Legendary Singer S. Janaki's Evergreen Tamil Songs List

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Janaki or Janaki Amma as she is fondly called is known as the Expression Queen of Indian Music. Her key strength is her versatility as she can sing in a child’s voice, sing a religious, disco or a romantic number with equal enthusiasm.

She has sung duets with a wide range of singers such as A.M, Rajah, P.B. Srinivas, T.R. Mahalingam, T.M. Soundararajan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, S.P.Balasubramaniam, Yesudas, Malaysia Vasudevan, Mano, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. She was the female singer who recorded the most number of songs for music director Ilayaraja.

Janaki has sung more than 48,000 songs. She sang her first song for the Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu in 1957. She has sung in more than 20 Indian languages and also in foreign languages such as German and Japanese. This Nightingale of South India won four National awards. The Tamilnadu Government awarded her the prestigious Kalaimamani award.

Janaki sings beautiful vocal modulations and deep expressions, yet stands motionless with an unreadable face. The list of Janaki songs in Tamil is mesmerizing. We have presented you with a few unique and remarkable gems in her Tamil singing career.

Did You Know?

Janaki has sung the songs Toothpaste Irukku Brush Irukku (Tamil), and Daddy, Daddy, Oh my Daddy (Tamil) songs in a small boy voice. She sang the Poda Poda Pokka (Tamil) song in an old grandmother’s voice. These songs are unique among Janaki songs in Tamil.

S Janaki Tamil Songs List

Naadham En Jeevane

This is a classical melody by Ilayaraja and Janaki would have sung the song beautifully. In this song, the heroine Radha sings that Music is her Life and calls her lover. The hero Kannan is visually challenged and Radha sings as she looks at him.

The song starts with a short prayer-like prelude in a different tune after anklet bell sounds. Then the main song is accompanied by tabla, flute, and string instruments and Janaki would have done the best with emotions and modulations while singing.

Janaki won the TamilNadu State award for her songs in this movie, Kaadhal Oviyam. Naadham En Jeevane is surely one among Janaki amma’s evergreen Tamil hits.

Singara Velane Deva

This song skyrocketed S. Janaki to fame in the Tamil film industry. The song is like a dialogue between the singer and the nadaswaram expert Karukkuruchi Arunachalam. The female voice sings and the nadaswaram mimics whatever the singer sang.

Janaki excels in the aalaaps, swaras and the plain singing portions. The last 2 minutes of the song is a swaram-nadaswaram dialogue. The onscreen pair of Savithri and Gemini Ganesan bring out their best acting prowess for the song set in a temple.

Many females sing this song for competitions to show their varied singing talent in a single song. Singara Velane played a major part in the evolution of S. Janaki’s career. It is surely outstanding among Janaki songs in Tamil.

Roja Poo Aadivanthathu

This is a trendy Janaki solo song. This is a fast-paced disco song and Janaki would have excelled including the various humming in the song. The heroine Amala dances and entices the hero, Prabhu. The tempo of the song is 79 BPM. It has a 4/4 time signature.

Roja Poo Aadivandhadhu is a favourite song for college cultural programs and music competitions. Roja Poo hallmarks the different singing styles of Janaki for Tamil songs.

Ooru Sanam Thoongiruchu

This song is another classic among Janaki Tamil Hits. This is a typical song where the woman longs for her man. Janaki would have emoted the song well and brought out the yearning of the woman. Radha was the onscreen actor singing this song in nature at night. Mohan is the hero who walks around as he listens to the song.

Ilayaraja and MSV had a good bond and they composed music for a few films together. Ilayaraja claims that he became a music director by listening to M.S. Viswanathan songs. Ilayaraja had played organ for MSV. Both Ilayaraja and M.S. Viswanathan were the music directors for this movie, Mella Thiranthathu Kadhavu. But, details about who set tune to which song have not been shared with the public. Ooru Sanam is one of the best Janaki solo songs.

Chinna Chinna Vanna Kuyil

The colourful song picturizes Revathi dancing and Mohan walking around. Tempo of this fast-paced song is 118 BPM. Janaki brings out the joy and emotions of a love-filled woman very well in this song.

Super Singer Priyanka became very famous after singing Chinna Chinna Vanna Kuyil in one of the music shows. Janaki’s songs in Tamil are always an inspiration for aspiring singers. Chinna Chinna is one of the best of Janaki’s Tamil hits.

Senthoora Poove

This song is one of Janaki Amma’s evergreen Tamil hits. Janaki won the National Award and TamilNadu State Award for this song in 16 Vayathinile movie. She brings out the freshness in her voice in this song about nature and romance.

With perfect Tamil pronunciation, Janaki calls out the peacock and flower in her song. Senthoora poove is one of the earliest hits of the Janaki-Ilayaraja combo songs in Tamil.

Did You Know?

Janaki has sung the most number of songs in Kannada language. She has sung thousands of songs in Kannada.

Unnidathil Ennai Koduthean

This Janaki solo song describes the romantic relationship of a woman with her lover. The first two lines of the Pallavi repeat in the song seven times. But, every time, Janaki would have given a different ghamak which adds unique flavour to the singing. Who else but Janaki can bring out the myriad emotions and tunes portrayed in the song in the best way?

The song features the pair Gemini Ganesan and Bharathi. This is one of Janaki’s high pitched Tamil songs.

Nenjinile Nenjinile

The song features Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta. Preity sings about her dreams of marriage. The song has lilting male chorus portions. Of course, Janaki as the main singer would have brought out the feelings of the scene well in her singing.

This song is one of the best among Rahman-Janaki combo for solo songs. Nenjinile brings out the unique singing style of Janaki in Tamil songs.

Dhoorathil Naan Kanda Un Mugam

This song is a hidden gem among Janaki’s songs in Tamil. Music was composed for the song by Maestro, but the song was not filmed for the movie Nizhalgal. Janaki would have sung the song with excellent modulations and done justice to the changing fast-paced tunes and aalaps in the song.

This masterpiece of Raja is set in Raga Patdeep. This challenging song surely features in Janaki Tamil hits.

Kannan Vandhu Paaduginraan

This song is one of the best of Janaki hits in Tamil. In this song, Radhika is a stage singer and Mohan watches her. The stylish dance moves of Radhika are matched by the stylish and cool singing of Janaki even in the higher octaves.

This song requires a lot of breath control, but it is a cakewalk for Janaki. This song is a famous competition song. This song is one of the best of Janaki and Ilayaraja combo songs in Tamil.

Oru Kili Uruguthu

This is a female duet sung by S. Janaki and S.P. Shailaja. Janaki starts the song and the pair excels in the delivery of the humming before the first charanam.

This song set in nature is a background song and shows the playful development of love between the pair across childhood and adulthood. This is an outstanding female duet of Janaki in Tamil and one of the best of Janaki melody songs in Tamil.

Did You Know?

She wrote the lyrics and sang the Kanna Nee Enge (Tamil) song in a small girl’s voice. She sang the song Mummy Peru Maari (Tamil) in a male voice. Janaki also sang the Acapella, Nan Porandhu Vandhadhu (Tamil), by Ilayaraja for the movie Mayabazaar 1995. The Acapella is surely one the rare and best of Janaki’s songs in Tamil.

Inji Idupazhagi

Janaki won the National Award for her awesome delivery of the song. The song starts with rhythmic speech without the addition of musical instruments. And then she sings in rhythm with the iconic beat which can be identified by people from the era, special thanks to Ilayaraja for that catchy beat.

The happiness of being newly married is brought out beautifully by the onscreen pair of Kamal and Revathi. This song is one of the best duets of Janaki with Kamal as a singer. Inji Idupazhagi is a most deserving S. Janaki award song.

Sippi Irukkuthu Muthu Irukkuthu

This song is very unique among Janaki’s songs in Tamil as it goes like testing one’s skill with the hero, like a call and response. She keeps humming or telling swaras for 90% of the song. The legendary S.P.B sings those beautiful lyrics by Kannadasan in a perfect texture for every humming of Janaki in the pallavi and charanam.

This shows the varied talent of Janaki as she carries the whole song with her humming alone. Only at the end of the songs does she sing a few lines of lyrics. Kamal and Sridevi would have marvelously enacted the duet onscreen. This song is outstanding among S. Janaki duets in Tamil.

Malare Mounama

This duet will surely feature in Janaki Songs in Tamil List. This song is a very popular number and is the best of Janaki’s singing for Vidyasagar’s music composition. This is one of the best duets of S. Janaki with S.P.B.

This song is set in the Darbari Kanada raagam. The pallavi portion sung by the female requires a lot of breath control and Janaki would have done it so easily. This song surely has a place among S. Janaki melody list in Tamil.

Did You Know?

S. Janaki was a judge for a music competition in which S.P.B participated and she recommended S.P.B for the first prize. What a beautiful start for a musical relationship between two stars, isn’t it?

Adiye Manam Nilluna Nikkathadi

This is a beat-filled song with sensuous singing of lyrics and recurring humming by Janaki. The mood of the song makes people dance immediately and brings in a positive mindset.

S.P.B would have rocked the song along with Janaki. Actor Thyagarajan and Silk Smitha were the onscreen dancers for this upbeat song. This song is noteworthy among Janaki songs in Tamil.

Are you inspired by Janaki’s singing career and the variety of songs she has sung? If you want to learn more about the nuances of singing, do enroll in a free demo with MusicMaster’s singing programs.

FAQs

How many languages did S Janaki sing in?

S. Janaki has sung in 20 Indian languages and four foreign languages.

What was S Janaki's first Tamil song?

Janaki’s first Tamil song was ‘Penn En Aasai Pazhanathu Eno’ from the 1957 movie Vithiyin Vilaiyatu.

Which is the most famous song of S. Janaki in Tamil?

Senthoora Poove is the most famous song of S. Janaki in Tamil.

Which song made S. Janaki famous in Tamil?

Singara Velane Deva song made Janaki very famous in the Tamil film industry.

How S. Janaki Became the Queen of Playback Singing in Tamil?

Janaki has sung melody, disco, romantic and devotional songs in Tamil. She has worked with the most famous music directors such as Ilayaraja, M.S. Viswanathan and A.R. Rahman. She has sung Tamil songs with leading singers like S.P.B, Yesudas, Malaysia Vasudevan and Mano. She was the most favourite female singer of Ilayaraja who composed thousands of songs. So, Janaki became the Queen of playback singing in Tamil cinema.

When did S Janaki start singing in Tamil?

S.Janaki started singing in Tamil from the year 1957.

Who is S Janaki's favorite music director in Tamil?

Ilayaraja is S.Janaki’s favorite music director and she has sung the most number of songs under his music direction.

Why is S Janaki called the Nightingale of South India?

S. Janaki has sung most of her songs in the South Indian languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. That is why she is called the Nightingale of South India.

What makes S Janaki’s voice unique in Tamil music?

Janaki can sing in a small boy’s voice and also an old grandmother’s voice. This makes her voice unique in Tamil. She has also sung an Acapella, Naan Porandhu Vandadhu in Tamil.

Which music directors did S. Janaki work with?

Janaki worked with music directors such as Ilayaraja, Rahman, Vidya Sagar, M.S. Viswanathan, K.V. Mahadevan, Vedha, S.M. Subbaiah Naidu, T.R. Pappa, Shankar-Ganesh, Salil Chowdhury, V.Kumar, Gangai Amaran, Deva, Sirpy, and S.A. Rajkumar.

Which Tamil movies feature Janaki Amma’s voice?

Many popular Tamil movies such as Mudhal Mariyathai, Naan Paadum Paadal, Moonram Pirai, Uthiri Pookal, and Sangamam feature Janaki’s voice in songs.