iWorld
#fame announces Closeup Websinger Round 2
MUMBAI: Live video app #fame announced the launch of Round 2 of Closeup Websinger. This round will see Raghu Dixit as the theme mentor and Pritam Chakraborty, who makes his digital debut, as a maha mentor. The theme of Round 2 is folk fusion as the theme. Closeup Websinger is about sourcing the next big voice of Bollywood from the web.
Closeup Websinger consists of five rounds and the winner of each round with different themes will then compete for the ultimate title of the Bollywood Singing Jodi. The show also brings together some of the biggest names in the Bollywood music industry. Ace music composer, Pritam will be seen grooming and guiding the budding talent along with theme mentors; Raghu Dixit, Benny Dayal, Aditi Singh Sharma and Monali Thakur. Unlike other talent shows, the judges here will mentor the talented participants and hone their talent further to make them Bollywood ready.
Commenting on the hunt for the next folk fusion talent, Dixit said, “Folk as a genre forms an imperative part of Bollywood music. Through Closeup Websinger, I am searching for an artist that has a perfect blend of Folk and Bollywood music in the voice.”
This show has already announced the 12 semifinalists who will compete against each other to make it to the top 6 finalists. This was through a meticulous screening by Dixit and Pritam. The Top 6 finalists will then perform live every day on #fame – an app, to build their social following. They will sing, interact, and take requests from their fans and music lovers, thus getting their fans to follow them on the app. The finalists will urge their fans to like, share and comment their videos, etc, thus increasing their social scoring and chances to win the final battle.
Through this proposition, the music lovers can watch them perform anytime, anywhere on their mobile screens, without having them to tune into Television at a specific time. Lastly, this property beautifully l the power of social & digital through views, likes & comments based scoring, not just through SMS.
Watch the music videos of the 12 semifinalists on the official Close-up Websinger YouTube channel –
iWorld
Serena Menon Netflix’s head of PR exits, likely to join Prime Video & Amazon MGM
After seven years at Netflix, India PR chief moves to Amazon’s studio fold
MUMBAI: Serena Menon is turning the page on a seven year run at Netflix, stepping down as director, public relations, India to join Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.
Her exit comes shortly after Das moved on as head, brand PR, prime video Apac, signalling a wider shuffle within Amazon’s streaming communications set up.
At Netflix, Menon most recently led the India publicity team, shaping the streamer’s reputation in one of its most competitive markets. As director, public relations, India, she oversaw strategy, brand positioning and high impact earned campaigns for both homegrown originals and international titles.
Before that, she served as director, photo and av studio, asia pacific, managing creative teams across India, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The brief was ambitious: craft the story behind the story and strengthen title campaigns with compelling visual narratives.
Her Netflix journey began in 2018 as manager, visual communications, India. She later became India lead, photo and av studio, building the team from scratch and putting in place the processes that helped scale operations in a fast growing market.
Prior to streaming, Menon built her editorial credentials at Elle Magazine as managing editor and associate editor, leading film and lifestyle coverage while collaborating on brand led initiatives. She earlier spent over six years at Hindustan Times, rising through roles including staff writer, senior staff writer, principal correspondent and assistant editor.
With a career that bridges newsroom rigour and global brand storytelling, Menon now steps into Amazon’s studio fold at a time when streaming competition is only getting sharper. Her next chapter promises to be as closely watched as the premieres she once publicised.
