Those who believed his music was a mix of imagination, spontaneity and verve, were proved right with his performance at Nehru Stadium on Thursday evening. Isaipuyal A R Rahman, kept the audience spellbound with his peppy numbers.

The concert brought together singers Srinivas, Unnikrishnan, Mano, Kalpana Raghavendar, Neeti Mohan, Drums Sivamani, BlaaZe, Shaktisree Gopalan, Karthik, Reihana and Shweta Mohan, among others.

Rahman entered the stadium in a decorated chariot, with his own composition Karma Veeran from Kochadaiiyan playing in the background. The enthusiasm of the crowd was contagious as they swayed to the music, expressing their happiness through whistles, throaty yells and thunderous applause. Vaanga Makka Vaanga from Kaaviyathalaivan was the first piece at the concert. Following this was the foot-tapping number Oorvasi Oorvasi from Kaadhalan. While it brought back a rush of heydey memories for the elders, it proved to be a fun song for the youngsters.

The enthusiasm soared among the crowd as they listened to Shweta Mohan sing Netru illadha maatram from Puthiya Mugam. She brought out the essence of the song in the straight-from-the-heart composition.
Narumugaiye from Iruvar, Kannodu Kanbadhellam from Jeans, Minsara Poove from Padaiyappa, Alia Alia from I, Maatram Ondru Thaan from Kochadaiiyaan, Aathangara Maramey from Kizhakku Cheemayile, Kalloori Saalai from Kaadhal Desam and Usurey Pogudhu from Ravanan… the melodies followed one another.

Unnikrishnan delighted the audience by singing Ennavale from Kaadhalan, the elegiac lines of which fluttered and settled dreamily over the audience.

A majority of the listeners were on their feet when BlaaZe presented Sa Re Ga Me from Boys. It drove the crowd to a wild frenzy as they brought the house down with their dancing.

Backed by a fantastic orchestra, the gentle violin rendition by Ganesh was soothing to the ears. The violin's strings, keyboard's chords, and drumbeats were infused into tabla tunes to conclude the piece beautifully. Under Rahman's guidance, the orchestra strove for perfect execution, playing some of the best film nusic.

The performance, spanning for two hours, captured the hearts of young and the young-at-heart, as they tried to figure out the lyrics of the instrumentals of popular compositions. The concert was part of the launch of News 7 Tamil.