Max Life Insurance launches i-genius Young Singing Stars with Universal Music

Max Life Insurance has announced the launch of ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ in association with Universal Music Group. I-genius Young Singing Stars aims to recognize, reward and nurture young singing talent in the country.India’s musical sensations Salim Merchant and Shraddha Sharma are the brand ambassadors and jury for this programme. The participation for i-genius Young Singing Stars is open to all children from 8 years to 15 year of age in two categories: i-genius Junior - 8 – 11 yrs and i-genius Senior - 12-15 yrs.

The fourth edition of i-genius Scholarship also culminated today with the 1,000 winners being rewarded at the i-genius ScholarshipGrand Finale which aims to recognize and reward children who excel not just in academics but also in extracurricular activities. Scholarships around Rs.50Lakh were announced. A total of 100 Scholarships and 900 merit certificates were given away in two categories---i-genius Juniors (Classes 3 to 5) and i-genius Seniors (Classes 6 to 8).

Shashwat Gupta from the senior category and Parinita Priyadarshi from the junior category were awarded the top scholarships of Rs.10 lakh each.

Speaking on this occasion, Rajesh Sud, CEO and Managing Director said, “Max Life Insurance aspires to build a better future for India. With this vision engraved deep within our hearts we had launched the i-genius programme back in 2010. We are glad that this property has become a legacy and we have been able to reach out and support the young talent in India through this unique programme. Since its inception, we have reached out to over 20 lakh children across the country through our i-genius programme and we hope to continue to contribute towards nurturing the imagination of the young minds.  Last year we added i-genius Young Authors Hunt which culminated in a book of stories of top 50 young authors. The success of i-genius scholarship and Young Authors Hunt motivated us to add yet another chapter to our i-genius programme. We feel privileged to announce the launch of our i-genius Young Singing Stars.”

Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance added, “The creative potential of youth is vast and we feel privileged to be able to support their talents. Today we have come to a successful conclusion to the 4th edition of i-genius Scholarship for which we received an overwhelming 1.25 lakhentries from across the country from children with all round talent in the areas of sports, music, dance, writing, knowledge etc. Extremely high in quality, it has been a difficult journey for the judges to evaluate and choose from.”

“This overwhelming response we have receivedto all our i-genius initiatives in the past has prompted is to extend the programme in the field of music. Thei-genius Young Singing Starshas been designed to support the immensely talented young singers of India. ” she further added.

DevrajSanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music Groupsaid, “Music is the one thing that binds us at an emotional level above all. The talent that we're seeing in the young kids is pretty exceptional and we are privileged to partner with Max Life Insurance and help run a talent hunt that will actually effect change and create a possible musical career for these young sensations. Our dearest artist friends Salim and Shraddha are working with us at nuturing  and mentoring some of the finest future talent that will be the eventual yield of the I-Genius Young Singing Stars programme”

The participation for i-genius Young Singing Stars is open to all children from 8 years to 15 year of age in two categories: i-genius Junior - 8 – 11 yrs and i-genius Senior - 12-15yrs, from government-recognized schools including private, public or national open schools/home schools all over India and also NRI kids, resident in India for the duration of the programme. The programme will run in four phases-:

• Phase 1:Interested participants canregister online at www.igenius.org or send an SMS to 5424243 and type ‘i-genius <Child First Name><Child Last Name>’orphysical registration forms available at all Max Life offices
• The above is to be followed by a one minute audio submission on IVR number +91 92500 32222 or via an online widget on www.igenius.org
• Phase 2: Digital Auditions will be held in select cities in each region through video-conferencing which will be evaluated by the jury
• Phase 3:20 selected kids will receive mentoring from the Brand Ambassadors
• Phase 4 (Finale):After receiving training from the mentors, the kids will perform at a grand finale event where 1 winner will be selectedfrom each group and will win an albumrecording contract with UniversalMusic Group and 4 finalists from each group will wina contract for a single song. Also 500 winners will receive CD Hampers as consolation prizes