Odia Girl Shreya Lenka Shines, Likely To Be India’s first K-Pop Star
New Delhi, Feb1: Bringing laurels to the state Odia girl, Shreya Lenka, an 18-year-old from Odisha’s Rourkela, is on the verge of becoming India’s first K-pop artiste.
Lenka has been one of the two finalists chosen from a global audition process to fill a vacancy in the South Korean girl group Blackswan.
Lenka will join the band as the fifth member if she defeats Gabriela Dalcin of Brazil.
In the year 2020, Blackswan made its debut. Korean singers Youngheun, Fatou, Judy, and Leia made up the group.
Blackswan’s label, DR Music, announced in May 2021 that they would hold global auditions to fill a vacancy left by singer Hyemi’s departure from the group. Two people are now in the running for the coveted spot, according to DR Music.
According to the entertainment website Meaww, Dalcin is a member of the dance cover girl group Queens of Revolution. Meanwhile, the only Indian trainee who was chosen, Lenka is a trained dancer and yoga practitioner. She, like Dalcin, performs K-pop dance cover songs.
According to reports, the two are now heading to South Korea for a month of training. One of the two will be chosen to join Blackswan at the end of this time period.
Lenka has pursued Hindustani classical dance as well as Odissi and other contemporary dance forms.
“Since I have a hoarse voice, I faced many difficulties in finding an appropriate maestro. However, my granny could fetch one. She took me to a Hindustani classical music teacher, who taught me twice a week. But, for the western songs, I had to rely on online videos and self-learning,” Lenka said.
