As Nanban audio promos already a rage on the internet,

Here is a short tribute to 2011's most prolific Music Director of the Year. 

2011 is an important year for Tamil music industry. It has seen the emergence of a number of young musicians and talents to the fore -- GV Prakash, Anirudh, Thaman, Vijay Antony, Sharreth, Prakash Nikki, Ghibran, Sathya, and many more. Everyone of them made a strong impression in 2011. However, Harris Jayaraj in his own inimitable style made 2011 his own by focusing on quality over quantity.

Most popular song of 2011, Ennamo Edho, had set a new record by staying at #1 position for 175 straight days on most of the music charts. Engeyum Kadhal released in 2010 was rated as one of the best all-round musical hits that continued its dominance well into 2011, even though the movie bombed badly at the Box Office. 7aum Arivu songs came under a lot of criticism from music reviewers and fans. But in the end, 7aum Arivu songs' reach and penetration were comparable to other popular hit songs that were released during the year. We will take this opportunity to share a few unknown facts and squash some myths along the way.

Harris is one of the most expensive music directors in India

Harris Jayaraj is one of the the highest paid music directors in India (not taking AR Rahman, who is now an international star, into consideration). Harris salary per movie, all inclusive of instruments and other costs, roughly add up to 3 Crores. The reason why Producers and Directors are willing to pay the premium is because Harris Jayaraj's success rate of his movies is roughly 70% -- This is the highest in the industry among music directors.

Harris gives more importance to script and directors rather than top heroes

Harris decision to select a movie is primarily based on script and the rapport he shares with the director. He is crystal clear in his decisions and never regrets declining movie opportunities from all leading heroes. For example, Some of the notable movies declined by Harris are Dasavatharam, 4 out of last 6 Vijay movies, 2 out of last 3 Ajith movies. He is extremely disciplined in his choice of movies and directors find it very difficult to convince him otherwise.

Harris doesn't experiment is one of the common complaints

Harris knows his strengths and weaknesses clearly. That's why Harris is the only Music Director who has not sung in his own composition since he would not compromise on the end quality. Harris Jayaraj once confided that he prefers melody numbers over other genre of music. When he tried to put his best attempt in creating a 'kuthu' song in "Anjalai" for Vaaranam Aayiram, he ended up creating a melodious track with ethereal quality and went on to become a major hit. Also, he is not particular about doing various genres of movies just for the sake of trying out something different. You would not find Harris accepting off-beat movies and Socio-Political movies which he has openly agreed as not being in his comfort zone. 

Harris Pipeline of Movies is more promising than ever before

Harris has the best pipeline of movies in terms of total commercial value associated with it -- Nanban, Maatraan, Thupaaki, Irandam Ulagam and also rumored to work for Rajni's next movie under Eros. In addition to these big movies, he makes it a point to work on medium budget movies such as OKOK for Director Rajesh and Jiiva's new movie with Director Ahamed where he can experiment within commercial boundaries.

Harris is next only to AR Rahman in winning popular music Awards

Harris Jayaraj broke Rahman 9 year Filmfare award streak by winning the prestigious award for Minnale. Harris has 5 Filmfare awards to his credit during the last 10 years. He has won a number of state awards, BigFM, Vijay, Mirchi Music and many other awards. Insiders are confident that he will take home another Filmfare award again this year. 

With competition intensifying day-by-day with a lot of fresh talents entering the music scene, fans have been constantly raising their expectations. With a number of prominent big budget movies waiting to release in 2012, stay tuned to witness Harris step up to the plate and whip out some big winners.