Bathiya & Santhush (BNS)

Bathiya & Santhush (more widely known as BNS) are Sri Lankan Singers/ Songwriters/ Producers. They are a duo composed of Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman, who met while training at a music school in Colombo (training mainly under the categories of classical and show tunes). They are one of the most commercially successful music acts in Sri Lanka, primed in steady position for the last two decades.

Bathiya Jayakody, born on the 22nd December 1976, was educated at Ananda College Colombo while Santhush Weeraman born on the 5th September 1977 was educated at Royal College Colombo. Both of them have music running in their families and were exposed to music at very early ages.

Since the inception of BNS in 1998, they have released 8 albums and have had over 25 number one singles. Bathiya & Santhush are one of the biggest musical acts to hit the Sri Lankan musical scene since the 1990s, mixing Sinhala, Tamil, and English lyrics in their originals. They have also been pioneers in utilizing Hindi in their songs, collaborating with some of the top names in the Indian music industry to produce some of their biggest hits. With the release of their fifth mainstream album Sara Sihina – the 5th Element, Bathiya and Santhush became the only Sri Lankan artists to feature with Indian singers Hariharan (in the song Yaalpanamen) and Asha Bhosle (Dedunna Sedi).

For this unique concert, Up Close and Personal, Bathiya and Santhush are touring Australia and New Zealand along with the Umaria, Randhir and Ashanti backed by Band 2Forty2. After a break of almost 3 years since their last tour on the Australian shores, they are coming back with some incredibly emotive performances.