Skip to main content

Top 15 Tamil songs of 2018

Despite songs not getting their due they like they used to before, Kollywood is still managing to churn out some ear-pleasing tracks each year and 2018 hasn’t been different either. As the year comes to an end, here are some of the tracks that won our hearts and made their respective films even better.
PS: There are many albums where there is more than one song which is worthy enough of getting a spot in this list, so we’re restricting one song per album (which will be more of a favourite pick). Kindly note that we’re not ranking these songs and they’re numbered in the order in which their respective films released.

Kannave Kannave

Film: Sketch
Singer: Vikram
Lyrics: Vijay Chandar
Music: Thaman

Kannave Kannave captures the emotions of a local man who falls for a girl. The ‘localness’ is signified in the lyrics and Vikram even makes the lines act when it comes out of this mouth. Colourful and beautiful, this song is a lovely melody, made only better by the actor giving a glimpse of his character from Dhruva Natchathiram.

Verrattaama Verratturiye

Film: Veera
Singer: Sid Sriram, Neeti Mohan
Lyrics: Ko Sesha 
Music: Leon James

This underrated gem is also a romantic track. With the film set in a local backdrop, Verrattaama Verratturiye follows the trials and tribulations of Veera as he falls in love. Leon James’ music is top notch in this album which has also a ‘thara local’ Ootaanda Soltuvaa track sung by the musician himself. If you’re in for a kuthu song, it’s highly recommended.

Sandalee

Film: Semma
Singer: Velmurugan, Mahalingam 
Lyrics: Yugabharathi
Music: GV Prakash

Talk about a diamond in the dirt. Though this film sank without a trace, the track Sandalee, once again a love song, has gone viral after the video song made its way to YouTube. This soulful track has a lovely set of lyrics and the video too is pretty well shot.

Kannamma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BD0jvKhFPk

Film: Kaala
Singer:  Pradeep Kumar, Dhee
Lyrics: Uma Devi
Music: Santhosh Narayanan

Songs in a Rajini starrer are bound to become chartbusters, but just like Kabali, Kaala’s album too was celebrated more for its melodies than the hero-worshipping ones. It was a tight call between Kannamma and Thanga Sela, but the former wins the case as it portrays an emotion we rarely get to see in Tamil cinema.

Tik Tik Tik

Film: Tik Tik Tik 
Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja, Sunitha Sarathy, Yogi B
Lyrics:  Madhan Karky
Music: D Imman

The sound may not travel in space, but Tik Tik Tik’s theme music sure did reach a lot of ears. This song, filled with motivational lines by Madhan Karky, was made even better with Yogi B’s rap. Being a milestone 100th film for D Imman, it was sweet of Yuvan Shankar Raja to lend his voice for this song. Incidentally, Imman was one of the many composers who had sung in the track Edhirthu Nil from Biriyani which happened to be Yuvan’s 100th film.

High On Love

Film: Pyaar Prema Kaadhal
Singer: Sid Sriram
Lyrics: Niranjan Bharathi
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Pyaar Prema Kaadhal is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year and choosing one song from it wasn’t an easy task. We’re going with High On Love as it documents the best times the lead couple share and that’s actually the best part of the film as well. I can’t think of the last time a song’s vocals, lyrics and music had all been this good.

Naanaagiya Nadhimoolamae

Film: Vishwaroopam II
Singer: Kamal Haasan, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Master Karthik Suresh Iyer
Lyrics: Kamal Haasan
Music: Ghibran 

Vishwaroopam II as a film didn’t satisfy the audience as much as it did with the critics, but the best take away from the film is the track Naanaagiya Nadhimoolamae. Written and voiced by Kamal himself, the song is a beautiful ode to motherhood. After all, it’s from the man who was also a part of the track Naanaga Naan Illai Thaaye, so what else do you expect?

Kalyaana Vayasu

https://youtu.be/2j742bxRzCs

Film: Kolamavu Kokila
Singer: Anirudh Ravichander
Lyrics: Sivakarthikeyan 
Music: Anirudh Ravichander

This viral song became so due to many reasons. a) there’s Ani’s music and the man himself has sung the song, b) Sivakarthikeyan pens a song for the first time and c) when was the last time you saw a love track for a comedian, that too against the heroine? When I interviewed Yogi Babu, he said he had asked Sivakarthikeyan where he got the lines from and the latter had apparently said, “flight-le varapo pudichitu vanthen”. When interviewing Sivakarthikeyan later for Seemaraja, the actor added that he actually penned it on a return flight to Chennai and I was one among the lucky few to see the additional lyrics that didn’t make it to the song. #ShowingOff

Neeyum Naanum Anbe

Film: Imaikkaa Nodigal
Singer:  Raghu Dixit, Sathyaprakash, Jithin Raj
Lyrics: Kabilan Vairamuthu 
Music: Hiphop Tamizha

Oh, we’re back to the love mood. Vijay Sethupathi’s cameo in Imaikkaa Nodigal might be shot but it was extremely impactful and a primary reason for that is this track with some soul-stirring lyrics from Kabilan Vairamuthu. And not to mention the fact that it’s a wonderfully captured song as well.

Pattukutty Neethan

Film: Raja Ranguski
Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Kabilan 
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Pattukutty Neethan is yet another underrated song which didn’t get its due as the film wasn’t as successful as it was supposed to be. But thanks to radio stations playing this on the loop, it became viral. Yet another song that describes the way a guy loves a girl, this song stands apart for its lyrics and Yuvan’s vocals.

Mazhai Kuruvi

Film: Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
Singer: AR Rahman
Lyrics: Vairamuthu 
Music: AR Rahman

As you would’ve imagined, it wasn’t easy to pick one song from this album as well. We’re going with Mazhai Kuruvi predominantly for its brilliant lyrics and also for the fact that though it might sound like a song filled with love and positivity, it wasn’t the case when we saw this as a film. Rahman’s voice is obviously an added advantage for this track.

Adi Karuppi

Film: Pariyerum Perumal
Singer: Santhosh Narayanan
Lyrics: Vivek, Mari Selvaraj 
Music: Santhosh Narayanan

Songs of rage are high on emotions and Adi Karuppi stands as a testimonial to it. With the composer Santhosh himself crooning the song, it portrays the emotions of our protagonist who feels helpless over the happenings around him. Extra marks for the beautiful manner in which the song was shot.

Kaathalae Kaathalae

Film: 96
Singer: Chinmayi, Kalyani Menon, Govind Vasantha 
Lyrics: Karthik Netha
Music: Govind Vasantha

It would be a sin to make such a list without adding the album of 96 and I must say, it was the toughest to pick one song from this album, which was one of the very few ones loved by the audience as a whole. Enough has been said about this album, so not adding more to this gem.

Kaarkuzhal Kadavaaiye

Film: Vada Chennai
Singer: Santhosh Narayanan, Sriram Parthasarathy. Pradeep Kumar
Lyrics: Vivek
Music: Santhosh Narayanan

The album of Vada Chennai was another shocker from Santhosh and the variety he has shown for this film is tremendous. It’s the lyrics that make this song our pick and this soulful rendition is sure to get you addicted the first time you hear it.

Kambathu Ponnu

Film: Sandakozhi 2
Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Yegathasi
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Yet another song that’s composed and voiced by Yuvan, Kambathu Ponnu is meant to be the equivalent of Dhavani Potta Deepavali from Sandakozhi. And boy, he did make sure that the wait was worth it. Kudos to Lingusamy for picturising this lovely song beautifully.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi shoulder a mediocre film: Master Review

A flawed protagonist and a powerful antagonist have always proven to be successful tropes in the world of cinema. The hero, when being anything but perfect, makes way for a beautiful story arc as he convalesces and a strong villain makes the hero’s triumph at the end larger. Despite having both of these, Vijay’s Master feels far from a perfect flick thanks to succumbing to irregular pacing and a middling screenplay. Master follows the trials and tribulations of JD (Vijay), an alcoholic college professor whose valiant effort towards the student community plants a belief in his colleague Charu (Malavika Mohanan) that he would be able to do the same to the kids in a juvenile correction centre that needs… correction. Armed with a just kada, a classic four-wheeler, a Persian cat and a cool pair of sunglasses, JD embarks on a journey that will collide with that of Bhavani’s (Vijay Sethupathi). On paper, Master looks like a failproof star vehicle – the story of a man out there to teach lesson

Icon Residency, Wayanad

During one of my solo bike rides from Chennai to Coorg, I took a detour to check out Wayanad and since Coorg is just a few hours by road from there, I decided to use the small town also for a layover. A quick search told me about the limited options this tourist location has and as I was all by myself, I didn’t mind taking a risk by choosing whatever has a decent rating. iCon Residency in Kalpetta had some really good reviews and in no time, I was in Kerala via Bangalore.  iCon Residency is located on National Highway 212. Though the direction on Google Maps is accurate, finding the place was quite a challenge as it’s located past a narrow street. The hotel looks brilliant from the outside in total contrast to the otherwise old town. There’s also a decent parking space. The basic room I opted for is small when compared to average rooms but for a solo traveller, it was cosy and perfect. The bed

Spago Inn, Mahabalipuram

It was yet another trip to Mahabalipuram and if you visit the famous tourist town as much as I do, you should be knowing that unless you’re a tourist, it’s better to stay from the centre of the city. A quick search told me that Spago Inn, a considerably new property has made its way to ECR, right at the entrance of Mahabs. I had also seen it, right on the main road, during my regular drives down that brilliant stretch of tarmac. The town is famous for pocket-friendly options making it perfect for a day’s retreat and Spago Inn too fits the bill.  Unlike most of the properties in Mahabs, Spago Inn has a car parking space, enough for more than half a dozen four-wheelers. The room is compact, similar to most of the properties in that price range but ticks off all the basic boxes one would expect. The place is extremely clean and neat. The linens were tidy and so was the bathroom. The bed was comfy too and it was perfect fo