Musical notes of 2008

Here's a quick rewind on what tunes hit the high notes last year.

It just seems like yesterday when we all woke up groggily late in the morning after a night-long celebration to usher in 2008 and now here we are trying to look back at that very year! It was a mixed year for music, with more failures than successes in the final countdown. It is interesting to note that the successes were more spectacular, some even path-breaking in their own right. Here's a quick recap of the hits of 2008.

The year of Rahman

Shedding his habit of working on just a couple of major Bollywood scores per year, A. R. Rahman whetted the appetites of legions of his fans with 5 varied and versatile soundtracks. His music in Jodhaa Akbar, Ada, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Yuvvraaj and Ghajini showed that he is still a cut above the rest.

His command of melody, rhythm and recording technique is simply amazing and he seems to have perfectly understood the pulse of popular contemporary music. With international accolades coming in for his music in the British production Slumdog Millionaire, this modern musical genius is undoubtedly the top-gun of 2008.

Other composers

Vishal-Shekhar capped a busy year with a hit score in Dostana. With big banners like Yashraj and Dharma Productions in their kitty, this talented duo is definitely gunning for the top spot. Even when films like Tashan and Bachna Ae Haseeno did not do well at the box-office, Vishal-Shekhar's soundtracks for them became popular.

Another duo – Salim-Sulaiman – have also hit the right notes with high profile successes like Fashion and the year-end superhit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

If duos can be successful, then why not trios? Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic music had just a few Lazy Lamhen (read modest success!) but their out-of-the-blue Rock On!!! proved a chartbuster on Indian and international circuits.

This out-and-out western rock music soundtrack with pure Hindi lyrics shook the purists off their perch but found a huge fan base among urban audiences. But their best work this year was Taare Zameen Par – a contemporary album with heart and soul. Even though, technically, it was released in the last week of 2007, the TZP music made most of its impact in 2008.

Composers like Shantanu Moitra (Welcome to Sajjanpur), Vishal Bhardwaj (U Me Aur Hum), Himesh Reshammiya (Karzzz), Pritam (Singh is Kinng, Kismat Konnection), Monty Sharma (Chamku) and Anu Malik (Love Story 2050) came up with interesting soundtracks with varying degrees of success on the popularity meter.

Some of the non-mainstream films like Aamir (Amit Trivedi), Dasvidaniya (Kailash, Paresh, Naresh) and Rubaroo had excellent music but few takers, thanks to these films' low box office profiles.

Singers

One fact that is emerging is that the current musical scene is not about a few major singers getting plum songs and hogging all accolades. Who could have imagined a year when industry's top singers Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal hardly made waves on the FM charts?

Sunidhi Chauhan still managed to get a few item-song hits under her belt and her Dance Pe Chance Maar Le is currently the flavour of the month. Alka Yagnik salvaged a forgettable year with a late-year hit Tu Muskura.

On the other hand, the success of unconventional voices like Farhan Akhtar augurs well for a host of new singers waiting in the wings. Composer-singers are doing well in their limited singing assignments and success of Shankar Mahadevan's Maa, Taare Zameen Par and Desi Girl; Reshammiya's Tandoori Nights and Vishal Dadlani's Jaane Kyun proved that.

Thus went 2008 – ushering in some new trends and talents! Let's see what 2009 has to offer.

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