Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Winners List of All Seasons: Winner, Runner-Up, Host and Year

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs is one of India’s best-known children’s singing reality shows and a popular sub-series of the long-running Sa Re Ga Ma Pa franchise. The Hindi competition was created to give young singers a national television stage where they could be judged not only on the strength of their voices, but also on sur, taal, expression, versatility and the ability to perform songs from different genres with confidence.

The Hindi edition premiered on Zee TV on 8 July 2006. Over the years, the programme has changed its hosts, judges, mentors and competition formats while keeping young vocal talent at the centre. Several contestants later built careers in playback singing, live performance and other music competitions.

Nine Hindi seasons have been completed so far. Sanchita Bhattacharya became the first champion in 2006, while Jetshen Dohna Lama won Season 9, which concluded in January 2023. This article covers the main Hindi series only; regional versions maintain separate winner records.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Winners List of All Seasons

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 1 Winner – Sanchita Bhattacharya

The inaugural season began on 8 July 2006 and introduced the L’il Champs format to Hindi television audiences. Playback singer Shaan hosted the season, while Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Alka Yagnik and Bappi Lahiri formed the judging panel. The competition quickly became popular because it placed technically demanding songs in the hands of very young singers.

Sanchita Bhattacharya emerged as the first winner. Diwakar Sharma finished as the first runner-up, while Sameer Mohammad was another member of the final three. The grand finale was held in October 2006, ending a season that established the children’s version as an important part of the larger Sa Re Ga Ma Pa franchise.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 2 Winner – Anamika Choudhari

The second edition was titled Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs International. It premiered on 19 October 2007 and expanded the audition process beyond India, inviting entries from young singers living in several countries. Aditya Narayan hosted the season, with Sonu Nigam and Suresh Wadkar serving as judges.

Anamika Choudhari won the title at the grand finale on 1 March 2008. Rohanpreet Singh finished as the first runner-up and Tanmay Chaturvedi was the second runner-up. Although the season carried the International label, its finalists were Indian contestants.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 3 Winner – Hemant Brijwasi

The 2009 edition premiered on 5 June 2009 and used a boys-versus-girls theme. Young presenters Dhairya Sorecha and Afsha Musani hosted the season, while Abhijeet Bhattacharya mentored the boys and Alka Yagnik mentored the girls.

Hemant Brijwasi from Mathura won the grand finale on 24 October 2009. Yatharth Ratnum Rastogi finished as the first runner-up and Shreyasi Bhattacharjee was the second runner-up. Hemant later continued his musical career and appeared in other televised singing competitions.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 4 Winner – Azmat Hussain

The 2011 season started on 3 June 2011 and carried the theme Music Ka Gurukul. Jay Soni hosted the programme. Adnan Sami, Kailash Kher and Javed Ali guided contestants as judges and mentors, and the season began with a large group of young singers divided into teams.

Azmat Hussain won the title after returning to the competition as a wildcard contestant. Salman Ali finished as the first runner-up and Nitin Kumar was the second runner-up. Salman Ali later became a major reality-show success himself, eventually winning Indian Idol Season 10.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 5 Winner – Gagan Gaonkar

The next edition premiered on 27 December 2014 and concluded on 21 March 2015. Aditya Narayan returned as host. Alka Yagnik served as Mahaguru, while Shaan led the boys and Monali Thakur led the girls as captains.

Gagan Gaonkar won the season, with Keshav Tyohar finishing as the first runner-up. Aishwarya Saha placed third, followed by Arunita Kanjilal and Ridham Kalyan among the leading finalists. The season combined team mentoring with audience interest in the individual contestants.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 6 Winners – Shreyan Bhattacharya and Anjali Gaikwad

Season 6 premiered on 25 February 2017 and became one of the longest and most talked-about editions of L’il Champs. Aditya Narayan hosted the show, while Himesh Reshammiya, Javed Ali and Neha Kakkar served as mentors. A 30-member Grand Jury was also used to score performances, bringing a broader evaluation system to the competition.

The finale was held on 29 October 2017 in Jaipur. In an unusual result, Shreyan Bhattacharya and challenger Anjali Gaikwad were declared joint winners. Vaishnav Girish finished as runner-up. The shared title makes Season 6 the only Hindi L’il Champs season with two official champions.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 7 Winner – Sugandha Date

The seventh season premiered on 9 February 2019 and concluded on 9 June 2019. Ravi Dubey hosted the edition, while Shaan, Richa Sharma and Amaal Mallik formed the judging panel. The season featured a strong group of finalists and placed considerable emphasis on musical range and polished stage performances.

Sugandha Date won the title. Mohammed Faiz finished as the first runner-up and Pritam Acharya was the second runner-up. The grand finale also featured a large symphony orchestra, giving the final performances a more elaborate musical setting.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 8 Winner – Aryananda R Babu

Season 8 premiered on 29 February 2020 and was hosted by Manish Paul. The judging line-up initially included Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu; later, Himesh Reshammiya and Javed Ali joined the panel in place of Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu. The season’s broadcast was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to television later in the year.

Aryananda R Babu emerged as the winner when the season concluded on 11 October 2020. Ranita Banerjee finished as the first runner-up and Gurkirat Singh was the second runner-up. Aryananda’s consistency across classical, melodic and contemporary songs helped her secure the title.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Season 9 Winner – Jetshen Dohna Lama

The ninth season premiered on 15 October 2022 and continued until 22 January 2023. Bharti Singh hosted the show, while Shankar Mahadevan, Anu Malik and Neeti Mohan served as judges. Auditions were held in several cities and thousands of young singers were screened before the final television line-up was selected.

Nine-year-old Jetshen Dohna Lama from Sikkim won Season 9. Harsh Sikandar finished as the first runner-up and Dnyaneshwari Gadage was the second runner-up. Jetshen received the winner’s trophy and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, becoming the latest champion of the Hindi L’il Champs series.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Hosts Over the Years

The hosting role has changed repeatedly. Shaan presented Season 1, while Aditya Narayan hosted Seasons 2, 5 and 6. The 2009 edition was hosted by child presenters Dhairya Sorecha and Afsha Musani.

Jay Soni hosted the 2011 season, Ravi Dubey took charge in 2019, Manish Paul hosted 2020, and Bharti Singh presented Season 9.

Judges, Mentors and Grand Jury

The judging system evolved considerably. Early editions featured established playback singers such as Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Bappi Lahiri, Sonu Nigam and Suresh Wadkar. Later seasons used mentor and captain formats with artists including Adnan Sami, Kailash Kher, Javed Ali, Shaan, Monali Thakur, Himesh Reshammiya, Neha Kakkar and others.

Season 6 prominently used a 30-member Grand Jury alongside the three main mentors. The 2020 season saw changes to its judging line-up during the run, while Season 9 brought together Shankar Mahadevan, Anu Malik and Neeti Mohan. Despite these changes, vocal quality, sur, taal, expression, versatility and overall performance remained the core areas of evaluation.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs Format

The programme is a national singing competition for children. Auditions identify promising voices before selected contestants enter televised rounds. Depending on the season, singers may be divided into teams, mentored by judges, scored by a Grand Jury or evaluated through judges’ marks and audience voting.

Contestants perform film songs, classical-based compositions, devotional music, folk-inspired songs, romantic melodies and contemporary tracks. Duets, themed episodes and guest-special rounds are also common. As the competition progresses, eliminations reduce the field until the strongest contestants reach the grand finale.

The franchise has also produced regional L’il Champs editions in several Indian languages. Those programmes have their own winners, judges and season histories and are separate from the nine-season Hindi list covered here.

Final Words

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs has remained an important platform for young Indian singers since its Hindi debut in 2006. Sanchita Bhattacharya became the first winner, followed by Anamika Choudhari, Hemant Brijwasi, Azmat Hussain, Gagan Gaonkar, joint champions Shreyan Bhattacharya and Anjali Gaikwad, Sugandha Date, Aryananda R Babu and Jetshen Dohna Lama.

The show’s long history is also notable for the number of contestants who continued in music after their seasons ended. As of August 2026, nine Hindi seasons have been completed, and Jetshen Dohna Lama remains the latest winner after taking the Season 9 title in January 2023.