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Super Singer Junior – Thamizhagathin Chellakuralukkana Thedal (the search for the sweet voice of Tamil Nadu) – is a reality TV show hosted by Vijay TV,^[1] a popular Tamil channel of the Star Network, and sponsored by Bharti Airtel. It is a singing talent hunt for the children of age group 6–14. This is the junior version of the Airtel Super Singer show, which premiered in 2006. Auditions are held in various parts of Tamil Nadu, India. The show attracts many kids from all over the state and rigorous multi-level selection procedures are done in order to select the contestants for the competition.

Season 1

The first season of the show premiered in 2007 and was hosted by Chinmayi. Of the many kids who auditioned for the show, 25 were selected to go on to the stage show, which consisted of a variety of interesting rounds. The judges at the studio were K. S. Chithra and Usha Uthup. Krishnamoorthy emerged the winner after a hard fought finals with an equally brilliant Vignesh, who had an amazing flavor for folk. The other finalists were Saicharan and Aparna (who won against "Madhumitha Shankar" in the wild card round) who also gave a very tough competition.

After the show's conclusion, finalist Saicharan and semi-finalist Madhumitha Shankar went onto compete in seasons 3 and 4 of the senior version of the show. Saicharan was subsequently crowned winner of season 3 of Airtel Super Singer and chosen by music directors A. R. Rahman and D. Imman to sing in the films Godfather, Manam Kothi Paravai, and Saattai.

Season 2

The first episode of the season premiered on 15 July 2009, and episodes were telecast on Vijay TV between Monday to Thursday each week at 9:00pm.^[2][3] Children from the age of 6 years to the age of 14 years were permitted to audition to showcase their talent on Vijay TV's platform.^[2] Apart from gaining recognition from acclaimed names of the music industry and being a child singing icon, the show initially promised that its winner would be honored with Rs.25 lakhs in cash prize money.^[2] Later, the hosts in each episode of the top 25 performance rounds announced that the winner would win a Villa in Anugraha Satellite Town worth Rs.25 lakhs from its season 2 sponsor, Navashakthi Township and Developers.

Following playback singer Chinmayi's decision to quit hosting Vijay TV's Super Singer series earlier in the year,^[4][5] various television anchors including Divyadarshini, Sivakarthikeyan, Aishwarya Prabhakar, and Uma Padmanabhan, filled in to host the show at various intervals, and playback singer Divya appeared fairly regularly during the season as a replacement. Ananth Vaidyanathan returned as a voice trainer, and playback singer K. S. Chithra returned as a permanent judge of the show. Playback singers Mano, and Malgudi Subha also joined the show as permanent judges to replace Usha Uthup who quit the show.

A number of eminent playback singers and music directors appeared during the season as guest judges, including P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela, M. S. Viswanathan, S. Janaki, L. R. Eswari, Jency, Manikka Vinayagam, Unni Menon, Sadhana Sargam, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Suchithra, Harish Raghavendra, Madhu Balakrishnan, Sowmya, Annupamaa, Haricharan, Pushpavanam Kuppuswamy, Veeramani Raju, Charulatha Mani, Sunitha Sarathy, Ramya NSK, Srimathumitha, Shalini, Vinaya, Tippu, Mahathi, and Prashanthini. Stars from the senior version of the show also appeared as judges during the season, including former contestants Naresh Iyer, Anitha Karthikeyan, Nikhil Mathew, and Ajeesh, and permanent judges P. Unnikrishnan, Anuradha Sriram and Srinivas – the latter of whom introduced the winner, Alka Ajith, as a playback singer in the 2011 Malayalam language film, The Train.

Grand finalist Nithyashree, semi-finalist Srinisha, and semi-finalist Priyanka were introduced as playback singers in the 2011 Tamil language film, Avan Ivan. Runner-up Shravan R. Pratap was introduced as a playback singer in the 2011 Tamil language film, Paasakaara Nanbargal. These four individualsalso regularly performed throughout Vijay TV's Super Singer series. Nithyashree was later crowned runner-up in Indian Idol Junior (season 2), a reality TV singing competition that is being broadcast on the Hindi language Indian TV channel, Sony TV.

Season 3

The first episode of the season premiered on 17 October 2011, and episodes were telecast on Vijay TV between Monday to Thursday each week at 9:00pm. Children from the age of 6 years to the age of 14 years were permitted to audition to showcase their talent. Apart from gaining recognition from acclaimed names of the music industry and being a child singing icon, the show promised that its winner would be honored with a 3-bedroom townhouse worth Rs.60 lakhs from its season 3 sponsor, Arun Excello Home Pvt Ltd.

Auditions took place in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Trichy. Auditions for season 3 were judged by prominent playback singers and vocalists, including Nithyasree Mahadevan, S. P. Sailaja, Manikka Vinayagam, Pushpavanam Kuppuswamy, S. Sowmya, and Mahathi. All audition rounds were hosted by actresses Kalyani and Ramya.

The main competition performance rounds were hosted by Makapa Anand, Kalyani, and Bhavana. Playback singers K. S. Chithra, Mano and Malgudi Subha returned as permanent judges, and Ananth Vaidyanathan returned as permanent voice trainer.

Memorable Performances (season 3)

• 
  SSJ 01 Jeyanth: Namma Ooru Singari
  


• 
  SSJ 02 Rakshitha: Kanne Kalaimane, Shakalaka Baby, Uyire Uyire, Bairi Piya, Thode Badmash, Konjum Nilavu, Ninaithu Ninaithu Paarthal, Pottu Thaakku, Oyaayiye Yaayiye, Thoda Thoda
  


• 
  SSJ 03 Anjana: Songs
  


• 
  SSJ 04 Pragathi Guruprasad: Siva Sankari, Rukkumaniyae Para Para Para, Strawberry Kannae, All The Time, Mannavan Vandhaanadi, Poi Solla Koodhathu, Poraney Poraney, Thaye Yashoda, Sambho Siva Sambho, Chandralekha
  


• 
  SSJ 05 Aajeedh Khalique: Aaromale, Roja Roja, Po Nee Po - The Pain of Love, Uyire Uyire, Vande Mataram, Iru Pookal
  


• 
  SSJ 06 Anu: Poove Poochudava, Ada Ennaatha, Nee Paartha Paarvai, En ulle en ulle


• 
  SSJ 07 Sukanya: Ezhu Swarangalukkul, Swaasamey Swaasamey, Kavidhai Kelungal Karuvil, Elangaathu Veesudhey, Pookal Pookum Tharunam, Maiya Maiya, Snejithane, Anbe sugama, Unnai kanadha kannum, Soukiyama kanne, Oru dheivam thandha Poovea
  


• 
  SSJ 08 Akileswaran: Songs
  


• 
  SSJ 09 Yazhini: Pazham Neeyappa, Odi Odi Vilayda, Engeyum Eppothum, Chotta Chotta, Yenna Manam Ulla Ponnu, Othaiyila Ninathena Manavane, ChandraLekha, Nitham Nitham Nellu Soru
  


• 
  SSJ 10 Gautham: Ullathil Nalla Ullam, Sorgam Madhuvilae
  


• 
  SSJ 11 Rajaganapathy: Songs
  


• 
  SSJ 12 Sephy: Who's the hero, Porane Porane
  


• 
  SSJ 13 Malavika: Songs
  

Special Awards (season 3)

Special awards have been given to the top three singers and the wild card entrants.

Grand final contestants (season 3)

Finalists selected by permanent judges

1. SSJ07 Sukanya


2. SSJ04 Pragathi Guruprasad


3. SSJ10 Goutham

Finalists selected by public vote during wild card round

1. SSJ05 Aajeedh Khalique


2. SSJ09 Yazhini

Grand Finale Performances (season 3)

Grand finale was on 26 October 2012, evening at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium live from 6.30 PM and went on till 2 AM. A. R. Rahman was the special guest here among all the usual judges. The results were announced by 12.30 AM by A. R. Rahman and the title winner was Aajeedh Khalique and the 1st Runner up was Pragathi Guruprasad.

Grand Final Results (season 3)

The winner of the title 'Airtel Super Singer Junior 3' was Aajeedh Khalique, and second place was collected by Pragathi Guruprasad. The third place went to Yazhini.

Season 4

The fourth season of the Airtel Super Singer Junior show premiered from 31 March 2014.^[6] Children from the age of 6 years to the age of 14 years participated in the first leg of the auditions from across the state of Tamil Nadu.^[6] The show promised its winner a townhouse worth 70 lakh rupees from Arun Excello Temple Green Township,^[6] and 1 kilogram of gold would be presented to the runner up by NAC Jewellers. The show is hosted by Ma Ka Pa Anand and Priyanka Deshpande,^[7] and directed by "R.K".^[7]

The show was telecast on weekdays from 9:00pm,^[6] but once the show reached wild card entry rounds, the show was telecast on weekdays from 9:30pm. The grand finale on 20 February 2015 took place in Chennai at Thangavelu Engineering College,^[8][9] and was telecast live from 6:00pm onwards.^[9] Following the results being revealed at the conclusion of the finale, it was also announced that contestant Jessica Judes would donate any prize she won to Ceylon Tamil orphanages, a gesture that has not been made by any other contestant throughout the history of the show. At the conclusion of the finale, Spoorthi Santosh Rao won the Airtel Super Singer Junior 4 title and Jessica Judes won her placement as runner up of Airtel Super Singer Junior 4, ahead of the third placed finalist Haripriya, and fourth placed finalists Anushya, Srisha, and Bharath.^[10]

Finals

Top contestants

Spoorthi with Airtel Super Singer Junior Season 4 Trophy

Spoorthi Santhosh Rao (also known as Contestant SSJ03 Spoorthi) was born 3 April 2005, and 9 years old at the time of the show.^[11] Spoorthi is from Bangalore, and did not know Tamil until 2014,^[8] which she picked up during her time on the show's studio set. She studied in Sri Aurobindo Memorial School,^[11] and received musical training in light music from Narahari Dixit, tabla from Pt. Rajgopal Kallurkar, Carnatic music from Yashasvi Subbarao, and playback singing from Parthu Nemani. Spoorthi said she auditioned for the show because she liked Pragathi, the runner-up in the previous season of the show ^[8]

Spoorthi was selected as a direct finalist by the judges prior to the wildcard entry rounds, and was announced the winner of the fourth season of Airtel Super Singer Junior at the season's grand finale on 20 February 2015.^[10] As the winner, Spoorthi was awarded a Townhouse at Temple Green Township in Oragadam by the show's sponsor Arun Excello, worth 70 lakhs Indian Rupees.^{[citation needed]}

Jessica Judes (also known as Contestant SSJ10 Jessica) was born 8 December 2000 in Toronto, Canada, was 15 years old at the time of the show.^[12][13] The show's official website listed her other nicknames as "Jess" and "Jessi".^[12] She lived in Markham, Ontario and had to temporarily live in Chennai to participate in the competition.^[8][12] At the time of the show, she was studying at Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy,^[12] but her mother Mercy Judes,^[7] who had given up her job at IBM in Canada,^[7] kept Jessica away from school for a year so she could prepare for the competition.^[7]Ma Ka Pa Anand, the show's host confirmed that she was the first Eelam Tamil to make it to the finals.^[13]

Jessica was selected as a finalist after receiving the highest number of votes from the public during the wild card round, and was announced as the runner-up for the fourth season of Airtel Super Singer Junior at the season's grand finale on 20 February 2015.^[10] As runner up of the show, she was awarded 1 kilogram of gold by NAC Jewellers, one of the show's sponsors, but Jessica donated her prize for the welfare of Ceylon Tamil people, particularly to Sri Lankan Tamil orphanages and to displaced Sri Lankan Tamil people who have been staying in various rehabilitation camps in Tamil Nadu.^[14] Her gesture of donating entire prize money has not been made by any other contestant throughout the history of the show. The gesture prompted actor Suriya to invite Jessica to his residence,^[14] where he personally congratulated her for finishing as runner-up,^[15] lauded her generosity for donating her entire prize-money for the welfare of Tamils in Lanka and elsewhere,^[15] and presented her with a special gift from his actress-wife, Jyothika.^[14][15]

K. Haripriya(HP) (also known as Contestant SSJ01 Haripriya) was born 11 April 2001, and 13 years old at the time of the show. The show's official website listed her other nickname as "Ammu".^[16] She previously participated in the third season of the show, but was eliminated and did not reach the finals during that season.

Haripriya was selected as a direct finalist for the fourth season of Airtel Super Singer Junior by the judges prior to the wildcard entry rounds. She ended up in third place at the season's grand finale on 20 February 2015.^[10]

Anushya. K. (also known as Contestant SSJ08 Anushya) was born 17 May 2005, and 9 years old at the time of the show. The show's official website listed her other nickname as "Anu".^[17] She previously appeared as a contestant on Sun TV's reality TV singing competition, Sun Singer.

Anushya was selected as a finalist after receiving the second highest number of votes from the public during the wild card round.

Bharath K. Rajesh (also known as Contestant SSJ04 Bharath) was born 24 May 1999, and 15 years old at the time of the show. The show's official website listed his other nickname as "Bhagu".^[18]

Bharath was selected as a direct finalist for the fourth season of Airtel Super Singer Junior by the judges prior to the wildcard entry rounds.

A. Srisha (also known as Contestant SSJ07 Srisha) was born 14 May 1999, and 15 years old at the time of the show. The show's official website listed her other nickname as "Pinky".^[19] She previously appeared as a contestant in season 3 of the show but was eliminated prior to the finals in both seasons 3 and 4.

Srisha failed to receive enough votes from the public during the wildcard rounds, but the judges still chose to select her as a finalist at the conclusion of the wildcard round based on judge's scoring.

M. Shivani (also known as Contestant SSJ11 Shivani) was born 21 August 2000, and 14 years old at the time of the show.^[20] She attended The PSBB millennium school.^[20] The show's official website also listed her other nicknames as "Chella kutty", "Chella papa", "Chuchu kuttu" and "Pattu kunjalam".^[20] She received training from Vasanthi Gopal, and she previously appeared as a contestant on Sun TV's reality TV singing competition, Sun Singer.

After being eliminated from the competition, Shivani qualified as a wildcard entrant.

R. Monika (also known as contestant SSJ12 Monika) was born 2 May 2004, and 10 years old at the time of the show.^[21] She attended St. John’s Matriculation Hr. Sec. school, villivakkam.^[21] The show's official website also listed her other nickname as "Papa".^[21] She previously appeared as a contestant on Sun TV's reality TV singing competition, Sun Singer.

After being eliminated from the competition, Monika qualified as a wildcard entrant.

Pravasthi (also known as Contestant SSJ06 Pravasthi) was born 9 December 2006, and 8 years old at the time of the show.^[22] She attended Geethanjali Olypiyaad school.^[22] The show's official website also listed her other nickname as "Rhino".^[22] Pravasti previously won Zee Telugu's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs 2011, another reality TV singing competition, at the age of 4 years.

After being eliminated from the competition, Pravasthi qualified as a wildcard entrant.

J. Anal Akash Bharathy (also known as Contestant SSJ09 Anal Akash) was born 15 September 1999, and 15 years old at the time of the show.^[23] The show's official website listed his other nickname as "Akash".^[23]

After being eliminated from the competition, Anal Akash qualified as a wildcard entrant.

Angeline R. (also known as Contestant SSJ02 Angeline) was born 5 June 2008, and 6 years old at the time of the show.^[24] She attends Seventh day Adventist school.^[24] The show's official website also listed her other nickname as "Angel".^[24]

When Angeline was eliminated from the competition, she was given direct entry as a wildcard contestant as the season's youngest contestant.

Elimination chart

Performances

SSJ Awards Round & Wild Card Results (2 February 2015 – 6 February 2015)

• 
  Compere: Ma Ka Pa Anand & Bhavna Balakrishnan


• 
  Permanent Voice Trainer: Ananth Vaidyanathan
  


• 
  Permanent Judges: K. S. Chithra, Mano and Malgudi Subha
  

At the start of this round, television anchor and compere Ma Ka Pa Anand was congratulated by the cast for having been cast in 2015 as a hero in 5 Tamil films. It was also noted that he had recorded 5 separate songs as a playback singer.

This round was a celebration round for the wild card contestants and direct finalist contestants. Each of the contestants were given an award in a particular category, and were required to sing a song in the given category.

In the episode telecast on 4 February 2015, the results from the wild card round were released. Contestant SSJ10 Jessica was selected as a wildcard finalist after receiving the most votes from the public. Compere Bhavna Balakrishnan announced that Jessica received 1,391,881 votes from the public during the wild card round. Contestant SSJ08 Anushya was also selected after receiving the second highest number of votes (consisting of more than 1 million votes) from the public during the wild card round. The permanent judges were unsatisfied with this result and selected SSJ07 Srisha as a finalist also based on the judge's marks. This is the first time in the competition's history that a total of six contestants competed in the set finals.

The episodes telecast on 5 February 2015 and 6 February 2015 consisted of interviews, recaps of performances, and general information regarding each of the direct and wildcard finalists.

Grand Finale (20 February 2015)

• 
  Compere: Priyanka Deshpande, Ma Ka Pa Anand and Bhavna


• 
  Chief Guests: Dhanush, Sivakarthikeyan and Anirudh Ravichander
  


• 
  Judges: Manikka Vinayagam, Shankar Mahadevan, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Vinaya, Mahanadhi Shobana Vignesh, Sudha Raghunathan, T. H. V. Umashankar, James Vasanthan, Pop Shalini, Devan Ekambaram, Srinivas, P. Unnikrishnan, K. S. Chithra, Mano, Malgudi Subha and Ananth Vaidyanathan
  


• Performances:

Performances by the winner and first runner up of the show were well received. Contestant Spoorthi Santosh Rao's performance consisted of a flawless rendition of a sophisticated classical composition, "Ellam Inbamayam". Contestant Jessica Judes' performance consisted of a soulful patriotic rendition of "Vidai Kodu" in tribute to her native Ceylon Tamil people. Prior to the announcement of the results, it was revealed that Jessica Judes would donate any prize she won to Tamil orphanages in Ceylon. It was noted that no other contestant throughout the history of the show had made this type of extraordinary gesture to help Tamil people with all of their prize winnings.

Grand Final Results (Season 4)

Season 5

Super Singer Junior 5 will be aired from 26 November 2016 to 17 June 2017, every Saturday and Sunday 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The finalists were:
SSJ01 - Monika,
SSJ03 -,
SSJ04 - Prithika,
SSJ05 - Gowri, and
SSJ07 - jana

Gowri is a very talented singer. She was selected as the first direct finalist by the judges. She has also gotten more standing ovations than any other contestant in the season, as well as standing ovations for both of her performances in the finals. She is the queen of classical and western songs in the season. Her best performances include "Mona Gasolina" (Dance Hits Round) from Linga and "Ninaithen Vanthai Nooru Vayathu" (Kalathai Vendra Paadalgal Round) from Kaavalkaran, both of which she was awarded performer of the round for. Another of her outstanding performances is "Isayarasi Ennalum Naane" (Semi-finals), which was the song that got her into the finals as the first direct finalist, as well as "Vedham Anuvilum Oru Naadham" (3G Trio Challenge Round), which got her into the top 10. She also got appreciated by musical legend Srinivas and playback singer Chinmayi's mother for her rendition of "Vedham Anuvilum Oru Naadham". The second finalist was Bavin. His performance at the finals was his best in the competition. He also got standing ovations for both his performances in the finals. Prithika was the third direct finalist. She is the queen of folk songs and got appreciated by judges for her "Manvaasanai". Down the season she didn't restrict herself to folk. She tried western and melody and also got appreciated for those too. One of her best performances is "Senthoora"(Semi-finals) from Bogan. The fourth and fifth finalists were Monika and Dhanush, who got selected through wild card. Monika appeared in an earlier season, but got eliminated after reaching the Top 15. She could only reach the finals in this season. She was also the first one to get selected to Top 10. She was appreciated for singing "Marugo Marugo" in the Singing with Judges Round. Dhanush is visually challenged and he was praised by the judges for his efforts. He sings folk songs well. He got selected as a finalist by singing "Putham Pudhu Pattu" in the wild card round. He got one standing ovation in the finals.

At the finals, Prithika was the title winner and won a 40 lakh worth apartment. Bavin was the first runner-up, winning 5 lakh worth car as prize. Gowri was the second runner-up and got 3 lakh cash prize.

Memorable Performances:

SSJ01 (Monika) - Mannavan Vanthaanadi, Marugo Marugo, Chandralekha, Mariyamma Mariyamma, Alagu Malar Aada, Thulluvadho Ilamai, Nallathor Veenai

SSJ03 (Dhanush) - Putham Pudhu Pattu, Dandanakka Dandanakka, Ennama Ippadi Panreengale Ma, Engey Nimmadhi, Makka Kalanguthappa

SSJ04 (Prithika) - Senthoora, Thendral Vanthu Theendumbothu, Pandiyan Naanirukka, Aiyayo, Allegra Allegra, Nenjukulle, Muthukulikka Vareergala, Thulluvadho Ilamai, Kadhal Ara Onnu Vizhundhuchu

SSJ05 (Gowri) - Isayarasi, Vedham Anuvilum Oru Naadham, Mayya Mayya, Mona Gasolina, Ninaithen Vanthai, Oru Dheivam Thantha Poovae, Minsaara Poovae, Singara Velane Deva, Thoodhu Varuma, Yaaro Yaarukkul Ingu Yaaro, Athiradi Karan

SSJ07 (Bavin) - Uyirum Neeyae, Aadal Kalaiye, Ilaya Nila, Ullathil Nalla Ullam, Naan Autokaran, Antha Aarabi Kadaloram, Hey Vetri Velaa, Ilamai Itho Itho

References

External links

• Official Super Singer Junior Forum