When the opening bars of “Mukkala Mukkabala” rang out, the response was unmistakable: the crowd at Singapore’s National Stadium was ready to revisit A.R. Rahman’s 1990s hits. About 25,000 people attended the concert on August 31, 2024, where the composer and performer brought together songs from across his career.
The evening began before Rahman took the stage. Radio deejay Joakim Gomez and actor Jay Nesh warmed up the audience, splitting concertgoers into two teams named after Rahman songs: “Mukkala Mukkabala” and “Urvasi Urvasi.” They also led a Kallang wave and introduced local musician Shabir Sulthan as the opening act. Among the people spotted in the front row were former Singapore president Halimah Yacob and her husband, Mohammed Abdullah Alhabshee.
At around 7.30pm, Rahman opened with “Jai Ho,” from the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. He was joined by a 31-member group of singers, dancers and band musicians, including his son A.R. Ameen. Over the three-hour concert, the performance moved between current songs and popular Hindi and Tamil numbers, while Rahman’s 1990s Tamil hits drew particular enthusiasm.
Guest singers added to the mix. Playback singers Mohit Chauhan and Rakshita Suresh joined Rahman for “Nadaan Parinde” and “Minsara Poove.” He also introduced Ameen, then 21, as a “shy boy from Chennai.” The two performed “Ninaivirukka” together, joined by vocalist-composer Shakthisree Gopalan.
But the strongest audience reactions came with the first notes of “Mukkala Mukkabala” and “Veerapandi Kotayyile.” Those moments showed how powerfully Rahman’s earlier songs still connected with listeners in the stadium. The concert was not only a look back at familiar hits; it also brought together performers and songs from different parts of his musical career.
Singapore has been part of Rahman’s story for decades. The review describes this as his fourth performance in the country, following appearances at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2005, Marina Bay Sands in 2011 and Gardens by the Bay in 2014. It also notes that Singapore was the first country he travelled to outside India, in the mid-1980s.
By the end of the three-hour show, the evening had traced that long connection through music: from an opening song familiar to international audiences to Tamil favourites that prompted especially enthusiastic responses. For the crowd of about 25,000, Rahman’s return to the ’90s was a chance to hear those songs together, live in Singapore.
Source: Concert review: Crowd of 25,000 goes crazy as A.R. Rahman takes them back to the ’90s, The Straits Times
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