Year-end is here, and my annual lists are back. It wasn’t an easy year for my blog as it went through a lot of tribulation (do blogs have astrology issues?). I think even Tamil film music went through a not-so-good year. I had to scramble to finish the list because we saw a lot uninspiring musical albums this year.
There are no breakout albums this year. As music composers and audio companies worry about Youtube views and Saavn plays, the creativity in music is moving towards a slow death.
I have chosen the best Tamil songs 2017 not only based on my personal preferences but also based on observations. For instance, the popularity of Surviva and Senthoora can’t be discarded because of my personal preferences.
Disclaimers:
1. The songs are in chronological order of movie release.
2. Like every other year, the list consists of songs only from movies released in 2017 as I consider songs are an integral part of story-telling. I am not listing music albums here but movie songs. So, don’t expect 2.0 or Enai Nokki Paayum Thotta songs on the list.
You can listen to the entire list in the following links
- Saavn: https://www.saavn.com/p/playlist/57426da34a6a34702c1bdc8bf7251d81/Best_of_2017_-_Sylvianism/YnnkVeiaGcfufxkxMEIbIw__
- Gaana: https://gaana.com/playlist/sylvianpatrick-sylvianism-annualmusicround-up
1.Song : Nillayo
Movie: Bairavaa
Music director: Santhosh Narayanan
Singer: Haricharan
Lyricist: Vairamuthu
Bairavaa is not the first movie you would have expected in the list but definitely Nillayo deserves a place in the list. The prelude hooks you into the song, taken over by the string section, Haricharan continues the magic, and Vijay tops it with his usual (enjoyable) antics in the video.
Nillayo from Bairavaa is one of the top 20 songs on Sylvianism's best Tamil movie songs list.
2. Song: Thandhiraa
Movie: Adhe Kangal
Music director: Ghibran
Singers: Rajan Chellaih and Sree Ganesh
Lyricist: SN Anuradha
Although, I hated the fact that this song was used as a theme to the main protagonist (didn’t suit as a background score), I loved the song as part of the movie. The speciality of the song is the playful tone and the cheekiness.
Thandhiraa from Adhe Kangal is one of the top 20 songs on the Sylvianism's best Tamil movie songs of 2017
3. Song: Senthoora
Movie: Bogan
Music director: D Imman
Singer: Luksimi Sivaneswaralingam
Lyricist: Thamarai
The best thing about this song is the rendering by Luksimi Sivaneswaralingam. Her voice and the Sri Lankan Canadian accent along with the artistic picturisation push this song to the list. Luksimi landed this gig by sending her voice sample to Imaan on Instagram. She is a music teacher in Canada.
Senthoora from Bogan is part of the top 20 Tamil songs list of 2017 compiled by Sylvianism
4. Song: Solli Tholayen Ma
Movie: Yakkai
Music Director: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Singer: Dhanush
Lyricist: Vignesh ShivN
Probably you wouldn’t have seen the movie or listened to this song, but it has more than 3 million views on YouTube and counting. Give it to Yuvan to make a funky tune and it sounds even more fun in Dhanush’s voice. It’s catchy and addictive.
Solli Tholayen Ma from Yakkai is part of the best Tamil movie songs list of 2017 compiled by Sylvianism
5.Song: Nallai Allai
Movie: Kaatru Veliyidai
Music director: AR Rahman
Singer: Sathyaprakash
Lyricist: Vairamuthu
Kaatru Veliyidai as a movie was utterly disappointing, and the magic of Rahman’s music was lost among the drudgery of the movie. The album wasn’t that bad, but it didn’t match the standards of a Rahman-Mani Ratnam combo. Although Nallai Allai sounded like Rooth Na Jana (from 1942 A Love story), I still liked it for the lyrics.
Nallai Allai from Kaatru Veliyidai
Nallai Allai from Kaatru Veliyidai is part of the top 20 Tamil movie songs of 2017 - compiled by Sylvianism6. Song: Azhagiye
Movie: Kaatru Veliyidai
Music director: AR Rahman
Singer: Arjun Chandy, Haricharan, Jonita Gandhi
Lyricist: Madhan Karky
Azhagiye is the other pick from the album.
Azhagiye from Kaatru Veliyidai
Azhagiye from Kaatru Veliyidai is one of the best Tamil songs of 2017 - compiled by Sylvianism7. Song: The Youth of Power Paandi
Movie: Pa Paandi
Music director: Sean Roldan
Singers: Sean Roldan and Shweta Mohan
Lyricist: Selvaraghavan
Sean Roldan had a forgettable VIP 2 this year, but Power Paandi made sure his place in this list. Simple tunes with grand arrangements combined with some beautiful picturization push these two songs into this list. I wish Sean Roldan makes more such stuff instead of trying his hand with mass masala entertainers like VIP2.
The youth of power paandi is one of the best Tamil songs of 2017 - compiled by Sylvianism
8. Song: The Romance of Power Paandi
Movie: Pa Paandi
Music director: Sean Roldan
Singers: Sean Roldan
Lyricist: Dhanush
This is my personal favourite from the movie.
The romance of power paandi is part of the best Tamil songs list of 2017 - compiled by Sylvianism
9. Song: Vaa Vaa Magale
Movie: Enga Amma Rani
Music director: Ilaiyaraaja
Singer: Rajashree Pathak
Lyricist: Pazhanibharathi
The film didn’t have any takers albeit some decent performances by Dhanshika and Varnika. Vaa Vaa Magale might sound like a typical Ilaiyaraaja melody, but the interludes haunt you to suit the theme of the movie and the voice of Rajashree Pathak accentuates it.
Vaa Vaa Magale from Enga Amma Rani is part of the best Tamil songs of 2017 - compiled by Sylvianism
10. Yaar, Naan Yaarada
Movie: Brindhavanam
Music director: Vishal Chandrasekhar
Singer: SP Balasubramaniam
Lyricist: Madhan Karky
Vishal Chandrasekhar sometimes surprises you with his compositions. Shoot the Kuruvi last year and this beautiful melody this year. Probably, you will not see this song on any other list. SPB’s voice is just icing on the cake.
Yaar from Brindhavanam composed by Vishal Chandrasekhar is part of the 20 best Tamil songs of 2017.
11. Nee Kavithaigala
Movie: Maragatha Naanayam
Music director: Pradeep Kumar
Singer: Pradeep Kumar
Lyricist: GKB
Maragatha Naanayam was a hilarious entertainer, and this song is a beauty from Pradeep Kumar. Don’t let Pradeep fox you at the start because he is going to win you over after the first interlude. The use of flute was interesting. Listen to it on your headphones and enjoy the subtle nuances.
Nee Kavithaigala from Maragatha Naanayam composed by Pradeep Kumar is part of the best Tamil songs list of 2017
12. Sait Ji / Great Ji
Movie: Meesaya Murukku
Music director: Hip Hop Thamizha
Singer: Hip Hop Thamizha
Lyricist: Hip Hop Thamizha
The original song titled Sait Ji was released as a promo for the movie. It had all the favourite Tamil youtube stars with Hip Hop Aadhi. The only problem is that it was a stereotypical take on a particular community. The song was taken down, and the lyrics were changed to the current version. The song is borderline offensive, but I find Club la Mabbula more offensive because it’s misogynistic. Having said that, any artist has the right to make stuff he wants. So this song is on the list just because the original video was taken down (I did like the video).
Original Song
Sait Ji from Meesaya Murukku was taken down because it offended a particular community but I have posted it in support of the song
Rewritten Lyric
Great Ji from Meesaya Murukku
Great Ji by Hip Hop Thamizha is part of the top 20 Tamil songs list of 201713. Yaanji
Movie: Vikram Vedha
Music director: Sam C.S
Singer: Anirudh Ravichander, Sakthishree Gopalan
Lyricist: Yaanji
This song has made it to the list because it was a popular choice. I still don’t know why. But I have to reflect some popular choices too. (PS., I didn’t like the movie)
Yaanji from Vikram Vedha is a popular choice of the best Tamil songs list of 2017
14. Un Badhil Vendi
Movie: Taramani
Music director: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyricist: Na.Muthukumar
Lot have been said about the chemistry between Na.Muthukumar and Yuvan. And it was evident with Taramani songs. Un Badhil Vendiwas presented in a typical Yuvan song template, but it’s still enjoyable. Yuvan graciously allows the lyrics to dominate the song. And you can’t complain about it. Uchi Kilai Male and Oru Koppai are other good songs from the movie.
Un Badhil Vendi from Taramani is part of the top 20 songs of 2017 in Tamil cinema compiled by Sylvianism
15. Surviva
Movie: Vivegam
Music director: Anirudh Ravichander
Singers: Anirudh Ravichander and Yogi B
Lyricist: Yogi B and Siva
Vivegam was not a favourite of Tamil movie fans this year, but same cannot be said about the Anirudh’s music. The entire soundtrack barring Kadhalada is an adrenaline rush, but Surviva gave the repetitive hook. I don’t know how many times I would have listened to this as a ringtone during my train raids. The pinnacle was when a North Indian colleague, who doesn’t even have a clue about Vivegam, had the song as a ringtone.
Surviva from Vivegam is one of the most popular songs of 2017 and it's part of the best songs of 2017
16.Kadhalaada
Movie: Vivegam
Music director: Anirudh Ravichander
Singers: Pradeep Kumar and Sasha Tripathi
Lyricist: Kabila Vairamuthu
I personally loved Kadhalaada because of the beautiful interludes. I wish Anirudh does more songs like that.
17. Devathai Pol Oruthi
Movie: Solo
Music director: Agam
Singers: Harish Sivaramakrishnan
Lyricist: Mohan Raj
I don’t know how many of you liked Bejoy Nambiar’s experiment, but one thing worked in the movie – the use of different indigenous bands for the music. Although I am a fan of Agam’s boat song in Malayalam, I am ecstatic that it has a Tamil version now.
The Boat Song
The Boat song by Agam - a progressive Carnatic Rock band from India.
18. Megamo Aval
Movie: Meyadha Maan
Music director: Santhosh Narayanan
Singer: Pradeep Kumar, Ananthu
Lyricist: Vivek
Some songs will not impress you as an individual song, but you feel the impact because of the movie. Megamo Aval is one such song. The way I saw the song completely changed after I watched the movie recently.
19. Thoranam Aayiram
Movie: Aramm
Music director: Ghibran
Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Lyricist: Uma Devi
The mighty orchestration of the song (played by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra) has a healthy competition with Vaikom Vijayalakshmi’s rendering – the result is this beautiful song. The starting does sound like an old Ilaiyaraaja song – I am not able to plot it.
20. Yavvana
Movie: Sathya
Music director: Simon K King
Singer: Yazin Nazir, Kalyani Nair
Lyricist: Madhan Karky
It’s one of those songs that you will be hooked on to instantly. After a couple of not-so-popular outings, Simon K King has finally found a hit with Yavvana and Sathya.
Yavvana from Sathya is an instantaneously catchy number by Simon K King
Some of you might not like the choice of songs but I chose songs based on multiple considerations. There are songs in the list that I might not have chosen if I had done the list without discussions. You can listen to the songs in the following links if you have Saavn or Gaana