduced him to composing. He wrote songs that recounted his time in the foster care system — and one of those songs landed him his very first GRAMMY nomination.
When he received the Best Classical Compendium nomination for his album An Adoption Story, Wakeley felt like his "entire life came to fruition," realizing that the chronicles of his childhood resonated with others.
"Having the affirmation of my peers means that they listened to music, they understood it, and they appreciated it," Wakeley explains. "For this moment to happen — where your peers put you in a spot to say, 'you're nominated' — is overwhelming on so many emotional levels for all the years of so much hard work."
Press play on the video above to watch Kitt Wakeley's heartfelt Road to the GRAMMYs story, and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com/videos for more new episodes.