මිහිඳු ආරියරත්න
15 songs performed
Mihindu Ariyaratne (also spelled Mihindu Ariyarathne, මිහිඳු ආරියරත්න) is a Sri Lankan rock singer, guitarist and songwriter who first came to attention as the frontman of the band Nemesis and later built one of the most-streamed solo catalogues in contemporary Sinhala pop and rock. He is best known for the chart-topping single Yana Thanaka and for crossing between radio-friendly pop and harder rock across his career.
Ariyaratne joined the rock band Nemesis as vocalist and guitarist after finishing school, and the group won the best band category at TNL Onstage 2008. Their 2010 single “Chakithaya” became an early hit with Sri Lankan rock audiences. When Nemesis wound down around 2012, he stepped out on his own.
His solo breakthrough came in 2013 with Mrs. Perera, a single recorded with Kapilan and Samitha that became an island-wide hit. He went fully professional in music around 2015, a period that also produced Yana Thanaka, which topped most local charts for more than a year. A Tamil version of the song later drew praise from the Indian composer A. R. Rahman.
In 2018 Ariyaratne released his debut album Yathrikaya (යාත්රිකයා), marking his return to rock after several years of pop singles. The title track Yathrikaya and Athaharena both come from this record, which leans on the heavier, guitar-driven sound of his Nemesis years.
Alongside his own releases, Mihindu Ariyarathne has worked widely as a playback and theme-song vocalist for television and film, work that earned him a Best Background Singer in a Tele Drama award in 2018. His teledrama theme songs include Raane (Wes Teledrama Theme Song) and the Wes Part 2 Teledrama Theme Song.
Ariyaratne is one of the artists who carried Sri Lankan rock into the streaming era, with songs such as Yana Thanaka and Anawakiyak accumulating millions of plays. His range, from polished pop ballads to rock built around his own guitar work, has kept his catalogue popular with younger listeners at home and across the Sinhala diaspora. Lyrics-lk hosts his songs with Sinhala lyrics alongside English translation and meaning.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Mihindu Ariyaratne.