Meet Sriya Lenka, the first Indian to make it big in K-pop
An 18-year-old from Odisha has become the country’s first K-pop artist. Sriya Lenka and Gabriela Dalcin, both from Brazil, will be joining the South Korean girl group Blackswan.
In an Instagram post, Blackswan’s label, DR Music, announced the addition of new members. Sriya and Gabriela were chosen after a six-month global audition process, according to the statement. After one of the members, Hyeme, left the girl group, the audition was announced.
Ms Lenka, who was born in Rourkela in 2003, has studied Odissi and other forms of contemporary dance. Ms. Lenka was introduced to K-pop by a friend a few years ago. BTS, Stray Kids, and The Boyz are among her favourite artists. Her grandmother, she previously told Odisha Bytes, assisted her in finding the right Hindustani classical vocal trainer. She had to rely on self-study from online videos for western songs. Because studios and dance academies were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, she prepared for the auditions at home. She converted her terrace into an open-air terrace and used it to film her audition videos.
In an email response to PTI, D R Music Entertainment (Korea) Director Philip Y J Yoon said that both Sriya Lenka and Gabriela Dalcin “showed us” positive energy. He was quoted as saying, “It was one of the reasons we decided not to separate them.” Youngheun, Fatou, Judy, and Leia are the other members of the group.
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