15th November, 2024
22nd July, 2015One of India’s leading life insurance companies, has launched the winners’ albums of the inaugural season of ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ in association with Universal Music Group. The season 1 of the talent hunt competition created history with 1.3 lakh entries across two age groups of 8 - 11 years and 12 – 15 years.
The top winners’ albums titled ‘Shukriya’ for Shraddha Shree and ‘Malanga’ for Shivam Ahuja comprise of all original compositions by award winning music composer Gulraj Singh who has given hits like Pakeezah (Ungli), while the lyrics have been penned down by Manoj Yadav of “Madari” - Coke Studio fame who also has various original Bollywood soundtracks to his credit, the recent being the smash hit - Piku. Albums and duet video featuring both artists is now available worldwide across all platforms.
A compilation album titled Classics Revisited, featuring the 4 finalists from each category, has also been released that includes a diverse mix of cover versions specifically crafted to bring out the individual skills sets of the finalists.
Max life Insurance also announced the launch of Season 2 of ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ which has kick started from 17th July, 2015. With the resounding success of the first edition, this year’s competition will include an additional category called Primary that will allow entries from tiny tots in the 4-7 year old age group. In the season 2, the star studded panel of the jury will once again feature prolific music director / singer Salim Merchant and YouTube sensation Shraddha Sharma along with Devraj Sanyal, musician and MD / CEO of Universal Music, South Asia.
i-genius Young Singing Stars, is an exciting national platform for aspiring and talented young singing stars, giving once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the children between the age of 4-15 years, have their voices heard by industry stalwarts and the grand gratification of prestigious record deal with the Universal Music Group.
Speaking on this occasion, Rajesh Sud, CEO & Managing Director, Max Life Insurance said, “We feel privileged and excited to announce the second season of i-genius Young Singing Stars. The tremendous response and success of “Season 1” has not only motivated us but also made us realize that there is hidden young talent in India that has even crossed age barriers. Hence, this year we have introduced a new category called ‘Primary’ that will take the talent hunt competition to the next level. We are glad that through this initiative, we are helping young kids to pave their way to their dreams and bright future.”
Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance added, “Today, we have come to a successful conclusion to the 1st edition of ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ and the response to the last edition overwhelmed us. We are hopeful that this season will also witness stupendous response from the young talent. We also look forward to many more seasons of i-genius Young Singing Stars.”
Speaking about the event, Mr. Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music & EMI Music, South Asia said,“We started this journey with our partners Max Life Insurance almost a year ago with a great belief that we will be able to find some amazing talent. Our expectations were surpassed and Shivam Ahuja & Sharddha Shree are the proof of that belief. We have nurtured, developed and put together their debut music album. I am extremely proud to announce the launch of their albums and in my career in the music industry this is perhaps the best debut album from such young talented kids. It also gives me immense pleasure to announce the second edition of the Young Singing Stars and we are committed to making Max Life Insurance i-genius Young Singing Stars the leading platform for young talent in the country."
Salim Merchant, leading Indian music director and singer said, “Being part of the first edition was just another reminder about the amazing talent this country has. It has been an eye-opening experience to scout and nurture such deep-rooted talent within these children. With the launch of the album of the winners Shraddha Shree & Shivam Ahuja , true gems will be shared with the world. It gives me limitless joy to be instrumental in enabling the passion of these aspirational children to be brought to surface for everyone to see and in turn motivate other children to chase their dreams. It gives me immense pleasure to be part of the 2nd edition of Young Singing Stars and have no doubt that this year will raise the benchmark set by the last season."
Shraddha Sharma, singer and YouTube sensation said, “During the first edition of the programme, I connected with many talented children who I saw as a mirror to myself experiencing their emotions first hand. The talent that was showcased on this platform amazed me. As I mentored, I can honestly say that the more I gave, the more I received. Working with Salim and such talent has taught me a great deal and it was an amazing experience to mentor and learn from them at the same time. With the release of the album of Winners Shraddha Shree & Shivam Ahuja, the response the program received during the first edition will only be magnified and I’m more than certain that the 2nd edition will open up opportunities ten-fold for all of the talented children out there urging a platform to showcase their talent.”
If you would like to take part in i-genius Young Singing Stars Season 2 here’s what you need to do.
The participation for i-genius Young Singing Stars Season 2 is open to all children from 4 years to 15 years of age in three categories: i-genius Primary- 4-7 yrs, i-genius Junior - 8 – 11 yrs and i-genius Senior - 12-15 years from all over India. The programme will run in four phases-:
