Meet Sublahshini, the girl behind trending Tamil track ‘Golden Sparrow’

Singer Sublahshini
| Photo Credit: Special ARrangement

As on date, the song ‘Golden Sparrow’, from the soon-to-be released Dhanush-Priyanka Mohan starrer Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam, has 18 million views and 4,200 odd comments on YouTube. The discourse it has caused on X (formerly Twitter) has divided Gen Z and a pre-Y2K generation deeply, with both parties contesting about who brought out better music. Conclusions are still up in the air, but 24-year-old musician Sublahshini behind the song, takes delight in a confession.

“I’ve read nearly all the comments. The first set were obviously directed towards [actor] Priyanka Mohan. Over time, I saw some that claimed to like my voice. This is a huge moment,” says the singer who has sung the number along with the likes of Dhanush and rapper Arivu, for music director GV Prakash Kumar.

For someone who grew up insecure about her deep voice, a viral song like this feels like validating her early years. “My parents disconnected the cable connection at home the year I was born to ensure that my brother and I studied well. As a consequence, I had no choice but to turn to the radio. I listened to music every minute that I was free, but I noticed that the women always hit the high notes that I never could. I instead sang the male parts for many years to compensate. I’m glad people like Adele, Bombay Jayashri and Usha Uthup existed. They taught me that a variety of voices could sing but it was always difficult to be confident about singing. All I need to do is adjust my pitch,” she says.

Although this is her first playback number, the young artiste has recorded and released several independent songs. Instagram has been her choice of platform to put out music, particularly English covers. Music producer and singer-songwriter Ritviz’s repost of her music helped her profile get visibility back in the day, she says. She adds that she won a contest and received the opportunity in 2020 to sing ‘Kanaa’, a song produced by Indian music producer Nucleya.

Singer Sublahshini
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

However, it was a one-minute song, ‘Kaathadi’, made with Anand Kashinath during the pandemic in 2021, that was a hit. “I’ve always been a fan of Dulquer Salman because.. well.. look at him. But when he mentioned liking ‘Kaathadi’ during an interview, I was on cloud nine.”

Sublahshini, who loves puns, wanted to add a spin to what she calls a once-cringe Instagram handle. It is why she tried to play with her name and create a new identity. This has stuck and helped her carve not just a niche in the music space, but also take a break from her day job as a human resources professional to focus on music exclusively. “An English album has been in the works for a while. I’m excited to put out my independent music after a while, hopefully by the end of the year,” she says.

For now though, she is basking in the golden glory of her sparrow song.