Kanneriyana by Godwin Annie Jaison

Kanneriyana arrived from the Kanneriyana album and quickly became one of the most replayed tracks of 2020. What makes Kanneriyana musically distinctive is the composition by Godwin Annie Jaison, which balances simplicity with depth.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Kanneriyana, Godwin Annie Jaison clearly belongs in the second group. The song is tied to a talented ensemble cast, whose presence gives Kanneriyana a visual dimension that fans of the film will always associate with it.

Released in 2020, it arrived at a time when Malayalam music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. There is a quality to Kanneriyana that makes it feel like company — the kind of song you put on when words feel insufficient.

Running to 4:27, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Kanneriyana has earned its place in the catalogue of Malayalam music that genuinely matters. The listeners who found it early already knew.