Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

is the classical music of South India. The following lists provide links to concert artists who have been widely recognised.

Vocalists - born before 1800

Dharma Raja Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...

Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, born 1724 *

Tyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

, born 1767 * Chinnaswami Dikshitar, born 1778, (Muthuswami Dikshitar's brother, sang Dikshitar Kritis) *

Irayimman Thampi Iravivarman Thampi, better known as Irayimman Thampi (1782 October 12 - 1856 July 29), was an Indian Carnatic musician, music composer and poet from the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a vocalist in the court of Swathi Thirunal. His compositions i ...

, born 1782 * Balaswami Dikshitar, born 1786 (Muthuswami Dikshitar's brother, sang Dikshitar Kritis) *

Shadkala Govinda Marar ( ml, ഗോവിന്ദ മാരാര്‍)(1798–1843), or was a Carnatic Musician from Kerala, India. He was a contemporary of Saint Tyāgarāja and Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. He was also adept in playing musical instruments like ...

, born 1798, Endaro Mahanubhavulu was sung by Tyagaraja after he heard Marar sing.

Vocalists - born between 1801 and 1900

Stamp of India - 1991 - Colnect 164183 - Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar - Singer and Composer.jpeg,

Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (19 May 1890 – 23 January 1967), popularly known as ''Ariyakudi'', was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of ...

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Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...

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Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer ( ta, மகாராஜபுரம் விசுவநாதையர்; 1896–1970) was one of the great Indian Carnatic vocalists. He won several awards including Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeetha Bhupathy. ...

Vocalists - born between 1901 and 1925

File:Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.jpg,

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day ...

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Madurai Mani Iyer Madurai Mani Iyer ( ta, மதுரை மணி ஐயர்; 25 October 1912 – 8 June 1968) was an Indian Carnatic music singer, who was famous for his unique style. He was one of the most highly celebrated carnatic vocalists during the fi ...

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M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) 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 ...

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Lalita Venkatram Lalita Venkatram (1909 – 1992), also credited as Lalita Venkataram or Lalitha Venkataraman, was an Indian Carnatic singer and veena player. She is credited as ''the first playback singer in Tamil cinema'' and ''the first Carnatic musician to ...

Vocalists - born between 1926 and 1950

File:MLVasanthakumari.jpg, M. L. Vasanthakumari File:Pandit balamuralikrishna.jpg, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna File:A still of Shri Trichur Vaidyanatha Ramachandran who will be presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Carnatic Music - Vocal by the President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in New Delhi on October 26, 2004.jpg,

Trichur V. Ramachandran Trichur V. Ramachandran(born 1940) is a Carnatic music vocalist. He received the most prestigious award of Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2012 from the Madras Music Academy. He was born in 1940 in Thrissur, Cochin State. He gave ...

File:T. N. Sheshagopalan.jpeg, T. N. Seshagopalan File:N. Lalitha Bhanu.jpg ,

N. Lalitha Bhanu Lalitha Bhanu was a Carnatic music, Carnatic singer. She has also sung a few songs for Malayalam and Tamil films as a playback singer. Early life Lalitha was born at Thiruvananthapuram, Trivandrum, Kerala, as the daughter of Narayana Bhagavat ...

Vocalists born between 1951 and 1975

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Sudha Ragunathan Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kalanidh ...

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Sanjay Subrahmanyan Sanjay Subrahmanyan (born 21 January 1968 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu) is a Carnatic vocalist from India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2015. Biography Sanjay Subrahmanyan was born on 21 January 1968 in Chennai ...

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Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma (born 13 August 1968), known colloquially as Prince Rama Varma, is an Indian classical musician and a member of the erstwhile Royal Family of Travancore. He is a Carnatic vocalist as well as an exponent of the Sar ...

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Vocalists born between 1976 and 2000

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T. M. Krishna Thodur Madabusi Krishna (born 22 January 1976) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, writer, activist, author and Ramon Magsaysay awardee. As a vocalist, he has made a large number of innovations in both the style and substance of his concerts, ther ...

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Sikkil Gurucharan . In 2020, he acted in a tamil anthology film, Putham Pudhu Kaalai. Early life Around 1987, as a 5-year-old, Gurucharan was casually coaxed by his grandmothers, the Sikkil Sisters, to sing some tune. After a little cajoling, he sang a popular f ...

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Saketharaman Saketharaman (born 24 November 1982) is one of the top performing musicians of Carnatic music in India. He is a prime disciple of Padmabushan Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. He started learning carnatic vocal from Late Srirangam Krishnamurthy Rao at th ...

Vocalists - born before 1800

Vocalists - born between 1801 and 1900

Vocalists - born between 1901 and 1925

Vocalists - born between 1926 and 1950

Vocalists born between 1951 and 1975

Vocalists born between 1976 and 2000

Vocalists - born after 2000

Other vocalists

References