EXCLUSIVE: Sriya Lenka on being India’s first K-pop idol, Gabi on BLACKSWAN debut

The upcoming debutants of girl group BLACKSWAN spoke to Pinkvilla in an exclusive chat where they dished on their highly anticipated debuts and the worldwide support.

Written by Ayushi Agrawal , Journalist

Published on Sep 21, 2022 | 03:15 PM IST | 748.2K

Sriya and Gabi: courtesy of DR Music Entertainment

Sriya Lenka sat in all her young and talented glory on a video call with us on one gloomy day in August where things were just beginning to settle down in Seoul after torrential rain that broke all previous records. Reeling from the loss of her beloved pet cat who she had to let go on the same morning, we chatted over our favourite Indian snacks and her dominance over the world even before debuting.

At just 20 years of age, Sriya has achieved quite the sensational breakthrough as she confirmed her spot for a debut in the K-pop industry. Being the first Indian to do so, it was as if the whole of over 1.3 billion population was celebrating her win. On her monumental return to India since the announcement, she was welcomed with cheers and flowers raining alike. All this and much more for a trainee who is yet to debut is a rare sight and a much delightful one, for the Hallyu fans in India.

Sriya’s introduction to K-pop came with EXO’s legendary ‘Growl’ and there has been no turning back since. During our talk, she was confident as ever, trying to find common ground and missing her mother’s pakoras to go with the monsoon heavy weather on both ends of the call. Time flew by as we conversed over her inspirations and plans to hopefully collaborate with Stray Kids someday and soon fellow BLACKSWAN member Gabi joined us as a special guest.

Gabriela Dalcin hails from Brazil and was also introduced as one of the two members set to join the girl group lineup. She has demonstrated her fabulous dancing skills over the many practice videos shared by the company and one can definitely witness her potential in taking over the K-pop scene soon. While speaking with us, it was clearly visible how she valued her time as a member of the group and made an effort to bring a promising addition to the table.

Sriya and Gabi’s chemistry as they bonded over shared K-dramas and a liking for other K-pop stars that they hoped to meet and even collaborate with someday was electric throughout the meeting and it was obvious they were new but ready to take over the world. Right on beat alongside BLACKSWAN’s Fatou and Leia, they eyed a year-end debut where they could unleash their potential as they grab the centre stage. Check out their exclusive interview with Pinkvilla below.