Original Music, Fresh Talent and Big Dreams take centre-stage as King, Aastha Gill, Aditya Rikhari and Parmish Verma find India’s next singing sensation on Amazon MX Player’s latest - I-POPSTAR! Trailer Out Now!

Amazon MX Player today unveiled the trailer of its weekly music reality series I-POPSTAR, a one-of-a-kind independent music talent hunt that celebrates originality and creativity. The show brings together 12 budding musicians from across the country, performing Pop, Rap, EDM, Rock, and R&B, infused with regional flavours from Hindi, Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Gujarati. Over six weeks, 25 contestants will battle it out through auditions, with 12 making it to the Gala Rounds, culminating into the Grand Finale, vying for the title of India’s first I-POPSTAR, celebrating India’s rich and diverse musical talent.

The show’s mentor panel reflects the diversity of India’s independent music scene. Mentors King, Aastha Gill, Aditya Rikhari, and Parmish Verma will guide contestants, evaluate their performances, and push them to explore new creative heights. Taking collaborations to newer heights, Amazon MX Player has joined hands with Warner Music and Spotify as music partners, setting the tone for a musical experience never seen before.

Speaking about the show, Amogh Dusad, Director & Head of Content, Amazon MX Player, said: "At Amazon MX Player, we’ve always aimed to bring bold, disruptive formats that resonate with our audiences. I-POPSTAR is a celebration of independent music that captures creativity, originality, and talent from across the nation. It’s high-energy, unpredictable, and emotionally engaging. With our incredible mentors guiding the journey, viewers can expect an unfiltered, thoroughly entertaining experience that is both uniquely Indian and universally relatable."

Mayank Yadav, CEO & Co-founder, Rusk Media shared, “At Rusk Media, we’ve always believed in giving young creators the space to showcase their originality. With I-POPSTAR, we’re bringing together India’s diverse music culture and offering a platform that celebrates fresh voices and bold new sounds. This show is about more than competition; it’s about shaping the future of independent music in India.”

The mentors shared their excitement about guiding the next generation of Indian musicians, King remarked, “I-POPSTAR is where raw talent meets opportunity. Every contestant brings something special and being able to mentor them as they push boundaries and explore their creativity, originality and a strong audience connect is incredibly rewarding."

Aastha Gill added, "What excites me the most about I-POPSTAR is the originality of the music. Every performance feels fresh, full of energy, and packed with new ideas. It’s inspiring to watch them grow and connect with the audience."

Aditya Rikhari shared, "I-POPSTAR isn’t just a show, it’s a journey of learning, experimenting, and growing as an artist. Being part of something that champions creativity and gives space to the next generation of independent voices in India means a lot to me. It also brings back memories of my own journey as an artist and how much this path continues to teach me."

Parmish Verma said, "I-POPSTAR is about expression, experimentation, and most importantly, pushing limits. The contestants are fearless, and it’s thrilling to watch them evolve week by week. This show gives them the platform to discover and own their true voice.”

I-POPSTAR will stream starting 18th October for free on Amazon MX Player, across mobile, Connected TVs, the Amazon shopping app, Prime Video, Fire TV, and Airtel Xtreme.

Trailer Link: https://youtu.be/XnaQQdxpHRo

About Amazon MX Player

Amazon MX Player is India’s leading free, premium, ad-supported entertainment service. It offers a diverse range of award-winning web series, reality shows, popular international shows and a massive movie library across multiple genres. With a strong focus on original content, Amazon MX Player has launched some of the largest shows in India, which includes Ek Badnaam Aashram, Campus Diaries, Jamnapaar, Half CA, Bhaukaal, Raktanchal, Dehati Ladke, Who’s your Gynac, Sixer, Hip Hop India, Hunter – Tootega Nahi Todega and more. Amazon MX Player also offers a rich selection of international content dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu under MX Vdesi, featuring popular shows like Daydreamer, Gangnam Beauty, My Girlfriend Is An Alien, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, Our Story, and more. The service has won multiple national and international awards for its award-winning content and marketing innovations. Amazon MX Player is committed to entertaining audiences with over 100 new shows through its compelling content slate spanning multiple genres catering to the taste of viewers across age groups.

About Amazon

The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in enables customers across India to shop for millions of products, make payments with Amazon Pay, and watch free entertainment content with Amazon MX Player.

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon Advertising, Amazon Prime, Prime Video, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

 About Rusk Media

Rusk Media is a full-stack, Gen-Z/A-first digital entertainment company that conceives, produces, and distributes content across social and OTT platforms. Since inception, the company has produced and released over 50 seasons across 20+ titles across fiction, unscripted/reality & Live, owning most of the IPs created in the process. Some of Rusk's notable unscripted & live IPs and productions include Battleground (20M+ viewers; ranked #4 in India via Ormax), Playground S4 (13M+ viewers; ranked #2 in India via Ormax), Engaged (1M+ viewers; #1 show on JioHotstar Sparks in Feb ‘25), The Society (1M+ viewers; #1 show on JioHotstar Sparks in Sept ‘25), Hafta Vasooli, Truth or Trouble (live on Hotstar), Made in India, I-Popstar, Community and more. In the scripted space, Rusk Studios delivers shows including School Friends (5M+ views; Ormax #3 in India), Couple Goals, Heartbeats, Dude, Date with Senior, Delhi vs Mumbai, and Roomies (3 seasons), among others.

Rusk’s own distribution includes 40+ pages/channels that it owns across major social media platforms (Meta, Snap, Youtube, etc.), and its own platforms: Rumble (B2B) and Alright App (B2C), generating close to 1 Billion views per month through its own content.  

Rusk Media maintains full-stack capabilities — from ideation and production to distribution and monetization. Its content is deployed across social and OTT platforms, with a mobile-first strategy designed to captivate young viewers.