The opening line of one of the most celebrated musicals of 2025, Sinners, describes how ‘some beings are born with the gift of making music so true that it can pierce the veil between life and death’. While the music from Tamil cinema of 2025 didn’t exactly pierce the veil between life and death, it did break the fourth wall between the reel and the real. The year was one for the new voices of Tamil cinema. From Sai Abhyankkar and Shakthisree Gopalan making their full-fledged debuts as composers for Tamil cinema, to experienced composers like Amit Trivedi making his presence felt in Tamil music, Tamil cinema has never been more thriving with newer talents than it was in 2025. While the old guard continued to stand tall, the newer voices found a way to reach the hearts of the listeners in 2025.
Love and Love Only
The year started with AR Rahman’s soundtrack for Kadhalikka Neramillai, bringing the composer back to the romance genre. Romance was indeed in the air for 2025, as we had Leon James' compositions for Dragon, especially ‘Vazhithunaiye’ become the romantic anthem of 2025. Talking about virality, we had one of the earliest additions to Tamil music virality, 'My Dear Loveru' from Vishal's Madha Gaja Raja, composed by Vijay Antony, returning to prominence with the film hitting the screens after a decade. GV Prakash Kumar, who is no stranger to making music for romance, gave us ‘Yedi’ from Dhanush’s Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam, and ‘Kalloorum’ from SU Arun Kumar's Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2.
Sublahshini was a singer who made quite the impact in 2025 with multiple numbers, including the quirky ‘Golden Sparrow’ (Nilavukku En Mel Ennadi Kobam) that established youthful romance, and Santhosh Narayanan's ‘Pottala Muttaye’ (Thalaivan Thalaivii) that touched upon the playful romance between a married couple. And then, we had the 1-2 punch by Santhosh Narayanan's Retro, which had the star-driven 'Love Detox', sung by Suriya, and 'Kannaadi Poove' by the composer himself. The year was rounded off by Chinmayi and Aravind Aravindakshan's beautiful number, 'Eppadi Vandhaayo', from Aaromaley, composed by Siddhu Kumar.
Mass and Mass Only
One of the biggest beneficiaries of mass music this year was Ajith Kumar, with Vidaamuyarchi (Anirudh Ravichander) and Good Bad Ugly (GV Prakash Kumar). ‘Pathikichu’ from Vidaamuyarchi, and ‘OG Sambavam’ from Good Bad Ugly, became anthems for the star.
Anirudh and Sai collaborated for Sivakarthikeyan's opening number, ‘Salambala’ (Madharaasi). And soon enough, Sai took over the airwaves for the foreseeable future with ‘Oorum Blood’ that became the air that Dude breathed to live. Santhosh, Sid Sriram, and Shan Vincent De Paul gave an elevation number for the ages with ‘The One’, and of course, Anirudh did what he always does for Rajinikanth with the 'Powerhouse' number from Coolie. Talking about elevation, AR Rahman gave one of the very few but most impactful takeaways from Thug Life with 'Vinveli Nayaga', sung by Shruti Haasan.
Vintage and Vintage Only
If Ilaiyaraaja's ‘Otha Ruva Thaaren’ was utilised by the makers of Good Bad Ugly to add to the quirk of their primary antagonist, Vidyasagar's ‘Thottu Thottu Pesum Sultana’ was used to add an outlandish twist in the same film. This also lead to contentious times between Ilaiyaraaja and the makers because of copyright issues. On the other hand, Thaman’s ‘Malaiyooru’ from Mambattiyan found its way into Tourist Family in a scene that is easily one of the best of the year. While Ilaiyaraaja continued to regale with his present-day works like ‘Oru Manaiviyai’ from Peranbum Perungobamum and ‘Un Mugathai Paarkkalaiyae’ from Padai Thalaivan, it was his vintage numbers that made headlines. If Yuvan Shankar Raja's remastering of ‘Nethu Oruthara’ from Puthu Paatu, for Maareesan, created a memorable moment, Anirudh reused ‘Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa’ from Thanga Magan (1983) for Coolie.
Dance and Dance Only
The biggest success of this lot was ‘Kanimaa’ from Retro, which became an unmissable feature in weddings of the year, and in never-ending social media reels. Another wedding song that ruled the airwaves was Rahman's 'Jinguchaa' from Mani Ratnam's Thug Life. But it was ‘Monica’ that became the biggest hit of this year in this section. The visualisation of the song in Coolie showed the dancing workers in a port turn serious with the entry of the villainous Nagarjuna, but the focus was on Pooja Hegde and Soubin Shahir, and rightfully so.
Surprises and Surprises Only
The surprising reception of ‘Mutha Mazhai’ by listeners became a case study in a singer’s importance to the mood of a song. While Dhee's version of ‘Mutha Mazhai’ was released first, it was Chinmayi’s rendition of the song at the audio launch, which prompted fans to create enough attention for her version to be released officially. Santhosh Dayanidhi’s work in Paranthu Po was a unique one, as every song in the film used descriptive lyrics to give meaning to the scene.
Emotions and Emotions only
Sean Roldan's work in Tourist Family through songs like ‘Mugai Mazhai’ and ‘Iragey’, effortlessly tugged at the listeners' heartstrings. With his debut film Madras Matinee, KC Balasarangan used an eclectic mix of voices like Vadivelu, SP Charan and Vijay Yesudas to create an emotional soundtrack for the drama. Amit Trivedi's work in Bad Girl made listeners go through a whole gamut of emotions, especially the 'Kalli Kaatil' number sung by Shivani Pannerselvam. In many ways, it was the year of Chinmayi as her soothing voice in 'Cheenikallu' from Nivas K Prasanna's Bison, rounded off an amazing year that proved that the old guard will not just continue to stand tall, but also pave the way for newer voices to reach the hearts of the listeners in 2025.