Sid Sriram loves to interact, so much so that his verbosity translates to musical melodies that have entertained audiences for 12 years since his debut with the AR Rahman number, 'Adiye'. And before he knew it, he was singing over 40 songs a year, with 2019 being the busiest of them all. That year also saw the debut of his independent album, Entropy. Soon, things took an unexpected and dramatic change. With that, the singer-composer underwent a tough journey to acclimatise himself with a word that he rarely experienced in his life—silence. "I was constantly on the move, composing for Vaanam Kottattum, performing, with plans of a world tour in 2020, and more. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was running on a near-empty tank," he shares. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it gave him the time and silence to go on a journey of self-introspection and reflection. "I really enjoyed the acclaim and the attention, but I'd wake up with thoughts of 'What am I doing?' That made me return to my Carnatic music roots, and I practiced without any particular reason because we didn't know if and when we were going to perform again. This was liberating and made me fall back in love with the art," he reveals.

Sid firmly believes in utilising the gift of music that he has been given, honing it and listening to his inner creative voice that guides him. "For me, music is a direct extension of self. As I was trying to understand who I am, and making sense of my place in the world, my music reflected that same journey," he elaborates. Over the years, Sid's music has been influenced by his Carnatic heart, and the R&B soul. "After immersing myself in all these forms, I started wondering what would happen if these co-existed or were in conversation with each other. It was only when I was studying at Berklee in 2008 that I started experimenting with these ideas," he says, comparing it to the idea of "throwing sonic paint on the wall". What that resulted in was his albums Entropy, Siddharth, and the recent single 'Sol.'  

These conversations with different musical styles and with his inner self have been the hallmark of Sid's 13-year-old journey as a playback singer. While his biggest hits, including 'Maruvaarthai' and 'Thalli Pogathey,' were celebrated for its musicality, these were also numbers that surpassed his own expectations, given the situations he was in during the time. "I was having a bad day, and I didn't want to sing 'Maruvaarthai' at all," he recalls. "Thanks to Gautham Menon, Darbuka Siva, and others, the vibe shifted and everything came together perfectly. Similarly, I remember not understanding the atypical composition behind 'Thalli Pogathey' created by AR Rahman. And then, it did what it did. Now, I free myself from judgments and completely give myself to the act of singing," he adds.

The Midas touch continued for Sid, who was catapulted to fame in multiple industries, and he was truly able to forge an identity for himself. From that to standing on the Coachella stage as the first South Indian to ever perform in the event, he reveals learning an important lesson: "I don't take the responsibility lightly. At the same time, I don't buy into my own hype either. I just want to make music every day and push my personal boundaries. As long as I do that, the byproduct will be some of these doors being knocked down."

While he remains distant from the hype, Sid does agree that there are times when a portion of the hype does find its way through the cracks and reaches him. Be it Virat Kohli’s admiration for his song 'Nee Singam Dhan' or the crowd spontaneously singing 'Hanuman Chalisa' during his performance at a Chennai temple. “AR sir is my hero, and 'Nee Singam Dhaan' doesn’t exist without him. I remember when it first became the theme song for Dhoni. I was getting tagged everywhere, and then, Virat’s interview went viral. When these two individuals that I deeply respect, love this song that is close to my heart, it feels great. I’ve adored it from the moment I heard it,” he says, also remembering the moment he cried when the crowd sang the devotional hymn along with him. “It shook something within my spirit. I was humbled and reminded that I’m just a speck… and yet, somehow, I’m everything at the same time. I realise I’m just one piece in a much larger puzzle.”

Although widely known for his playback hits, he had also composed for Vaanam Kottattum in 2020. Interestingly, he hadn’t taken that route since then. “You’re immersed in that world for seven or eight months,” says Sid, noting that even while he recorded some of his biggest hits—‘Samajavaragamana’, ‘Unna Nenachu’, and ‘Yaen Ennai Pirindhaai’—his mind was fully preoccupied with Vaanam Kottattum. While he is proud of his film compositions, Sid reveals he isn't fully ready to dive into that commitment again. “Maybe five years from now, I’ll fully step back into that space and go all in as a film composer again,” he says. For now, he aims at concentrating on his multi-city 'homecoming' tour across Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad on November 22, 29 and December 13, respectively.

But change has been evident for Sid, be it in life or career. After a decade of hits and chartbusters across languages in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, and Marathi, he has consciously made the decision not to hustle anymore. Instead, he wants to spread his energy to larger creative pursuits across the spectrum. "I’ve decided to sing fewer film songs. Right now, I’m working on two albums, diving deep into jazz and collaborating with some legendary artists from the US, while also giving Carnatic music the front seat," he says, striving to do justice in each of them. "I hope to trailblaze a path for the next generation of artists who want to be shapeshifters," he says, before singing a few lines from 'Sivanar' and 'Vazhithunaiye,' reflective of the equilibrium he seeks between commercial success and artistic expression.