"Rowdy Baby"
Single by Yuvan Shankar Raja (composer) and Dhanush, Dhee (performer)
from the album Maari 2
LanguageTamil
Released28 November 2018
Genre
Length4:44 min
LabelWunderbar Studios
Divo
Composer(s)Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyricist(s)Dhanush
Producer(s)Dhanush
Music video
"Rowdy Baby" on YouTube

"Rowdy Baby" is a Tamil language song composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja for the soundtrack of the 2018 action comedy film Maari 2 and sung by Dhanush alongside Dhee.[1] The song was officially released on 28 November 2018 as a single from the film.[2]

Upon release, the song went viral and became very popular,[3] and its music video, released in January 2019, featuring the film's lead pair Dhanush and Sai Pallavi, broke several YouTube records, becoming one of the most viewed Indian songs of all-time.[4][5][6] Billboard listed the song in the Global Top 10 Music Videos of 2019.[7] According to YouTube Top Trending Music Videos, Rowdy Baby was the most streamed Indian video of 2019 and the seventh most globally.[8] As of 16 November 2020, the views on YouTube crossed 1 billion views, making it the only South Indian (and Tamil) cinema song on YouTube to achieve this feat, also the lyrical video of the song has garnered more than 99 million views on YouTube. This is the 20th most-viewed Indian video on YouTube.

Music video

The video see the film's lead pair, Dhanush and Sai Pallavi dancing to the tune in a set at the AVM studios in Chennai. Prabhu Deva was assigned to choreograph the song [9][10] along with Jani Master.[11] Sai Pallavi, who had participated in a dance reality TV show called Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva (transl. Who of you is going to be the next Prabhudeva?) 10 years before and was eliminated in the semi-finals, failing to meet him,[12] later recalled that through this song, she was eventually able to meet and work with Prabhu Deva, sharing a picture taken on the sets, which coincidentally was the same sets where the show had been shot before.[13] The video was uploaded on 12 January 2019 on YouTube, and had achieved lot of views due to its choreography and picturisation.[14]

Reception

Critical response

"Rowdy Baby" was listed as one of the year's best Tamil songs by musicaloud.com,[15] and in the Top 10 Tamil songs of November on Film Companion by Karthik Srinivasan,[16] who called it a "fantastic song, with a swinging African-style guitar and funky singing by Dhanush and Dhee".[17] Aarthi Murali of Silverscreen stated the song to be "cheeky, stupid, and of the best kind".[18]

Performance and records

The music video became a viral phenomenon upon release, breaking several YouTube records. Besides being the second fastest South Indian as well as Tamil language video to reach 100 million views in 17 days (Arabic Kuthu being the first in 12 days),[19] it was also the first to cross 200 million views.[20] On 8 February 2019, it crossed 179 million views, beating Dhanush's previous viral hit "Why This Kolaveri Di" to become the most viewed Tamil song,[21] before beating "[22] In August 2019, it was said to be the "first Tamil song to cross 500 million views".[23] On 16 November 2020, it crossed 1 billion views to become the first Tamil film song to achieve this feat.[4]

It was one of the two most streamed songs on JioSaavn.[6]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony Date Category Recipients Result
Filmfare Awards South[24][25] 21 December 2019 Best Dance Choreographer – South Prabhu Deva & Jani Master Won
Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil Dhanush Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil Dhee Nominated
South Indian International Movie Awards[26] 15 August 2019 Best Female Playback Singer Dhee Won
Zee Cine Awards Tamil[27] 4 January 2020 Best Choreographer Prabhu Deva Won

References

  1. ^ "Dhanush-Sai Pallavi's peppy song 'Rowdy Baby' from 'Maari 2' out—Watch". Zee News India. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ^ "'Maari 2' song 'Rowdy Baby': Makers release the first track from the film". The Times of India. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  3. ^ "India's Music Industry Charts Its Future as It Eyes Bigger Share of Global Market". Billboard. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Rowdy Baby hits 700M views". Dailyhunt.
  5. ^ "Yuvan's Rowdy Baby song from Maari 2 sets big records". Moviecrow. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b Kumar, Pradeep (19 October 2019). "'Verithanam' and 'Rowdy Baby' most streamed songs by Tamil music fans". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Daddy Yankee, Lil Nas X Had YouTube's Most-Watched Music Videos of 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Maari 2's Rowdy Baby with Dhanush and Sai Pallavi tops 2019 YouTube list in India". The Hindu. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Sai Pallavi on working with Prabhudheva in Maari 2: Life blesses you with something better". India Today. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Here's what went behind making the chartbuster Rowdy Baby". 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  11. ^ "NTR, Ram Charan' choreographer turned assistant for Maari 2". NTV Telugu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Maari 2 press meet: Sai Pallavi and Prabhu Deva go back a long way". in.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018.
  13. ^ "'Rowdy Baby' Sai Pallavi's photo with Prabhudeva on sets of dance show goes viral". thenewsminute.com. 3 January 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  14. ^ "In love with Sai Pallavi's dance in 'Rowdy Baby'? These videos are for you!". The News Minute. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Music Aloud Playback – Best Songs of 2018!". 30 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  16. ^ Srinivasan, Karthik (3 December 2018). "Top 10 Tamil Songs Of November". Film Companion. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Milliblog Weeklies – DEC02.2018 by Milliblog!". 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Rowdy Baby Lyric Video Review: The Good Kind Of Silly Stupid Love". Silverscreen. 28 November 2018.
  19. ^ "100 million views in just 16 days, Rowdy Baby sets new record". newsminute.com. 20 January 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  20. ^ "'Rowdy Baby' notches up 200 million YouTube views". The Hindu. 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Rowdy Baby beats Kolaveri Di, becomes most watched Tamil song on YouTube". India Today. 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Sai Pallavi's 'Rowdy Baby' beats 'Vachinde' on YouTube!". Sify. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019.
  23. ^ "Dhanush-Sai Pallavi's Rowdy Baby becomes first Tamil song to cross 600 million views on YouTube". India Today.
  24. ^ "Winners of the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Nominations for the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  26. ^ "SIIMA Awards: 'Sudani from Nigeria' wins Best Film, Trisha bags two awards". The News Minute. 17 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Zee Cine Awards Tamil 2020: The complete winners list". 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

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