Carnatic Singers - Male

An ancient traditional form of Indian classical music, Carnatic music is complex but inspiring. Its history includes some of India’s greatest vocalists. Carnatic music is one of the two traditions that serve as the foundation of Indian classical music. Carnatic music is heard most frequently in South India and, in particular, the regions of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. A typical Carnatic music performance, or kutcheri, features a Carnatic vocalist, a violinist, and a handful of Carnatic musicians on percussion instruments, who perform kritis—the lengthy compositions that serve as the basis for most Carnatic music.

Here are some South Indian Carnatic Male Singers:

K.J. Yesudas

J. Yesudas full name is Kattassery Joseph Yesudas. He is the shining star of South Indian industry. A prolific playback singer in Indian film music. K.J. Yesudas has recorded more than 50,000 songs in multiple languages throughout his six-decade career. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honor in India. Other famous playback singers in the Carnatic tradition include Nithyasree Mahadevan and D.K. Pattammal. 

Musiri Subramania Iyer

One of the most respected vocalists in Carnatic music history, Iyer was known for the bhava, or emotional element of his kritis. His high octave range and dedication to Carnatic music made him a national hero, with his name given to roadways in Tamil Nadu and an image of his face featured on postage stamps. Musiri Subramania Iyer (Musiri) was one of the titans of Carnatic music in the first half of the 20th century. He was an exemplary musician, a highly respected teacher, and a man of character and dignity. Gifted with a high-pitched voice and tonal purity, Musiri was perhaps most at home in the upper octave. He was an exponent of ‘bhava music’, bringing out the emotional content of any music he rendered, sometimes with a bit of dramatization for full effect, a la Pandit Omkarnath Thakur.

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer was a Carnatic vocalist. In 1926, he performed his first music recital at Kumbakonam. In 1927 gave a concert in the Madras session of Indian National Congress, another event considered by Semmangudy as a turning point in his life, as it catapulted him into the big league of vidwans at that time. He was known for producing soulful music, highly creative and yet very orthodox, despite a recalcitrant voice. Semmangudi was widely renowned for his virtuosity as a concert performer. He was famous for the meticulous planning that he put into every concert, including the choice of krithis, raagas and duration. He was also widely acknowledged as a master of improvisation, particularly in the form of niravals.

Lalgudi Jayaraman

Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001. Jayaraman’s instrumental skills placed him as one-third of the “violin trinity” of Carnatic music, for which M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N. Krishnan joined him. The maestro was also a prolific composer who wrote in four languages, including Tamil and Sanskrit, and a teacher whose students included the acclaimed vocalist Vidya Subramanian. Most famous for his thillanas and varnams, Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman is considered one of the most prolific composers of modern times. His compositions are very popular with Bharatanatyam dancers, even as they have become a standard highlight of every leading Carnatic musician's repertoire.

Prasanna Venkataraman

His music is bright and oriented towards musical values. His voice cannot be said to be powerful but has a mellowness and he sings at a respectable 2-kattai pitch. He is good in the laya department, but does not indulge too much in its intricacies at the cost of rakti. He has a large store of compositions, around four hundred. He is now concentrating on adding more kriti-s of Dikshitar to his repertoire.

Prasanna works in a Chennai based company and manages to perform four or five concerts a month on the average. His mind is set on a purely professional career in music in the not too distant future. Meanwhile he wants to stabilise himself as a vocalist of merit.

Ravi Kiran

Narasimhan Ravikiran is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iyengar, who was also a Carnatic musician. Ravikiran has created over 800 classical Indian and contemporary compositions to his credit. His Indian classical pieces include musical forms such as varnam, krti, javali, tillana and padam. He has created pieces in each of the 35-talas of Carnatic Music as well as a 72-mela ragamalika geetam, a 13-part piece that spans over all the 72-parent ragas of Carnatic music in seven minutes.

Akshay Padmanabhan

Carnatic vocalist Akshay Padmanabhan is a student of renowned musician P.S. Narayanaswamy, who resides in Chennai. Hailing from a musical family, he started learning music at the age of five. An AIR (A grade) artist, he completed his graduation in M.Com. Performed in Ramaseva Mandali Sabha in Bangalore for the last 5 years. Performed in Narada Gana Sabha, performed in TTD - Chennai and Nadaneerajanam Tirupati, Asthika Samajam, Ramana Kendra, Mylapore Fine Arts, Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay Shanmukhananda Hall, Hamsadhwani, Brahma. He has won many prizes in carnatic music at Music Academy, Indian Fine Arts Society, Narada Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Art Club, Bharathi Vidya Bhavan, R.R.Sabha, Papanasam Sivan Academy, Nungambakkam Cultural Academy and finalist of Carnatic Idol 2012 Jaya TV.