Top Tamil Songs of June 2023

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of June 2023. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

1. Yaavum Gnaayum 

Song Composed, Arranged and Produced by Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyricist: Yugabharathi

Singer: Shivani Panneerselvam

Genre: Synth-Pop

Never have the sound of guitars felt so funky and cool in a while, and this song captures your imagination the moment the title of 'Modern Love Chennai' comes on. The arrangements ooze style and this has to be Yuvan Shankar Raja's best song since 'Rowdy Baby'. Yuvan displays what his pedigree is all about and if these sounds don't urge you to listen, then wait for more.

Shivani Pannerselvam is singing this like a dream, that you never want to get out of, like in the movie 'Inception'. This dream sounds and feels so much better than reality, but Shivani's vocal prowess and performance are real. The control she exhibits in delivering these lines is sensational, especially in the tenor/baritone scale. The stanza is beautifully composed and gives you that hummable feeling, and Yuvan ensures that the tone of the song remains intact. 

He does some fabulous production towards the end as you can feel the keyboard programming creating that intensity in the background. Kumaraguruparan .M does the mixing and mastering and the brilliant lyrics are by one of the busiest lyricists in Kollywood, Yugabharathi. 

@itsyuvan @shivanipannerselvam 

2. Uravu

Performed by Padmapriya Raghavan, Sean Roldan

Written by Sean Roldan, Yughabharathi

Genre: Melody/Pop

We have the best two songs of the month both from Amazon Prime Video's Modern Love Chennai. This is Sean Roldan's magic and he is spreading love through the amazing power of music. The song is composed, produced and arranged by this composer who is showing some amazing resurgence of form of late. It is on par with the number 1 song of the month in almost every aspect. 

Padmapriya Raghavan is glorious as the female lead vocalist and I am hearing after a long time since that crowning jewel of a song 'Megathoodham'. I just love the line "Oru Kadhai ing mudivathaikandu kalakkamum etharkadi" and it is not just the melody in the notes, but Sean's voice and the strings section, Accordion and guitars in the background that just conquer my heart. Yugabharati writes these amazing lines. 

The anupallavi segment is so rich and it gets better with "uravennum perum kathai , uyirgalin thodarkathai". The whistle just makes a solid interlude for a love song. Sean hits the jackpot with a beautifull crafted stanza and I was blown away at around the 2.10 minute mark when Padmapriya sings "Uravennum Perum kathai" and the Piano plays some succulent and dreamy chords. 

@rseanroldan @padmapriya_raghavan @yughabharathi

3. Urudhi

Song Curation: Sean Roldan

Song Narrative: Sean Roldan

Vocals: Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Arifullah Shah Rafaee

Written By: Krithika Nelson

Composed By: Sean Roldan

Music Arranged & Produced by: Sean Roldan

Mixed by: Toby Joseph at TobsGarage

Mastered by: Randy Merill

Someone please call the fire station, it is an emergency. That's right, Sean Roldan is on fire!!!!!. Here is the Coke Studio Tamil song featuring renowned Carnatic Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan and Nagoor Styled Tamil Sufi singer Arifullah Shah Rafaee. The union between the two styles is seamless and feels like a match made in heaven. The song is composed by Sean Roldan and written by singer-songwriter Krithika Nelson. 

We have the majestic Veena solo by Punya Srinivas opening the account, and she is surrounded by an enveloping layer of the strings section thanks to Sunshine Orchestra. We have Vignesh U, Nandhini A, Balaji A, Vignesh S playing the Violins, Ebinezar Gnanraj M, Dinesh A, Harish Kumar K, Hrithick Roshan playing the Violas, Vaijayanthi R, Balaji M, Deepa S on the Cellos and David K, Anish Franklin V on the Double Bass. Throughout the song, it is Kalyani Nair's resplendent strings arrangements that keep us enthralled. 

Sanjay sings his title line and then his famous vocal tone and delivery take over. The amazing strings just glorify the song to something magical, and we have The Indian Choral Ensemble on the harmonies taking things up a notch. Here too all the vocal arrangements are by Kalyani Nair, and the performers are Kalyani Nair, Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha Sasi as Sopranos, Sushmita Narasimhan, Fathima Henna as Altos and Manoj Krishna, Pranjal Thakore, Manikandan Chembai as Tenors. The people also making this Carnatic rendition sound Western and are responsible for the fusion are Shyam Benjamin on Keyboards, David Devaprashanth Joseph as the drummer, Vijay Ganesan and Ashwin Suresh on lead guitars and bassist Aalaap Raju. 

This is where the song takes a delicious turn from the first segment which was probably influenced by Surutti Ragam. The Veena and bass guitars take the lead and we head into another segment of magic probably set in Sindhubhairavi Ragam. That segment with the heavy drums and Veena with the vocal harmonies and strings section is inspiring and elevating. Arifullah Shah Rafaee takes us through this heavenly route on vocals. The creative head for all the Coke Studio Tamil songs is Krithika Nelson. The Chief Sound Engineer is Toby Joseph and the Senior Recording Engineer is Riyasdeen Riyan assisted by Durai Sidharth, Aravind Crescendo, Sudarshan Jyothi A. The tracks are mixed by Toby Joseph and mastered by Randy Merrill

@rseanroldan @therukural @madrashe @kalyaninair86 @thesunshineorchestra @aalaapraju @shyambenjamin @theindianchoralensemble @cokestudiotamil @davidthejoseph @vjganesan @punya.srinivas @vjganesan @themis_vanessa @tobsgarage @samanvithasasidaran @padmaja.07 @sushmita_narasimhan @manojkrishna.001 @a.s.h.musique

4. Vannarapettaiyila

Composed, Arranged and Produced by Bharath Sankar

Singers - SivaKarthikeyan and Aditi Shankar

Lyricist - Yugabharathi

Genre: Folk/Pop 

When you hear music like this, you ascertain that the composer must be pretty skilled and potent. Bharath Sankar has composed, arranged and produced the songs here and when you know he is part of the band Oorkkha along with Pradeep, that says it all. This is from the new Sivakarthikeyan movie set for release in July 2023, and we have the man himself as the male lead vocalist. He is accompanied by Aditi Shankar as the female lead, singing Yugabharathi's lines. If the guitars and Ukulele created by Keba Jeremiah have all the coolness, bassist Naveen Napier provides the groove and the vocal harmonies create all the fun. 

The keyboards and Dholak have a special reunion here and I am guessing the former is handled by Bharath and we have Hariprasad and Kaamil Saif playing the Dholak. Aditi has the very innocent teenage-girl kind of tone and when we get to the interludes with S.Bhallesh on Shehnai and all the harmonies, the bass guitars are solid and I am reminded of Ilaiyaraja's 'Ram bam bam aarambam'. But if you listen closely the whole tone of the song resembles Maestro's 'Aathu mettula mutham' from the movie 'Ponnumani'. 

Kiran joins on the flute solo in this enjoyable and elaborate interlude. Sivakarthikeyan does quite well in delivering his lines and when it is Aditi sings, it does feel like an adiradi from an Oosi pattasu, like her lines. The recording engineers are Hariharan and Avinash Sathish and the tracks are mixed by Balu Thankachan, assisted by Paul Daniel and mastered by Gethin John. 

@sivakarthikeyan  @aditishankarofficial 

 @yughabharathi @thebaluthankachan @hafod_mastering @hariprasadofficial @napier_naveen @20dbsoundstudios @__hari__ @pauldanieldanny @kebajer @shehnaiballeshoffl 

@themadonne @iamarunviswa @vidhuayyanna @philoedit @dineshmanoharan17

@shanthitalkies @saregamatamil 

5. Ponniyamma

Composed Arranged and Programmed by: Ramshanker

Singers: Pradeep Kumar, Sinduri Vishal

Lyricist: R.Deepak Krishna

Ramshanker is an intelligent composer and he has been slowly building up his body of work, some of which I have featured and reviewed here on my website. One of my favourites was his dedication to the city of Chennai on its birthday a few years ago. This is composed, arranged and programmed by Ramshanker with lyrics by R. Deepak Krishna.

It is heartening to see Pradeep Kumar perform this nice folkish song and the way Pradeep modifies his tone and style of delivery to suit the song and to match his performance, we get Sindhuri Vishal who too demolishes this one with incredible ease and comfort. The song's arrangements are top-notch and we have to mention how Shruthi Raj goes solo and plays the Ghatam, Gada Singari, Kanjira, Tavil and Live Percussion. The beautiful solo on the Violin can be heard by Rangappriya Sankaranarayanan, with those interventions. These are those wonderful choices of instruments that make this song stand out as one of the best of the month. 

Vedanth Bharadwaj plays the Ektara and Twelve String Guitars, right through the stanza and the second interlude is all about Lalit Talluri's calming influence through the Flute solo. It is in this segment that I sensed some Arabhi Ragam. The stanza is rich and Ramshanker leaves no stone unturned in weaving even more melodious notes. Rangapriya's Kottaankuchi sticks to the mind as well just as much as her Violin. Ramshanker does all the keyboard and Rhythm Programming with Nehhen R on the additional programming and Music Production Supervision. 

Ramshanker's close ally Anjana Rajagopalan does the recording supervision along with Nehhen. The recording engineers are Avinash Sathish, Hariharan and Paul Daniel, and Balu Thankachan is the mix/master engineer. 

@ramshankers @pradeep_kumar1123 @lalittalluri @singersinduri @nehhenr @anjanarajagopalan_musician @thebaluthankachan @kaaliactor @vedanth_bharadwaj @thinkmusicofficial @violinrangi @avinashsathish

6. Minnal Mugilosai

Singer: Abid Anwar

Music Composed, Arranged and Programmed: S K Balachandran

Lyrics: Kalaikumar

Genre: Semi-classical 

I travel back to the 1990s when I hear this song, thanks to the very semi-classical nature of the song. SK Balachandran is someone I am hearing for the very first time. He composed, arranged and programmed the song with lyrics by Kalaikumar. Abid Anwar lends his voice and sings emphatically. I think this might be some Sumanesaranjani Ragam in this song. 

The acoustic guitar we hear is once again played by Vedanth Bharadwaj, but the stunning bits come in the interlude with Ananth Menon's electric guitar and Pramod Umapathi's Flute. Jaiswapnah is on the backing vocals, and the lovely Tabla is played by Venkat, which comes out in the stanza. Kudos to Balachandran and Abid for composing and singing this very elegant semi-classical number, something we don't hear as much anymore in Kollywood. S K Balachandran has mixed and mastered the tracks. 

@balachandran_sk @muzik247in @abidanwar_official @sreerag_musiq @pramodumapathi @ananth.menon @vedanth_bharadwaj 

7. Vaanilai

Music Composed and Produced by Sachin Warrier at Sway Studios

Lyrics - Thamarai

Singer - Hitha

Backing Vocals - Aavani Malhar, Divya S Menon, Radhika Narayanan, Swetha Ashok

Genre: Filmi Pop

Sachin Warrier is like a man on a mission, entering Kollywood from the neighbouring state and he is winning all battles like an equipped warrior. I did enjoy and feature the previous single 'Netrum indrum' from the movie "Marakkuma Nenjam". This song feels like an upgrade and we have the amazing vocals of Hitha to thank for that. Akash S playing the Ukulele kicks things off gently and romantically. 

It is then Hitha's sensual vocals that drive the song forward and it is not just her tone, but incredible control that piques my interest, as I have never heard her before. Sachin plays the Keys along with the song's entire production and we have Nevil George playing the additional Keys. Hitha starts off the stanza with something so beautiful in the Tenor/Bass voice type. She sings these amazing lines " partha muthal nale, pesum kalai aale , eerthu chelvan en kathanayagan" and this is a great union of vocals, lyrics, melody and arrangements. We have Sumesh Parameswar sizzling away on bass guitars in the background. 

I must say that Hitha also possesses amazing vocal range and you can figure that in the closing stages of the stanza. The female chorus comprises of Aavani Malhar, Divya S Menon, Radhika Narayanan and Swetha Ashok. We have a beautifully crafted bridge section as well and Sachin can be extremely happy with his work here. Towards the last 1 minute or so we see the flowy Piano all the way and that sounds wonderful. The recording engineers are Avinash Sathish and Arjun B Nair. Kudos to Hitha for pulling off something like an Arijit Singh improvisation segment in the outro. The tracks are mixed by Balu Thankachan and mastered by Donal Wheelan. The singer coordinators are KD Vincent and Don Vincent. 

@warriersach @officialhitha @kavignarthamarai @rakshan_vj @actor_malina @avinashsathish @thebaluthankachan @aavani_malhar @divmenon14 @radhikanarayanan_official @swethaashokofficial 

8. Raasa Kannu

Song Composed, Produced and Arranged by A.R.Rahman

Lyrics Yugabharathi

Singer Vadivelu

Genre: Folk

We know of this man's talents as an actor, comedian and performer, but many who haven't followed Vadivelu for the last 2 decades won't know what a brilliant singer he is. He has sung for Maestro Ilaiyaraja, and in almost every movie he brings his vocal prowess to the fore. 

This is all Vadivelu with his emotional, enraged and pitch-perfect delivery of a tough folk song. AR Rahman gets the mood and tone right with those haunting humming bits and the mild Thavil, and the constant presence of the ethnic strings played by SM Subhani. It quite clearly is set in Sindhubhairavi Ragam and we get all the backing vocals adding to the pain and misery thanks to Sreekanth Hariharan. I am drawn towards him and I get into a trance when Vadivelu sings " patta kayam ethanayao, atha solliputta aaridumo raasa" and he alters the last few words in different ways of singing it. 

The Sunshine Orchestra plays the sensational background strings at the end, orchestrated by Suprava Mukherjee and conducted by Jerry Vincent. Prashant Venkat does the music supervision. The percussions stand out in the song, and they create an indelible mark in our hearts. The sound engineers are Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran, Aravind Crescendo, Suryansh, Sathish V Saravanan, Pradeep Menon, Manoj Raman, Sathya Narayanan and Ainul Huk. Nitish R Kumar is the mix/master engineer. 

@arrahman @yughabharathi @mandolinsmsubhani @sreekanthhariharan @jerrysvincent @thesunshineorchestra @sureshpermal

9. Pattan Adicha Parai

Sung & Composed by Diwakar

Music Arrangement & Production - Karthick Devaraj

Lyrics - Lavaradhan

Outro Lyrics - Arivu

Genre: Folk

This song created goosebumps thanks to the amazing lyrics by Lavaradhan and Arivu, and the singing and production as well in that order. It might not be the most hummable tune or loop-worthy song of the month, but a very important song thanks to its messaging. 

Aravind Annest, Shibi Srinivasan, Vishnu, Kamalaja, Devu Mathew and Feji perform the chorus in reverberating fashion and the Parai is performed by Hariprasad, Ranjith and Vetri. Parthiban plays the Nadhaswaram. The singing is energetic and Diwakar generates an amazing environment of passion, and multiple feelings of disgust, desperation, hope and rage by singing the lyrics brilliantly. It reminds me of Shankar Mahadevan thanks to the style of delivery.

"Un paatan adicha paraiyila , power innum kuraiyala" , that for sure is moving. The amalgamation of the percussions, Nadaswaram and bass guitars is stunning in the interludes thanks to Karthick Devaraj's arrangements and production. The song feels like "Maariyamma" by Messtro from the album "Karagattakaran". Abin Pushpakaran does the mixing and mastering with Hariharan as the recording. Arivu as usual makes a massive mark with the outro lyrics. This song on caste discrimination and marginalization is way too important to be missed or omitted. 

@karthick_devaraj @singer_diwakar @lavarathan @mmoriginals_ @mediamasons @therukural @hariprasadofficial @ranjithmagi @drumsvetri @donglijumbo @prathimacuppala @arvindd_annestt @shibisrinivasan @devumathew @kamalajaofficial 

10. Iravillaa Maalai

Music - Sahi Siva

Vocals - Sahi Siva, Maanasi G Kannan

Lyrics - Sahi Siva

Genre: Pop Melody

Here comes a fantastic song that oozes some rich melody and it is sung by one of my favourite contestants of the previous season of the Super Singer show on Vijay TV. This is excellent sung by Maanasi G Kannan and she straightaway explores the higher end of her vocal range. There is no limit to the saccharine nature of her voice.

Madhusoodhan plays the flute solo effectively at various points and we also have Sahi Siva doing a wonderful job as the male lead. The secondary layer of vocals is well arranged in the pallavi section. The flute solo in the interlude kind of reminds me of the famous Coke Studio song "Afreen Afreen". Sahi has written the lyrics and composed this beauty as well and we get bass guitar support from Keba Jeremiah. The introduction of the Tabla in the interlude is well thought out. 

The stanza is nicely composed with melodious segments and the song is produced excellently by Sahi Siva. MJ Melodies does the mix and master. 

@maanasi.k @sahisiva_official 

@kyufleck @kebajer @master_m_flute @mj.melodies

11. Kaadhal

Performed by bebhumika

Written by Bhumika Anantharaman, Mythili Anantharaman

Produced by 01110000

Genre: Electronic Pop

I am featuring Bebhumika for the first time, and what a worthy one at that. This electronic pop-styled single reminds me of the sounds AR Rahman so wonderfully created and it helped him rule the music kingdom for over 2 decades. 

The song is penned and composed by Bhumika Anantharaman, Mythili Anantharaman with Bhumika performing it vocally. She is tripping and on a high singing this with unbelievable ease. Once we hit the 1st-minute mark, she goes from electronic to classical Carnatic, with a mindblowing asap and I am guessing it is set in Maand Ragam. Bhumika tells me that there is some Shankarabharanam and Aarabhi Ragam as well in the mix. The keys and rhythms are stunning that keep this song alive along with Bebhumika's sizzling vocals. The production and sound design credits must go to Kristoff Ollson. 

@prod01110000 @bebhumika @pixlpxl