India's First K-Pop Idol Was Greatly Influenced By A Certain K-Pop Group—Here's The Story

BLACKSWAN‘s Sriya is making history as the first Indian K-Pop idol!

The 18-year old Odisha native has been a fan of K-Pop for over half a decade. In an interview with The Korea Herald and Rolling Stone India, she delved deeper into her love for Korean music and exactly who influenced her to become a singer.

On the latter, she was open about the fact that it was EXO who made her want to become a K-Pop idol. Their 2013 title track, “GROWL,” was the starting point for this. It was unlike anything she ever saw before and it made a lasting impression on her.

One of my friends introduced me to K-Pop. The first video was EXO’s ‘GROWL’ and it was so unique.

— Sriya

Sriya loved the dancing aspect of the comeback. EXO’s choreography was complex and entertaining, and it inspired her to begin covering K-Pop dances and eventually become an idol herself.

After being reeled into the K-Pop world with EXO, she became a fan of more groups from various companies.

I fell in love with this first video and then I started searching about BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, everyone.

— Sriya

BTS

They pulled her deeper into the K-Entertainment world and accelerated her desire to one day stand on stage like them. She added, “I got to know so many groups and I slowly, slowly got to know about K-Pop.”

Sriya eventually joined DR Music‘s global audition, Cygnus, and beat over four thousand applicants to reach the coveted trainee spot. She was announced as a new member of BLACKSWAN in May 2022.