Odisha's Shreya Lenka may become next K-pop star from India
Blackswan, a female-led music band of South Korea, is looking for a fifth member and Shreya Lenka from Odisha may become another woman K-pop star from our country. The 18-year-old is from Rourkela and she, along with another shortlisted candidate, will now undergo a month-long training before one of them gets selected to occupy the coveted slot. We wish them all the luck!
Slot got created after band leader quit
The vacancy was created when Hyemi, ex-leader of this girl band, quit in November 2020 after being accused of scamming a friend. DR Music, the label that manages Blackswan, announced last May that it would be conducting global auditions to fill that place. Recently, they announced Lenka, Brazil's Gabriella Dalcin, and two other trainees from America and Australia got selected for the final round.
Here's what we know of Lenka
Before the training could start, the candidates from America and Australia exited, leaving Lenka and Dalcin. While Dalcin, 18, is a part of Queens of Revolution, a dance cover girl group, Lenka also does K-pop covers on YouTube and Instagram. Apart from that, the young singer is trained in Hindustani classical music and traditional dance forms. She is also a yoga practitioner, said reports.
Lenka credits her grandmother for musical training
Talking to Odisha Bytes, Lenka said, "Since I have a deep voice, I faced difficulty in finding the right vocal trainer. My grandmother helped me find one." "She took me to a Hindustani classical music teacher, who taught me twice a week. But, for western songs, I had to rely on online videos and self-learning." Currently, her focus is to hone her Korean skills.
Lenka won't be the first Indian woman K-pop star
If Lenka gets selected, she, however, won't be the first woman from India to be a part of a K-pop group. Priyanka Mazumdar, who had made it to the final of the annual K-pop World Festival in 2016, is a part of Z-Girls, which debuted in 2019. Along with the Assam native, the other band members include Indonesian singer Vanya and Vietnamese rapper Queen.
Blackswan released their debut album in October 2020
Coming back to Blackswan, the group was formed in 2020 with a five-member team. Goodbye RANIA was their debut full-fledged album that was released in October 2020. Currently, the band members are Youngheun from South Korea; Fatou, a Senegalese singer-rapper-model; Judy from South Korea; and Leia, who is a Brazilian-Japanese singer and rapper. They are collectively called LUMINA by their fans.
