The Tamil language is largely spoken in the southern parts of India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. But this language and culture spread to other places in South Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka, amongst other countries.
In recent decades, Tamil music was largely used for films, also called Tamil Movies. Almost every artist we are going to mention on this list has had large success in the movie industry by composing breathtaking tracks to complement the Tamil movie industry.
So without further ado, let’s get started on the top 5 most important Tamil music artists.
A.R. Rahman
A.R. Rahman, the full name Allah Rakha Rahman, is a very famous name in the Tamil music industry. Born on January 6th, 1966 in Chennai, India, Rahman is a movie composer, record producer, singer, musician, and philanthropist that is mostly famous for his work in the movie industry.
Rahman was described as one of the most prominent film composers by Time Magazine and has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, 14 Filmfare Awards, eleven South Filmfare Awards, and dozens of other awards and nominations. People in the industry refer to him as the “Mozart of Madras” and have coined him the nickname “Isai Puyal”, which means Musical Storm. A.R. Rahman is THE face of Tamil music, according to masstamilan.
Ilaiyaraaja
Born on June 2nd, 1943, Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian singer, lyricist, and movie composer that has more than 4,000 songs to his name. Similarly to Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja has provided the background music to more than 800 Tamil films across his magnificent 30-year career. Ilaiyaraaja was THE go-to guide for composing film music during the 70s, 80s and early 90s.
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Born 31st August 1979, Yuvan Shankar Raja is a prominent singer, songwriter, soundtrack composer, and lyricist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His work usually involves composing film music; his first one being at the age of 16. Shankar Raja kick-started his career during the mid-2000s when he was given the change to compose the background music for the film Aravidhan.
Harris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj is a film composer that epitomizes Tamil cinema. Born on January 8th, 1975 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Harris Jayaraj has provided numerous background soundtracks during his, current, seven-year career. During that time, Jayaraj has established himself as one of the greatest composers of the Chennai Film Music in the entire South Indian region.
Vidyasagar
An Indian music director, music composer, and philanthropist, Vidyasagar originates from the region Andhra Pradesh, in India. Born on March 2nd, 1963, Vidyasagar is an established face in the Tamil and Malaysian film industry, having numerous projects in his name.
One of his most famous include “Nee Katru”, “Orey Manam”, Appadi Podu”, as well as some other classics such as “VaralManjal”, “Anandam Anandam”, and “Kana Kandenadi”. Although a prominent figure in Tamil cinema, his work usually lies in the Malayan region for production houses such as Millennium Stars, Meesa Madhavan, as well as Ghilli and others.
