Carnatic Singers - Female

Chennai is the epicenter of Carnatic music just like Bombay is to Hindi cinema. For decades now, several generations have made it home. Every other area takes great pride in their resident Carnatic celebrities. It is not uncommon to hear conversations in Chennai about how the great Semmangudi lived here or MS Subbulakshmi lived there or how some musician frequented their favourite restaurant or shop. 

The voice, and singing, are very important in Indian classical music. Students are taught through singing in most cases, and melodic instruments imitate the sound and nuances of the human voice in performances.

In Carnatic music, or South Indian Classical music, vocal music is popular, and the main medium for teaching and learning. As opposed to Hindustani music, there is a greater emphasis on compositions, but as with all Indian music, melodic instruments try to imitate the gayaki, or singing style.

With a vast repertoire of compositions written for centuries, carnatic vocalists present a series of songs or compositions with improvised sections in their own characteristic styles.

Here are some South Indian Female Carnatic Singers:

Aruna Sairam

Aruna Sairam has created and performed a dazzling range of South Indian classical music repertoire in varied spaces from intimate chamber settings and salon music concerts to large auditoriums. (The Padma Shri is one of India’s civilian honours presented in recognition of distinguished contributions to Indian culture and society.) Her repertoire includes varying classical, semi-classical and folk music forms and genres in several languages. Her music has also provided sound for dance, film and television. By continuously interacting with international musicians, Aruna communicates through music that goes beyond geographic borders, regional contexts and cultural mores. She uses melody as a language of basic and refined human expression.

M.S. Subbulakshmi

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, often considered Asia's Nobel Prize. She was the First Indian who performed in the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.  Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her Suswaralakshmi (the goddess of the perfect note), and Kishori Amonkar labelled her the ultimate eighth note or Aathvaan Sur, which is above the seven notes basic to all music. The great national leader and poet Sarojini Naidu called her "Nightingale of India ''. Her many famous renditions of bhajans include the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning).

M S Sheela

M S Sheela is a leading Carnatic classical vocalist who has made her mark in classical, light as well as devotional genres of music. She has the rare distinction of being a top rank artist of AIR and Doordarshan in both classical and light music. Having taken to the stage at an early age, M S Sheela has performed widely across the nation and abroad. She has been performing regularly on All India Radio and Doordarshan, and has featured on the Radio Sangeeth Sammelan, Trinity Festival, National Programmes and numerous special features. She has performed in the USA, Canada and Australia. Sheela was sponsored by the State Government of Karnataka for her US concert tour. CMNA, New Jersey, Bhairavi Fine Arts, Cleveland, USA, Nadatarangini Fine Arts, Washington, Carnatic Music Circle of Australia are few among the organizations abroad that have hosted her performances. M S Sheela has also performed in the Middle East and London. 

Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam

Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam is an eminent Carnatic music vocalist. As a student and performer of classical music for over three decades, she has performed extensively in India and abroad since the age of twelve. She has conducted numerous workshops and lecture demonstrations on the various aspects of Carnatic Music. With her career in music extending over two decades, Dr. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam is today among the most sought after vocalists of the Carnatic Music tradition, uniquely known for her captivating voice, bhava rich music and extensive repertoire. Vijayalakshmy was awarded the Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational Affairs in 2010.

K.S. Chithra

Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sanskrit, and Badaga as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, English and French. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs with Music Composers A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, M. M. Keeravani and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and SP Balasubramaniyam over the years. She is regarded as a cultural icon of Kerala and is fondly called as the Melody Queen and Nightingale of South India. Chithra is a recipient of six National Film Awards, eight Filmfare Awards South and 36 different state film awards. She has won film awards from all the four south Indian states. She was honoured with the Rashtrapati Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 20 January 2018. She received the MTV Video Music Award – International Viewer's Choice at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York in 2001.