Max Life Insurance, one
of India’s leading life insurance companies has launched albums of the winners,
Tannishtha Puri (Junior category) and Maithili Thakur (Senior category) of
‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ Season 2 in association with Universal Music
India. Season 2 saw participation from over 1 lakh children across three age
groups - Primary- 4-7 years, i-genius
Junior - 8 – 11 years and i-genius Senior - 12-15 years.
The proud winner in the Junior Category, Tannishtha Puri,
launched her album entitled ‘Saawre’ and Maithili Thakur, winner in the Senior
Category launched her album ‘Ya Rabba’. Both albums were a compilation of all
original compositions by passionate entrepreneur turned music composer, Shameer
Tandon, who has worked with all living legends of Bollywood like Lata
Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle who lent their voices to his National Award winning
hit compositions like Kitne Ajeeb Rishtey, Hazoor E Ala (Page 3).
The Runners’ up album titled ‘Classics Revisited II’
featured performances from Chahat Malhotra, Sonakshi Kar, Chirag Kotwal, Chelsy
Behura, Keerthana Chandra, Arth Kumar and Harmanpreet Singh has also been
released. This album includes renditions of various covers that have been
harmoniously crafted in a manner that showcases each child’s vocal
strengths. The music on this album has
been remixed by renowned DJ and Music Producer- DJ AKS.
All three albums, ‘Saawre’, ‘YaRabba’ and ‘Classics
Revisited II’ are now available worldwide across all platforms.
The i-genius Young Singing Stars was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for aspiring and talented young singing stars between the ages of
4-15 years to be discovered. The brand ambassadors and jury for this programmed
were none other than India’s musical sensations Salim Merchant and Shraddha
Sharma.
Speaking on this occasion, Manik Nangia, Director and
Chief Digital Officer, Max Life Insurance said, “We are proud to give children
the opportunity to live out their dreams on a platform like the i-genius Young
Singing Stars. A national platform like this also provides the children to have
their voices heard by industry stalwarts with the ultimate prize of winning a
prestigious record deal with the Universal Music Group. As a company that
believes in securing the future of families, we are happy to be a part of and
also provide these young stars with a stepping stone to fulfilling their
potential.”
Speaking on this occasion, Devraj Sanyal, Managing
Director & CEO, Universal Music Group South Asia said " Our partnership
with Max Life insurance has been one that is very close to my heart and this
platform has been extremely rewarding right from inception. I-genius Young
Singing Stars is instrumental in reminding us time and again of the untapped
potential this country has, and I have nothing but admiration for these young
kids that have been discovered and rewarded through it. We are committed to
making top-notch music and the winners of the second edition, Maithili Thakur
and Tannishtha Puri, have been an absolute delight to work with and have
delivered beyond our expectations. It feels great to see the final product
coming to fruition in such great way and gives me immense pleasure to announce
the album of these two extremely talented kids along with the runners up.
Salim Merchant, leading Indian music director and singer
said, “The second edition has proven that i-genius Young Singing Stars is an
exemplary platform for finding talent from all over the country. This season we
saw an enormous pool of talent coming from all parts of the country. I feel
such pride in announcing the albums of winners of this season - Maithili Thakur
and Tannishtha Puri. It has truly been a great journey during which tough
choices had to be made but finally the top talent has emerged and shown us why
we made the right choice through their singing. I am extremely happy and
satisfied with what this season has produced."
Shraddha Sharma, Singer and YouTube Sensation said,
“i-genius Young Singing Stars, yet again, has shown us that age is never a
barrier. I have seen some of the best performances this season and it was such
a pleasure mentoring these kids. I could see so much determination from
participants of such a young age that it inspired me at every level. Every
finalist had their own story and these albums should motivate all other kids
out there to chase their dreams. It gives me immense joy to be able to play a
part in discovering and moulding these young kids to be the singers of the next
generation. "
About i-genius Young Singing Stars Season 2
The participation for i-genius Young Singing Stars Season
2 was 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 ran in four phases-:
Phase 1: Interested participants registered online at
www.igenius.org or physical registration forms were also available at all Max
Life offices
The above was followed by a one minute audio submission
on IVR number 92500 32222 or via an online widget on www.igenius.org
Phase 2: Digital Auditions were held in select cities in
each region through video-conferencing which were then evaluated by the jury
Phase 3:Selected kids received mentoring from the Brand
Ambassadors
Phase 4 (Finale): After receiving training from the
mentors, the kids performed at a grand finale event where one winner was
selected from Junior & Senior Group and won an album recording contract
with Universal Music Group and 4 finalists each from Junior & Senior Group
won a contract for a single song. 5 top winners from Primary group were
featured in a special music video. Additionally, 600 winners received CD
Hampers as consolation prizes.
About i-genius (http://www.igenius.org)
Max Life Insurance launched the annual i-genius
Scholarship in 2010 with a vision to promote all round talent among children.
It is corporate India's largest scholarship programme that has been able to
connect with over 20 lakh children in just four years and has awarded
Scholarships worth over Rs. 4 crore to over 5000 children. Last year Max Life
launched a unique initiative called the i-genius Young Authors Hunt, where a
book titled i-genius A Twist in the Tale with 50 best stories was published.
Max Life Insurance also anchors a unique parenting community on facebook with
over 3.64 Lakh members who engage regularly on various aspects of parenting.
About Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
(www.maxlifeinsurance.com)
Max Life Insurance, the leading non-bank promoted private
life insurer, is a joint venture between Max Financial Services Ltd. and Mitsui
Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. Max Financial Services Ltd. is part of the Max
Group, which is a leading Indian multi-business corporation, while Mitsui
Sumitomo Insurance is a member of MS&AD Insurance Group, which is amongst
the leading insurers in the world. Max Life Insurance offers comprehensive long
term savings, protection and retirement solutions through its high quality
agency distribution and multi-channel distribution partners. A financially
stable company with a strong track record over the last 15 years, Max Life
Insurance offers superior investment expertise. Max Life Insurance has the
vision 'To be the most admired life insurance company by securing the financial
future of our customers'. The company has a strong customer-centric approach
focused on advice-based sales and quality service delivered through its
superior human capital.
About Universal Music India:
Universal Music India Pvt. Ltd. (UMIPL) is a 100%
subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (UMG) and is home to record labels such
as A&M Records, Blue Note Records, Capitol Records, Capitol Records
Nashville, Caroline, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Emarcy,
Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Island Records, Machete Music, MCA
Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records,
Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group, Virgin Records, Virgin EMI Records.
UMIPL has an extremely rich Indian catalogue comprising
songs from classic Hindi and Regional Films, IndiPop, Bhangra, Ghazals and
Devotional. It’s enviable catalogue includes artistes such as Asha Bhosle,
AnupJalota, Bombay Vikings, Jagjit Singh, JoSh, Malkit Singh, Pankaj Udhas,
Panjabi MC, Raghav, MohitChouhan, Euphoria, Adnan Sami, Rabbi Shergill,
RahatFateh Ali Khan to name a few. UMIPL `film’ catalogue (the 2nd largest in
India) spans music from blockbusters such as Sholay, Qurbani, Amar Akbar
Anthony, ChoriChoriChupkeChupke, Devdas and Munnabhai MBBS amongst the numerous
jewels which symbolize the musical journey from the 70’s to date. On the
International music front, UMIPL are the clear market leaders with artistes
such as ABBA, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, Lady Gaga,
Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, The Beatles, UB40, Deep Purple,
Enigma, Norah Jones, Deadmau5, The Chemical Brothers, amongst host of others,
popular music icons and household names in India.
