MUMBAI: Shraddha Shree, the Delhi based winner of the inaugural edition of the Max Life Insurance i-genius Young Singing Stars (YSS) has been nominated in the `Best Pop Song’ category for her song ‘Khuda Mere’ at the upcoming GiMA awards to be held in Mumbai.

The nominated song has been composed by award winning music composer Gulraj Singh famous for the song ‘Pakeezah’ (from `Ungli’), and the lyrics have been penned down by Manoj Yadav of ‘Madari’ - Coke Studio fame, who also has various original Bollywood soundtracks to his credit including the smash hit- ‘Piku.’

The power packed performance of the Hindustani Classical trained Shraddha, even though just 15 years of age, has inserted herself into the conversation dominated by industry heavyweights like Sonu Nigam, Salim-Sulaiman, Bickram Ghosh and Yo Yo Honey Singh who have been nominated alongside Shraddha. Says Shraddha, “I’m overwhelmed beyond words to get my first ever music nomination. Thank you GiMA! Thank You, Universal Music and Thank You, Max Life for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to express myself. This nomination means the world to me. I’m such a huge fan of all the artistes that are nominated in this category that I’m truly humbled to even have my name alongside theirs. I cannot ask for anything more.”

Shraddha Shree was discovered in 2014, in the first edition of ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars,’ an initiative between leading music label, Universal Music India and Max Life Insurance, one of India’s leading life insurance companies. This focused on finding and nurturing talent and in supporting them to make their dreams a reality. Shraddha Shree was declared the winner in the closely contested ‘senior’ category leading to the release of her debut album ‘Shukriya’ under the Universal Music India label.

Commenting on this achievement, Max Life Insurance chief digital officer Manik Nangia said, “We at Max Life Insurance feel immensely proud to have discovered Shraddha Shree and to have given her the opportunity to live out her dreams. For her to be nominated alongside established and acclaimed artists, reaffirms our belief in the need to nurture the future stars of the country by giving them a platform like ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ to showcase their talent. We are delighted that we were able to play a small part in making the aspirations of an incredibly talented and gifted child come true.”

Speaking on the achievement, Universal Music Group South Asia managing director & CEO Devraj Sanyal said, “We have always treasured this programme and partnership with Max Life Insurance called ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars.’ The key differentiator continues to be what we ultimately do with the talent; helping them come closer to achieving their dreams as singers of the next generation. The fact that our season 1 winner is nominated for a GiMA alongside some serious heavyweights of the industry is the greatest ratification of that dream and it's greatly rewarding that that a programme that focuses on the music and the artist can get recognized at a national platform level. At UMGI this is our passion and vision and to see it come alive through a previously unknown 15 year old from Delhi is the greatest win as far as I'm concerned”