| Dhee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dheekshitha Venkadeshan 26 June 1998 |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 2012 – present |
| Relatives |
|
| Musical career | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | maajja |
| Associated acts | |
Dheekshitha Venkadeshan (born 26 June 1998), known professionally as Dhee,[1] Australian - Srilankan playback singer. She has sung songs in Santhosh Narayanan's albums and has garnered a nomination at the Filmfare Awards for Best Singer.[2][3] She is known for her distinctive alto voice.
Early life and career[edit]
Dhee was born on 26 June 1998 to an Indian Tamil classical singer, Meenakshi Iyer, who later remarried Indian music composer Santhosh Narayanan. Dhee has an elder brother, Sudheekshanan and her biological father is Venkadeshan, a SriLankan Tamil. She was raised in Australia.
She began her playback singing career by performing songs in two of Santhosh Narayanan albums, Pizza II: Villa (2013) and Cuckoo (2014), during breaks from her education. Dhee made a breakthrough by singing "Naan Nee" from Pa. Ranjith's Madras (2014) alongside Shakthisree Gopalan. Her work on the song saw the pair garner nominations for Best Female Singer at the Filmfare Awards and Vijay Awards.[4]
She received critical acclaim for her work in Sudha Kongara Prasad's sports drama film, Irudhi Suttru (2016). Being used as the lead singer for Ritika Singh's North Madras-based boxer character in the film, Dhee recorded two solo songs titled "Ey Sandakaara" and "Usuru Narumbuley".[5] Behindwoods.com stated that the first song was "another classic Santhosh number that gets your attention in no time", while noting the "pathos song by Dhee is a revelation sorts" about the latter.[6][7][8]
Dhee later worked with Santhosh Narayanan in critically acclaimed albums including Kaala (2018) and Vada Chennai (2018), before collaborating with Yuvan Shankar Raja for the song "Rowdy Baby" in Maari 2 (2018). Singing alongside Dhanush, the film garnered popularity soon after its release. The song garnered more than 1 billion views on YouTube making it the highest viewed Tamil music videos and one of the most-viewed Indian videos of all time. [9][10]
Dhee made her debut as a pop singer, under the A.R. Rahman-helmed label, maajja, with "Enjoy Enjaami" featuring Arivu (from The Casteless Collective) on 7 March 2021. The song was produced by her step-father, Santhosh Narayanan. The lyrics were penned by Arivu.[11][12] The song was immediately popular, with the music video having gained over 100 million views and more than 3 million likes (as of April 2021) since it premiered on YouTube. "Enjoy Enjaami" is the first song to be released under maajja.[12] Dhee is currently preparing her debut studio album which is also being produced by maajja.[13] The album is expected to be released by the end of 2021 and will be largely made up of contemporary jazz songs, it will also mark her first English-language release since debuting in the (Indian) music industry. [14]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| TBA |
|
Singles[edit]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UKAsian [15] | |||
| "Enjoy Enjaami" (feat. Arivu, produced by Santhosh Narayanan) | 2021 | 5 | Non-album single |
As playback singer[edit]
| Year | Song title | Film | Music Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Disco Woman" | Pizza II: Villa | Santhosh Narayanan | |
| 2014 | "Enda Mapla" | Cuckoo | Santhosh Narayanan | |
| 2014 | "Naan Nee" | Madras | Santhosh Narayanan | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Female Playback Singer Nominated—Vijay Award for Best Female Playback Singer |
| 2016 | "Ey Sandakaara" | Irudhi Suttru | Santhosh Narayanan | Nominated—SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer |
| "Usuru Narumbeley" | ||||
| "Thoondil Meen" | Kabali | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| "Dushta" | Iraivi | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| 2017 | "Oo Sakkanoda" | Guru | Santhosh Narayanan | |
| "Gundelothulalo" | ||||
| "Rathina Katti" | Meyaadha Maan | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| 2018 | "Kannamma Kannamma" | Kaala | Santhosh Narayanan | |
| "Maadila Nikkura Maanutty" | Vada Chennai | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| "Rowdy Baby" | Maari 2 | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Won - SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer | |
| 2019 | "Vaanil Irul" | Nerkonda Paarvai | Yuvan Shankar Raja | |
| "Idharkuthaan" | Bigil | A. R. Rahman | ||
| 2020 | "Yedho Maayam" | Dagaalty | Vijay Narain | |
| "Manamengum Maaya Oonjal" | Gypsy | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| "Kaattu Payale" | Soorarai Pottru | G. V. Prakash Kumar | ||
| ||||
| "Rakita Rakita Rakita" | Jagame Thandhiram | Santhosh Narayanan | ||
| 2021 | "Uttradheenga Yeppov" | Karnan |
References[edit]
- ^ Laisram, Romal. "22-year-old singer Dhee's first single, Enjoy Enjaami, crosses a 100M views!". Indulge Express. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "Singer Dhee, looked cool at the premiere of 'X Men: Apocaplypse' at Sathyam cinemas in Chennai - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ R, Balajee C. (14 March 2016). "'Dhee' one to watch out for!". Deccan Chronicle.
- ^ "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare.com. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Irudhi Suttru Songs Review". Only Kollywood. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Irudhi Suttru (aka) Iruthi Suttru songs review". Behindwoods.com. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Irudhi Suttru- A sparkling album!". Sify.com. Retrieved 19 May 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Irudhi Suttru Music Review". Top10 Cinema. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Straight outta Madras: Tamil songs from 2018 that will teleport you to the city instantly!". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Dhanush-Sai Pallavi's peppy song 'Rowdy Baby' from 'Maari 2' out—Watch". Zee News. 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Santhosh Narayanan, Arivu and Dhee release 'Enjoy Enjaami'". The News Minute. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ a b Muralidharan, Kavitha (18 March 2021). "Listen between the lines". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "22-year-old singer Dhee's first single, Enjoy Enjaami, crosses a 100M views! Find out more..." www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Kumar, Pradeep (9 March 2021). "Enjoy Enjaami's Dhee: The 'Goli Soda akka' who now dares to dream". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Singles on UK Asian Music Chart:
- "Enjoy Enjaami": "Asian Music Chart Top 40: 26 March 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
External links[edit]
- Dhee at IMDb
- Dhee on Instagram
