Krish (singer)
Vijay Balakrishnan, better known as Krish, is an Indian playback singer who has worked predominantly in Tamil films apart from some Telugu dubbed and Kannada films. He was introduced to the Tamil cinema as a playback singer by Harris Jayaraj in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu for the song "Manjal Veyyil". Following, he delivered hits in films such as Unnale Unnale, Pachaikili Muthucharam, Dhaam Dhoom, Bheema, Vaaranam Aayiram, Ayan, Kalloori, Vettaikaran, Sakkarakatti up to Dev. He has sung over 3,000 songs across all languages. Krish has also appeared in multiple films as an actor.
Early life & Career
Krish was born in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, but shifted to New York City after his father, a banker, had moved abroad on a posting. He thus shifted schools and spent 12 years in the United States. During his time in New York City, Krish worked as an Camera assistant on the sets of The Cosby Show and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, helping the teams conduct pre-production works. He also completed an acting course at the New York Film Academy and performed at the Broadway in a Walt Disney production of Aladdin, before arriving in Chennai, hoping to get a breakthrough in the industry as an actor.During the initial months of his return to Chennai, Krish participated in stage shows and cultural events as a singer and was recruited by composer Ganesh Kumar to sing a western song for an album. Ganesh passed over Krish's details to music composer Harris Jayaraj. Krish then made his playback singing debut in Tamil films by rendering the song "Manjal Veiyil" from Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, composed by Harris Jayaraj, alongside Hariharan. He subsequently collaborated with the composer on several other critically acclaimed songs including "June Ponal July Kaatru" from Unnale Unnale, "Sakiyae" from Dhaam Dhoom, "Oru Mugamo" from Bheema and "Adiye Kolluthey" from Vaaranam Aayiram. His work saw him garner multiple Filmfare Award nominations, as well as securing a Vijay Award for Best Singer. He has also featured as a lyricist, penning two songs for the romantic comedy Kandaen.
Film-makers from the Tamil film industry had offered Krish roles as an actor in their ventures, but he was insistent that he would only portray the lead role. He turned down the opportunity from K. V. Anand to play the well-received supporting role portrayed by Ajmal in Ko, though he later played a small role as himself in a song from the film. Producer Ibrahim Rowther spotted Krish in the song "Aga Naga" and offered him the chance of portraying the lead role in his production Puriyadha Aanandam Puthithaga Arambam. The film, a romantic love story featuring him alongside Srushti Dange, began shooting in late 2012, but was only released in June 2015. The film had a low key opening, and garnered negative reviews. In June 2015, he also released an independent six-track music album, with compositions by Vijay Ebenezer and videos featuring Nikesha Patel. He had worked alongside Ebenezer for two years for the project, with the song "Maaya" from the album being heavily promoted.
Personal life
Krish married actress Sangeetha at a private ceremony at Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai on 1 February 2009. The pair's daughter, Shiviya, was born in December 2012.Discography
;As singer| Year | Album | Composer | Songs | Notes |
| 2004 | Kadhal | Joshua Sridhar |
| |
| 2006 | Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2007 | En Uyirinum Melana | Deva | ||
| 2007 | Kalloori | Joshua Sridhar | ||
| 2007 | Pachaikili Muthucharam | Harris Jayaraj | ||
| 2007 | Unnale Unnale | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2008 | Buddhivantha | Vijay Antony | ||
| 2008 | Dhaam Dhoom | Harris Jayaraj | ||
| 2008 | Sakkarakatti | A. R. Rahman | ||
| 2008 | Vaaranam Aayiram | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2008 | Thenavattu | Srikanth Deva | ||
| 2008 | Guru En Aalu | Srikanth Deva | ||
| 2008 | Aayutham Seivom | Srikanth Deva | ||
| 2008 | Kulir 100° | Bobo Shashi | ||
| 2008 | Bheema | Harris Jayaraj | ||
| 2009 | Vettaikaaran | Vijay Antony | Edison Awards for Best Male Playback Singer Nominated-Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award Nominated-Vijay Award for Best Male Playback Singer | |
| 2009 | Muthirai | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2009 | Love Guru | Joshua Sridhar | ||
| 2009 | Achchamundu! Achchamundu! | Karthik Raja | ||
| 2009 | Odipolama | D. Imman | ||
| 2009 | Ayan | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2009 | Newtonin Moondram Vidhi | Vinay | ||
| 2009 | Jeeva | Gurukiran | ||
| 2010 | Mundhinam Paartheney | Thaman | ||
| 2010 | Goa | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2010 | Naayaka | Praveen Duth | ||
| 2011 | Aakasame Haddu | Anand | ||
| 2011 | Mankatha | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2011 | Kadhal 2 Kalyanam | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2011 | Aanmai Thavarael | Mariya Manohar | ||
| 2011 | Kandaen | Vijay Ebenezer | ||
| 2011 | Pesu | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2011 | Ko | Harris Jayaraj | ||
| 2011 | Aadu Puli | Sundar C. Babu | ||
| 2012 | Moondru Per Moondru Kaadhal | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2012 | Thuppakki | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2012 | Maattrraan | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2012 | Yuvan | Joshua Sridhar | ||
| 2012 | Meenkothi | Dheena | ||
| 2012 | Etho Seithai Ennai | Ganesh B. Kumar | ||
| 2012 | Kalakalappu | Vijay Ebenezer | ||
| 2012 | Nanban | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version | |
| 2012 | Vettai | Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||
| 2013 | Endrendrum Punnagai | Harris Jayaraj | Co-singers: Naresh Iyer, Krishna Iyer | |
| 2013 | Biriyani | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Telugu dubbed version only | |
| 2019 | Dev | Harris Jayaraj | Also singer for Telugu dubbed version |
;As lyricist
- ''Kandaen''