Krishnaraj was born on 25 December 1951 in Vembadithalam village in Salem district, to Varadhammal and A. Ramasamy, with a background in weaving industry.[4] His parents were musically literate. Two of his five older brothers were involved in the music industry.[5][1] He completed his secondary schooling (1971) in Vempaditalam. After that, he was involved in weaving for 10 years. During this period, he learned to sing songs and play musical instruments based on “Kelvi Gnana”.[5] He worked as a member of the Salem Soundar Drama Group.[1] During the flower exhibition at Yercaud, he participated in singing contest and received first prize from veteran composer V. Kumar which led to his interest to sing in films.[5]

He joined Tamil Nadu Government Music College in Chennai and received gold medal from the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran.[5] His teachers were Nathashwara Vidhuvan Nadesan, P. Rajam , K. V. Narayanaswamy , R. Vedavalli , P. Krishnamoorthy, V. R. Krishnan, and Prema. In 1984, he received the Sangeetha Vidwan , Best Student Award from the music college, which was presented by the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Ramachandran. In the same year, he worked as an assistant to music composer R. Ramanujan for an unreleased film Arah. He sang songs for other composers at Hindu and Christian religious events. He also started looking for film opportunities.[1][6]

Krishnaraj gained attention for the song “Vellarikka Pinchu Vellarikka” in the film Kadhal Kottai (1996). He won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Playback Singer for the song “Thanjavuru Mannu Eduthu” in the film Porkkaalam.[7] He also received a direct compliment from former President of Singapore Sellapan Rama Nathan for this song. The song was played at Rama Nathan’s funeral in 2016.[8]

Krishnaraj died on 22 October 2026, at the age of 74.[3] His wife Mohanambal passed away in 2003 and had two daughters Jeevarekha and Geethapriya.[5][9]