Ilaiyaraaja knew about Janaki's vocal range and versatility when he worked with G K Venkatesh. When he got a chance to compose music for his debut film Annakkili (1976) he made Janaki sing 3 songs which became immensely popular thus beginning an era in Tamil cinema. This combination churned out hits after hits pushing S Janaki to the numero uno position for at least the next 2 decades. S Janaki won 4 state awards in Tamil in his compositions. He explored her voice in wide variety of songs and she became the first choice for songs with village background.