Meet Blackswan, a K-pop girl group with no Korean members
The group’s members hail from India, USA, Brazil and Senegal.
As a group, Blackswan isn’t exactly new to K-pop. The group originally debuted in 2011 under the name Rania, with six Korean members and a Thai member.
However, the group experienced significant changes in its lineup in the nine years that followed.
In 2020, it was announced that Rania’s management agency, DR Music, would be rebranding the group as Blackswan. By then, Rania had a total of 17 former members.
When Blackswan debuted in 2020, they had five members — three Korean, one Brazilian, and one Senegalese-Belgium.
From left to right: Fatou, Gabi, Sriya and NVee.
However, after a couple of lineup changes, Blackswan has finally arrived at their current iteration — a multinational K-pop girl group with no Koreans in it.
Blackswan now has four members — Fatou, 28, who was born in Senegal, but raised in Belgium, NVee, 24, who’s American, Gabi, 20, who’s Brazilian, and Sriya, 19, who’s Indian.
The group released their latest single album, That Karma, in May this year, and yes, they speak and sing in Korean.
Speaking to CNN about doubters that questioned whether the group should be labelled as a K-pop girl group, Fatou asserted: “We speak Korean. K-pop is Korean pop. So as long as the language is there, it is still K-pop.”
Yep, this was shot in India.
But of course, the group still makes sure to feature elements that hint at their multinational background.
Gabi shared: “Sometimes in the songs, we mix (Korean) with other languages like English and … a little bit of Spanish.”
Oh, and their music video for their most recent title track, ‘Karma’, was filmed in Sriya’s hometown in India, Odisha, with the members donning outfits inspired by traditional Indian clothing.
Blackswan at the 2023 Newsis K-Expo.
In an interview with the BBC, the managing director of Blackswan’s agency, Philip YJ Yoon, shared: "Some people might find it strange and even dislike the group for not having any Korean members. However, we saw the opportunity in the expanding K-pop market.”
In late August, the group won their first award, the ‘Newsis K-Expo Next Generation K-Star Award’ at the 2023 Newsis K-Expo. The event honours cultural icons, businesses, and individuals who have contributed greatly to spreading the Korean wave.
Blackswan will be releasing the music video for their next comeback song, ‘Cat And Mouse’ on Sep 6. You can watch the teaser below.
Photos: Blackswan/Instagram, DR Music