Meet Sriya Lenka & Aria, The Indian K-Pop Stars Who Are Making Waves in Korea

K-Pop has taken over the world with its distinctive music and slick dance moves, and it has unquestionably become a global phenomenon. K-Pop transcends linguistic boundaries, bringing all people from different culture and religion together.

We have also been seeing non-Korean artists surge in the K-Pop industry, like Lisa of Blackpink, Bambam, and more, crafting a name for themselves. Nevertheless, non-Asian idols are still incredibly uncommon. Although there are many “foreign” K-pop idols, the majority of them are typically Asian or at least partially Korean. Defying the norms, two stunning women of Indian descent, Sriya Lenka and Aria, have made waves all over the globe by establishing themselves in the K-pop scene.

Sriya Lenka (BlackSwan

Hailing from Odisha, Sriya Lenka stamped a new history when she became the first Indian K-pop star. The 20-year-old singer debuts in the famous K-Pop group BlackSwan, announcing her as their fifth member.

Sriya began attending auditions for numerous K-pop bands during the lockdown. Eventually, she had been chosen for a training camp in Seoul. She put through five months of arduous work there, refining her artistic abilities to an A-level.

BlackSwan

Emerging in the name of Rania in 2011, later went by the moniker BlackSwan. Later, it was known as BP Rania before changing its name to BlackSwan in October 2020. BlackSwan currently consists of four individuals. Goodbye Rania, their debut Debit Album, was released in 2020. BlackSwan later in 2021 released their debut single album, titled Close to Me.

Aria(X:IN)

Debuting on 2023, the second artist who brought an Indian influence to the K-pop scene is Gauthami, better known by her stage name Aria. She was the last X:IN member to be officially announced by GBK Entertainment. The five-member group received praise for their performance when they recently appeared on the popular music programme SBS Inkigayo to perform their debut song, Keeping With Fire.

Coming all the way from Kerala, the maknae (youngest) of X:IN was a child actress in the South Indian film before becoming a K-Pop singer now. In addition, her singing talent, performing flair, and beauty led her posts to go viral on social media in China and South Korea.

X:IN

X:in is a five-member multinational girl group under Escrow Entertainment. They made their official debut on April 11, 2023 with the single “Keeping the Fire.” Before the group’s official debut, they released a single album “Who Am i” in March, 2023.