The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Who is Sriya Lenka? How did Sriya's Journey Start? The First K-Pop Star From India

    Synopsis

    An 18-year-old girl from Odisha became the fifth member of the famous K-Pop group Blackswan. Sriya Lenka auditioned and practised during lockdown to reach the place of her dreams.

    Odisha's Shreya Lenka joins popular K-pop band BlackswanAgencies
    Sriya Lenka, an 18-year old girl from Odisha, has grabbed headlines as she became the first Indian K-pop star. She is brilliant with many dance forms like classical, hip-hop, freestyle and contemporary.

    Since her childhood, Sriya had been very inquisitive and wanted to pursue her dreams. The talented girl was chosen by the BlackSwan group on Thursday. Her journey however started in 2020 as a K-pop star, she has come a long way since then.

    How did Sriya's journey start?
    For Sriya, the journey as a K-Pop star started in 2020.

    During the lockdown period, Sriya started auditioning for many K-pop groups.

    After a series of auditions, she finally got shortlisted for a training camp in Seoul.

    She worked hard there for five months and polished her artistic skills to an A level.

    On Thursday, the famous K-Pop group BlackSwan announced Sriya as their fifth member.

    After the announcement, Sriya is now the first Indian to be part of a K-Pop group.

    Who is Sriya Lenka?
    Sriya Lenka was born in 2003 in the Rourkela district of Odisha.

    She has always been interested in the music and art Industry.

    Sriya has been learning and practising dance forms since the age of 12. She joined her dance skills to the level of admiration.

    During the lockdown, Sriya decided to work on her skills and try out for different K-pop groups.

    She watched many videos and practised her dancing skills. She also tried copying the steps from the music video of 'Grown' by the K-pop band EXO.

    To practice her Korean, Sriya started learning Korean online during the lockdown. She also watched any K-dramas get a stronghold on language.

    Korean Dramas really helped Sriya to strengthen her grasp on the cultural aspects of Korea.

    BlackSwan Group
    The BlackSwan K-Pop group started in the year 2011 as Rania.

    It later came to know as BP Rania before becoming BlackSwan in October of 2020.

    BlackSwan is currently a four-member group.

    They released their first Debit Album, Goodbye Rania, in 2020. Later in 2021, BlackSwan released their first single album, Close to Me.

    The four members of BlackSwan are-

    Korean Singer and Leader Youngheun

    Fatou. She is a Senegalese singer-rapper-model from Belgium

    Korean dancer and Singer Judy

    Larissa Ayumi Cartes Sakata Leia, who is a Brazilian-Japanese singer and Maknae of the group.

    Now Sriya Lanka will be the fifth member of the group.

    Previously Hyeme was the eldest member of the group. She left BlackSwan in November 2020. After the retirement of Hyeme from the band, BlackSawn started looking for their fifth member through online YouTube auditioning.

    The K-pop group BlackSwan's promoter, DR music, was organising the YouTube auditioning programme. Although DR music was supposed to pick only one member as Hyeme's replacement, they announced Sriya Lenka and Gabriela Dalcin as the fifth and sixth members of the group.

    Gabriela Dalcin is a 19 year old girl from Brazil.

    In an Instagram post, the K-Pop group announced that with Sriya and Gabriela's debut, BlackSwan would be back soon. The two newcomers will stay in Seoul for the next few months to practice alongside the band and release their next album.

    Sriya got selected for a five-month programme in Seoul. She was chosen among the 4000 applicants through the YouTube audition Programme. During the last five months, Sriya went through rigorous training. She was getting trained for every necessary skill like standard vocal, rap and dance lessons. The intense training process also included musical instruments, personal training and language training.

    It wouldn't be wrong to say that Syria's hard work finally paid off on Thursday when BlackSawn announced her as the fifth member of the band.

    What was the reaction of Sriya's parents?
    Sriya's dad, who works in a company in Jharsuguda, was escalated to hear the news. Avinash Lenka told the media that he is overjoyed after hearing that his daughter will be the first Indian to be a K-Pop star.

    He said that He always had faith in his daughter but was also doubtful that Sriya might not be able to make it to the top.

    Avinash Lenka always encouraged his daughter's passion for dancing. He said that Sriya was very interested in dancing as she participated in many dance competitions, and he was with her along the way.

    The K-Pop music industry is gaining popularity among Indian youth. The fan following could be found in any age range, from teenagers to adults. Sriya, after becoming the first Indian K-Pop star, now surely now an inspiration for many Indian youngsters.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    ( Originally published on May 28, 2022 )
    Disclaimer Statement: This content is authored by an external agency. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified. ET hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the report and any content therein.
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in