Which Tamil songs suit each voice on stage?
Sort the programme by who sings. A light music troupe usually rotates a male voice, a female voice and the two together, so the 31 songs below are grouped as male solos, female solos, duets, slower melodies and dance numbers for the close. They reach from 1964 to 2023. That spread matters as much in a hall in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto or London as it does in Chennai, because three generations tend to sit in the same rows.
The notes under "Where it fits" are our suggestions for where a song can sit in a set. They are not facts about the song, and the list is not a ranking or a measure of popularity. Titles, artists and years were checked against MusicBrainz or Wikipedia when this page was written. We list no keys or tempos, because bands change both.
Male solo
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilaya Nila Pozhigirathe (film: Payanangal Mudivathillai) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 1982 | Early; shows off the guitarist |
| Aasai Nooru Vagai (film: Adutha Varisu) | Malaysia Vasudevan | 1983 | Brisk; wakes the hall |
| Sangeetha Megam (film: Udaya Geetham) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 1985 | Opener for the male voice |
| Mandram Vandha (film: Mouna Ragam) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 1986 | Slow; after an upbeat pair |
| Raja Raja Chozhan (film: Rettai Vaal Kuruvi) | K. J. Yesudas | 1987 | Mid-programme, for a steady voice |
| Why This Kolaveri Di (film: 3) | Dhanush | 2011 | Light moment; hall joins in |
| Maruvaarthai (film: Enai Noki Paayum Thota) | Sid Sriram | 2017 | Newer slow song, younger guests |
Female solo
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnai Ondru Ketpen (film: Puthiya Paravai) | P. Susheela | 1964 | For the oldest guests, early |
| Chinna Chinna Aasai (film: Roja) | Minmini | 1992 | Gentle; first female solo |
| Evano Oruvan (film: Alaipayuthey) | Swarnalatha | 2000 | Quiet; when the hall listens |
| Kannamoochi Yenada (film: Kandukondain Kandukondain) | K. S. Chithra | 2000 | Classical colour, mid-programme |
| Vaseegara (film: Minnale) | Bombay Jayashri | 2001 | Slow; lights down |
| Ovvoru Pookalume (film: Autograph) | K. S. Chithra | 2004 | Bright; before the interval |
Duets
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aayiram Nilave Vaa (film: Adimai Penn) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela | 1969 | First duet, for older guests |
| Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa (film: Thanga Magan) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jairam | 1983 | Lively; lifts the pace |
| Pudhu Vellai Mazhai (film: Roja) | Unni Menon, Sujatha Mohan | 1992 | Soft duet after the interval |
| Anjali Anjali (film: Duet) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra | 1994 | Showcase for both voices |
| Malargaley (film: Love Birds) | K. S. Chithra, Hariharan | 1996 | Slow duet, mid-programme |
| Munbe Vaa (film: Sillunu Oru Kaadhal) | Shreya Ghoshal, Naresh Iyer | 2006 | Newer duet, for young couples |
Melodies
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poongatru Thirumbuma (film: Muthal Mariyathai) | Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki | 1985 | Unhurried; rests the band |
| Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan (film: Gunaa) | Kamal Haasan, S. Janaki | 1991 | Two voices; rehearse the handovers |
| Ennai Thalatta Varuvala (film: Kadhalukku Mariyadhai) | Hariharan, Bhavatharini | 1997 | Slow; male lead |
| Mannipaaya (film: Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa) | A. R. Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal | 2010 | Slow build before the dance block |
| Nenjame Nenjame (film: Maamannan) | Vijay Yesudas, Shakthisree Gopalan | 2023 | Recent slow song |
Dance numbers for the close
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu (film: Thalapathi) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha | 1991 | Starts the dance block |
| Urvasi Urvasi (film: Kaadhalan) | A. R. Rahman, Suresh Peters, Shahul Hameed | 1994 | For the nineties crowd |
| Appadi Podu (film: Ghilli) | KK, Anuradha Sriram | 2004 | Fast duet; fills the floor |
| Rowdy Baby (film: Maari 2) | Dhanush, Dhee | 2018 | Late; for the youngest guests |
| Vaathi Coming (film: Master) | Anirudh Ravichander, Gana Balachandar | 2020 | Loud; near the end |
| Enjoy Enjaami | Dhee, Arivu | 2021 | Change of colour before closing |
| Arabic Kuthu (film: Beast) | Anirudh Ravichander, Jonita Gandhi | 2022 | Closer |
Start a setlist with these 31 songs
Opens StageFloww with the titles typed in. Free plan, no card. Search can miss a song, and you can add it by hand.
How does a programme rotate its singers?
The order below goes male solo, female solo, duet, and repeats that pattern three times. A melody follows each of the later rounds, so that the singers and the rhythm section get a rest before the next climb. Numbers 12 to 15 are the dance block, which needs both singers and any chorus voices on stage together.
This running order is one suggestion built from the list above. Change it to suit your band and the room.
- Sangeetha Megam
- Chinna Chinna Aasai
- Aayiram Nilave Vaa
- Ilaya Nila Pozhigirathe
- Unnai Ondru Ketpen
- Pudhu Vellai Mazhai
- Poongatru Thirumbuma
- Raja Raja Chozhan
- Vaseegara
- Munbe Vaa
- Mannipaaya
- Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu
- Appadi Podu
- Rowdy Baby
- Arabic Kuthu
For a programme with an interval, break after number 7 and open the second half with a song the audience can clap along to.
How do you share songs between singers and mix the eras?
Give each voice its own decades. If the male singer takes every 1980s song and the female singer every recent one, half the hall hears one voice all night. Deal the eras out evenly across the singers.
Pair singers by range before you pick duets. A duet chosen for the audience and then transposed until neither singer is comfortable helps nobody. Try each one in rehearsal and drop those that suit only one of the pair.
Keep one song in reserve for each voice. When a singer's throat tires, or the organisers ask for ten more minutes, a rehearsed spare is worth more than a request nobody has practised.
Alternate old and new inside each round. Three songs from one decade in a row lose the rest of the room. An older solo, a newer solo and a duet from somewhere between them keeps each generation waiting for its turn.
Hold the dance numbers back. Once the hall is on its feet, a slow song clears it again. If the organisers want a speech or a prize draw, schedule it before the dance block.
What does StageFloww do for a Tamil programme, and what does it not do?
The setlist builder keeps the order, and each song's notes can carry the singer's name and the starting cue, so the rotation is visible at a glance. The 31 songs here stay under the Free plan's 40 songs per setlist. To judge whether fifteen songs fill the slot you were given, use the set length calculator. Song search understands a film name or a rough spelling, but it needs a connection and it can miss a song, so build the list at home.
Most of these songs are sung in Tamil, and the lyrics are normally written in Tamil script. StageFloww can show these lyrics in English letters. This is transliteration: the sound of the words respelled, not a translation of their meaning. Paste the lyrics yourself, or let StageFloww fetch them where available. Not every song has lyrics available.
That helps a guest singer who knows the tune but reads Tamil slowly. It does not teach pronunciation, and it does not supply backing tracks or sheet music. The page for regional-language singers covers the rest.