This January, Shreya Lenka was just one of millions of amateur dancers around the world who liked to put up ‘dance covers’ of their favourite songs on YouTube. The 18-year-old would spend hours practising on the roof of her family home in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The roof’s white-washed walls even served as the backdrop for videos like her dance cover of ‘Close To Me’, a hit song by multicultural K-pop band Blackswan.

Being an Odisha girl, having so much passion for dance and music, she participated in many competitions and won many prizes at that time. In the event of finishing her 10th grade, at which she was about to enter her 11th grade, she decided to join K Pop as a trainee in South Korea. And became the first Indian K Pop idol by getting her stage name ‘Sriya’.

Sriya Lenka was nominated at a global audition hosted by South Korean music label DR Music Entertainment to join the iconic global multi-national girl group Blackswan, which already comprises K-pop idols from Brazil and Belgium in addition to South Korea. The six-month audition period resulted in the selection of Gabriela Dalcin of Brazil, who joined Sriya. Eventually, after viewing Korean music videos, Sriya became fascinated by this genre.