Meet Sriya Lenka, India’s First-Ever K-Pop Star

An 18-year-old Indian singer Sriya Lenka has become the first-ever K-pop artist from India. The Korean pop band Blackswan recently inducted two pop artists – Sriya Lenka from India and Gabriela Dalcin from Brazil – into their group.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sriya Lenka becomes India’s first-ever-K-pop artist
• Korean band Blackswan announced the induction of Sriya Lenka and Gabi on its Instagram handle
• Sriya Lenka is trained in Hindustani classical music
• She will be in Seoul for practice for the next few months

Who Is Sriya Lenka?

Sriya Lenka

Born in 2003 in Rourkela, Odisha, Sriya Lenka is trained in songs and dance of contemporary India including Hindustani classical and Odissi. Ms. Lenka said to Odissi Bytes that she faced difficulty in finding the right vocal trainer due to her deep voice. But her grandmother helped her find one.

Her grandmother took her to a Hindustani classical music teacher who taught her twice a week. But for western songs, she relied on self-learning through online videos, said Sriya Lenka.

What Is Blackswan?

It is a South Korean girl group formed in 2020 by DR Music. Initially, the band started with five members – Youngheun, Fatou, Judy, Leia, and Hyeme. But Hyeme, who was also the group’s oldest member, quick the group in November 2020 for unknown reasons. The group started looking for their fifth member after Hyeme’s exit.

How Blackswan Found Sriya Lenka?

Sriya Lenka, India’s First-Ever K-Pop Star

In May 2021, the group announced a global audition to find its fifth member. And Sriya Lanka and Brazil’s Gabriela Dalcin were the two chosen finalists from among 4,000 applicants. Earlier, Blackswan was supposed to induct only one member but the group decided … Read the rest