K-pop girl group Blackswan, which currently includes Fatou, NVee, Gabi, and Sriya, has shared an official statement&nbsp;via their agency&nbsp;to express condolences over the tragic train accident in&nbsp;Balasore, Odisha which claimed over 288 lives and left over 1200 injured. The agency also shared some behind-the-scenes photos from the time Blackswan shot a music video in the Indian state a couple of months ago.

Taking to social media on Sunday, Dr Music Entertainment, which manages the K-pop band, shared a statement, which read,&nbsp;"Hello, this is DR MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. A disastrous train accident occurred in Balasore, Odisha, India. Everyone who belongs to DR MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT including the members of BLACKSWAN would like to express our deep condolences to those affected by the accident and the people of India."

The statement further read, "In particular, it is even more unfortunate that the origin of the accident is the home state of the member Sriya Lenka and Odisha, the location of the music video for BLACKSWAN's latest album ‘That Karma’. We won't be able to forget that we have received a lot of love and support from residents of Odisha while participating in the 2023 Odisha Hockey World Cup Opening Ceremony, three local festival performances, and music video shooting."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/priyanka-chopra-attends-beyonces-renaissance-tour-concert-in-london-thanks-to-nick-jonas-stst-600655">Priyanka Chopra attends Beyonce's Renaissance tour concert in London, thanks to Nick Jonas</a>

The agency informed the fans that after their album promotions are over, they will contribute&nbsp;some of the profits earned from That Karma's album sales to the victims of the tragic train accident.&nbsp;

"After this ongoing album promotion is over, we will discuss and find ways to contribute to people who have suffered from this tragic accident by contributing some of the profits from Karma's album sales etc so that we will be able to return some of the enormous amount of love and support we've received from Odisha," the statement&nbsp;continued.

The K-pop community has come out in support of the group, encouraging their decision to help.

Earlier this year, Blackswan visited Bhubaneswar, Odisha to shoot the music video for their latest album release That Karma.&nbsp;Around the same&nbsp;time, the girls&nbsp;performed for the 2023 Odisha Hockey World Cup Opening Ceremony.&nbsp;

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K-pop girl group Blackswan, which currently includes Fatou, NVee, Gabi, and Sriya, has shared an official statement via their agency to express condolences over the tragic train accident in Balasore, Odisha which claimed over 288 lives and left over 1200 injured.

K-pop girl group Blackswan, which currently includes Fatou, NVee, Gabi, and Sriya, has shared an official statement via their agency to express condolences over the tragic train accident in Balasore, Odisha which claimed over 288 lives and left over 1200 injured. The agency also shared some behind-the-scenes photos from the time Blackswan shot a music video in the Indian state a couple of months ago. Taking to social media on Sunday, Dr Music Entertainment, which manages the K-pop band, shared a statement, which read, "Hello, this is DR MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. A disastrous train accident occurred in Balasore, Odisha, India. Everyone who belongs to DR MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT including the members of BLACKSWAN would like to express our deep condolences to those affected by the accident and the people of India." The statement further read, "In particular, it is even more unfortunate that the origin of the accident is the home state of the member Sriya Lenka and Odisha, the location of the music video for BLACKSWAN's latest album ‘That Karma’. We won't be able to forget that we have received a lot of love and support from residents of Odisha while participating in the 2023 Odisha Hockey World Cup Opening Ceremony, three local festival performances, and music video shooting." Also read: Priyanka Chopra attends Beyonce's Renaissance tour concert in London, thanks to Nick Jonas The agency informed the fans that after their album promotions are over, they will contribute some of the profits earned from That Karma's album sales to the victims of the tragic train accident. "After this ongoing album promotion is over, we will discuss and find ways to contribute to people who have suffered from this tragic accident by contributing some of the profits from Karma's album sales etc so that we will be able to return some of the enormous amount of love and support we've received from Odisha," the statement continued. The K-pop community has come out in support of the group, encouraging their decision to help. Earlier this year, Blackswan visited Bhubaneswar, Odisha to shoot the music video for their latest album release That Karma. Around the same time, the girls performed for the 2023 Odisha Hockey World Cup Opening Ceremony. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Odisha Train Tragedy: K-pop group Blackswan vows to help Sriya Lenka's home state in India

South Korea has fully emerged as a major hub for drama, filmmaking and pop music production. K-pop, which has steadily built its power through its deeply connected fan base, has unleashed an aesthetic that's changing tastes, pop-culture-based activism, and even tie-in products for children. Last week, WION got the opportunity to interact with the young K-Pop band Blackswan, who shared with us their ideas and joys of being a part of popular culture.

WION sat down for a chat in a video-based interaction, after their performance at the Hockey World Cup in India's Odisha last week.&nbsp;

My first question is to all of you... How was your trip to India? I also want to know about your performance at the hockey world cup. Were you nervous?

Gabi: We were really tired coming to India during the travel but at the time we stepped in we were like, oh&nbsp;my god, we&nbsp;will do everything. Our energy came back, we were like pretty excited about the performance. Yes, it was really good.

Fatou: For me, I was really really excited to come to India as Sriya has been telling us soo much great stuff about India. and I can tell you at this point, when she told us,&nbsp;the food, the concert - was amazing, the energy.&nbsp;We were a bit nervous but the moment we saw the crowd, it was so welcoming, so warm.

Nvee: I was especially nervous because I had just debuted as a member of the group and was training for like two months, before al this had happened. At first, I was like ah na, I got this, it's no problem and once we got there and we were about to go on stage, I was like ahhhh (shivering). But I think once we reached there and the music started I wasn't worried about anything else.

Fatou: She did great

Nvee: Thank you, it was really good the travel, the travel was good for me I don't know about you guys. I ate and slept, that's all that matters. India was so&nbsp;beautiful, the architecture and the colours.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

My next question is for Sriya... You've interacted with WION earlier (And told us you learnt Odissi for five years.)&nbsp;Now you are very popular in K-pop. What difference do you feel between Indian culture and K-pop culture?

Sriya: First of all I would say that K-pop is more like western and our Indian culture is more about classical so they are two different things. So it is kinda hard to do western when you learn singing in Indian classical form. It's really a big change but everyone had me over here, I practised a lot, oh my god,&nbsp;it took me one year to catch up. Not one year but almost 6 months of training and then finally I could do both, but I am still not that good but I tried&nbsp;my best to do that. Yes, it's different but both are good in their own ways.

Coming to Gabi now... You and Sriya made news last year when you joined Blackswan. You are from Brazil, what inspiration have you personally taken from your native place? Has that helped you in your journey as a K-pop star?

Gabi: So my biggest inspiration for sure is singer Anita, not sure where she came from ------ a really small place and everyone always told her, oh your dream is too big and you can't achieve it and now she is really famous and like an international singer and almost everyone knows her. So she is for sure, my biggest inspiration from brazil and she helped me, without knowing, she helped me achieve this.

My next question is for Fatou. It's a question I have to ask... What explains the popularity and the huge fan following of K-pop?

Fatou: For me, I feel like in the last few years the quality of the music has gone way higher in stake and also a lot more cultures involved in K-pop so lot more styles and now a lot more reach worldwide so this year almost, totally popular, music jars have grown more, like this year. Afrobeat was really popular in the K-pop community, so K-pop reached countries that love Afro beats&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Exclusive: K-pop band Blackswan on WION

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/exclusive-k-pop-band-blackswan-on-wion-553850/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Nvee... You come from the U.S., a place where there has been a rise of k-pop... Why do you think it has become such a popular form of entertainment?

Nvee: Like Fatou said it has so many different cultures and aspects that are thrown into the K-pop music industry so the kit can really reach so many people and so many different types of sounds that people will like, but personally each person who is a fan of K-pop has their own style and group that they love from their heart and the idols who they support. They give something to reach for, something to hope for, something to be happy for, and it's just touching to see all that.&nbsp;

For somebody who might love&nbsp;BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids or Shinee,&nbsp;there is always that one group that is always out there for that one person. And I think that's how things trend, oh my gosh... u like this group and I love this group too and it gets around.

Last but not least... What are your future plans? Like the famous K-pop bands BTS and Blackpink, do you see yourself on the top charts in the years to come?

Fatou: Our future plans are actually putting out a lot of music and just letting the world know who Blackswan is in our own way, in our own unique way, put out a lot of music and be ready for that we hope for a big world war top charts and I feel like we have pretty big goals, we will reach those, we have been practising a lot and watching the fans, they are connecting with us and we are connecting with them. It gives us the energy to perform more and it gives us the energy to work harder and we don't want to leave them, it is the biggest thing that inspires us. &nbsp;

Gabi: And literally our next step now for sure is to achieve the highest position possible on the charts with the new song and release more and more cute music for our Lumina fans and one step at a time but we have really big dreams.

Fatou: For me, this year would be to connect more with Lumina, Blackswan's fandom,&nbsp;because they have been with us, and they keep supporting us and I really want to be more closer to them. And also we will release awesome music and perform.&nbsp;I want to meet every single Lumina out there this year.

Nvee: I think for me again with the charts and meeting with the lumina, but personally I just want to practise more, because there is so much that I have yet to learn to perfect and nothing ever is gonna be perfect but at least I always strive to do my best whether it's perfect or not but make sure that its at least up to par. Because when I dreamed of being an idol, I dreamt&nbsp;of delivering a&nbsp;jaw-dropping performance on stage.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

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South Korea has fully emerged as a major hub for drama, filmmaking and pop music production. K-pop, which has steadily built its power through its deeply connected fan base, has unleashed an aesthetic that's changing tastes, pop-culture-based activism, and even tie-in products for children.

South Korea has fully emerged as a major hub for drama, filmmaking and pop music production. K-pop, which has steadily built its power through its deeply connected fan base, has unleashed an aesthetic that's changing tastes, pop-culture-based activism, and even tie-in products for children. Last week, WION got the opportunity to interact with the young K-Pop band Blackswan, who shared with us their ideas and joys of being a part of popular culture. WION sat down for a chat in a video-based interaction, after their performance at the Hockey World Cup in India's Odisha last week. My first question is to all of you... How was your trip to India? I also want to know about your performance at the hockey world cup. Were you nervous? Gabi: We were really tired coming to India during the travel but at the time we stepped in we were like, oh my god, we will do everything. Our energy came back, we were like pretty excited about the performance. Yes, it was really good. Fatou: For me, I was really really excited to come to India as Sriya has been telling us soo much great stuff about India. and I can tell you at this point, when she told us, the food, the concert - was amazing, the energy. We were a bit nervous but the moment we saw the crowd, it was so welcoming, so warm. Nvee: I was especially nervous because I had just debuted as a member of the group and was training for like two months, before al this had happened. At first, I was like ah na, I got this, it's no problem and once we got there and we were about to go on stage, I was like ahhhh (shivering). But I think once we reached there and the music started I wasn't worried about anything else. Fatou: She did great Nvee: Thank you, it was really good the travel, the travel was good for me I don't know about you guys. I ate and slept, that's all that matters. India was so beautiful, the architecture and the colours. My next question is for Sriya... You've interacted with WION earlier (And told us you learnt Odissi for five years.) Now you are very popular in K-pop. What difference do you feel between Indian culture and K-pop culture? Sriya: First of all I would say that K-pop is more like western and our Indian culture is more about classical so they are two different things. So it is kinda hard to do western when you learn singing in Indian classical form. It's really a big change but everyone had me over here, I practised a lot, oh my god, it took me one year to catch up. Not one year but almost 6 months of training and then finally I could do both, but I am still not that good but I tried my best to do that. Yes, it's different but both are good in their own ways. Coming to Gabi now... You and Sriya made news last year when you joined Blackswan. You are from Brazil, what inspiration have you personally taken from your native place? Has that helped you in your journey as a K-pop star? Gabi: So my biggest inspiration for sure is singer Anita, not sure where she came from ------ a really small place and everyone always told her, oh your dream is too big and you can't achieve it and now she is really famous and like an international singer and almost everyone knows her. So she is for sure, my biggest inspiration from brazil and she helped me, without knowing, she helped me achieve this. My next question is for Fatou. It's a question I have to ask... What explains the popularity and the huge fan following of K-pop? Fatou: For me, I feel like in the last few years the quality of the music has gone way higher in stake and also a lot more cultures involved in K-pop so lot more styles and now a lot more reach worldwide so this year almost, totally popular, music jars have grown more, like this year. Afrobeat was really popular in the K-pop community, so K-pop reached countries that love Afro beats Watch | Exclusive: K-pop band Blackswan on WION Nvee... You come from the U.S., a place where there has been a rise of k-pop... Why do you think it has become such a popular form of entertainment? Nvee: Like Fatou said it has so many different cultures and aspects that are thrown into the K-pop music industry so the kit can really reach so many people and so many different types of sounds that people will like, but personally each person who is a fan of K-pop has their own style and group that they love from their heart and the idols who they support. They give something to reach for, something to hope for, something to be happy for, and it's just touching to see all that. For somebody who might love BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids or Shinee, there is always that one group that is always out there for that one person. And I think that's how things trend, oh my gosh... u like this group and I love this group too and it gets around. Last but not least... What are your future plans? Like the famous K-pop bands BTS and Blackpink, do you see yourself on the top charts in the years to come? Fatou: Our future plans are actually putting out a lot of music and just letting the world know who Blackswan is in our own way, in our own unique way, put out a lot of music and be ready for that we hope for a big world war top charts and I feel like we have pretty big goals, we will reach those, we have been practising a lot and watching the fans, they are connecting with us and we are connecting with them. It gives us the energy to perform more and it gives us the energy to work harder and we don't want to leave them, it is the biggest thing that inspires us. Gabi: And literally our next step now for sure is to achieve the highest position possible on the charts with the new song and release more and more cute music for our Lumina fans and one step at a time but we have really big dreams. Fatou: For me, this year would be to connect more with Lumina, Blackswan's fandom, because they have been with us, and they keep supporting us and I really want to be more closer to them. And also we will release awesome music and perform. I want to meet every single Lumina out there this year. Nvee: I think for me again with the charts and meeting with the lumina, but personally I just want to practise more, because there is so much that I have yet to learn to perfect and nothing ever is gonna be perfect but at least I always strive to do my best whether it's perfect or not but make sure that its at least up to par. Because when I dreamed of being an idol, I dreamt of delivering a jaw-dropping performance on stage. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

WION Exclusive: K-pop band 'Blackswan' on their trip to India, future plans and more

K-pop girl band Blackswan speaks to Johan Castell while they were in India to perform for the men's hockey world cup. The band of four girls- Gabi, Fatou, Shriya and Nvee talked about their time in India and their future plans

Exclusive: K-pop band Blackswan on WION

South Korean-based K-Pop girl band Blackswan spoke to WION's Johan Castell while they were in India for their 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup performance. Watch in

WION Fineprint: Meet the South Korean-based K-Pop band Blackswan

WION's Eric Njoka spoke exclusively to India's first K-Pop Star Shreya Lenka. She is an 18-year-old performer from Odisha who has been selected as the newest member of the popular South Korean band Blackswan

WION Exclusive: In conversation with India's first K-Pop Star Shreya Lenka

Dedication and hard work always pay off. Shreya Lenka, 18, from India’s steel city of Rourkela, Odisha, has made history by becoming the fifth member of the popular South Korean pop band Blackswan. But achieving the dream was not easy.&nbsp;

WION had a chance to speak to the rising Asian star, where the young artist spoke&nbsp;about her aspirations and how she was able to crack this once in a lifetime opportunity.&nbsp;

Shreya, who is trained in the Odissi dance form, said she could not express in words her happiness on being chosen as the first Indian woman member of a K-Pop band.

Adding that it was her childhood dream to be an artist, Shreya said, "I wanted to represent India and now this has happened, so I feel like, Yes, I did it."

Shreya became a social media sensation and has been trending ever since the announcement was made.&nbsp;Her family and relatives have been expressing joy and pride about her achievement through posts on social media. The newest K-Pop star says that her family and friends' reaction is "priceless".&nbsp;

"My family and friends' reaction was really precious to me because I always wanted to hear those things.&nbsp;And when they say that they are proud of me, it's kind of heart-touching."

Praising the K-Pop group Blackswan as "unique and different," Shreya said that the unique thing about the band is that each member’s uniqueness is promoted and has no discrimination.&nbsp;

"Blackswan is a group formed not on the basis of colour, nationality or age, but on talent."

Shreya also acknowledges how learning classical dance was a difficult journey for her and how her father has been very supportive of her dreams.

"As a kid when I used to dance, people around me appreciated and said that I could be good at dancing. It was then when my father took me to Odissi classes."&nbsp;

The singer recalled how tough it was for her family, saying, "My father tried his best to give me everything that he could."

"I and my father used to travel long distances on Saturdays and Sundays for the dance classes," added Shreya.&nbsp; 
The singer has been trained in Odissi for five years.

Lenka, who is currently training with the Blackswan group, said that since joining the band, she has become more "self-dependent, focused and determined." Being a part of the band, the singer has learnt that patience can be rewarding.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/first-indian-k-pop-star-18-year-old-shreya-lenka-joins-korean-band-blackswan-482829">First Indian K-Pop Star! 18-year-old Shreya Lenka joins Korean band Blackswan</a>

There are so many things to learn from each other, Shreya said. "They told me so many new things. We learned about cultures, different dances, lifestyles, and food. There are so many sweet moments the group members share with each other."

She added that learning with the band has been great and the seniors and juniors have friendly relations.&nbsp;

Watch the interview here:-

&nbsp;<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TXJHt78jHoI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

&nbsp;

Dedication and hard work always pay off. Shreya Lenka, 18, from India’s steel city of Rourkela, Odisha, has made history by becoming the fifth member of the popular South Korean pop band Blackswan.

Dedication and hard work always pay off. Shreya Lenka, 18, from India’s steel city of Rourkela, Odisha, has made history by becoming the fifth member of the popular South Korean pop band Blackswan. But achieving the dream was not easy. WION had a chance to speak to the rising Asian star, where the young artist spoke about her aspirations and how she was able to crack this once in a lifetime opportunity. Shreya, who is trained in the Odissi dance form, said she could not express in words her happiness on being chosen as the first Indian woman member of a K-Pop band. Adding that it was her childhood dream to be an artist, Shreya said, "I wanted to represent India and now this has happened, so I feel like, Yes, I did it." Shreya became a social media sensation and has been trending ever since the announcement was made. Her family and relatives have been expressing joy and pride about her achievement through posts on social media. The newest K-Pop star says that her family and friends' reaction is "priceless". "My family and friends' reaction was really precious to me because I always wanted to hear those things. And when they say that they are proud of me, it's kind of heart-touching." Praising the K-Pop group Blackswan as "unique and different," Shreya said that the unique thing about the band is that each member’s uniqueness is promoted and has no discrimination. "Blackswan is a group formed not on the basis of colour, nationality or age, but on talent." Shreya also acknowledges how learning classical dance was a difficult journey for her and how her father has been very supportive of her dreams. "As a kid when I used to dance, people around me appreciated and said that I could be good at dancing. It was then when my father took me to Odissi classes." The singer recalled how tough it was for her family, saying, "My father tried his best to give me everything that he could." "I and my father used to travel long distances on Saturdays and Sundays for the dance classes," added Shreya. The singer has been trained in Odissi for five years. Lenka, who is currently training with the Blackswan group, said that since joining the band, she has become more "self-dependent, focused and determined." Being a part of the band, the singer has learnt that patience can be rewarding. Also Read: First Indian K-Pop Star! 18-year-old Shreya Lenka joins Korean band Blackswan There are so many things to learn from each other, Shreya said. "They told me so many new things. We learned about cultures, different dances, lifestyles, and food. There are so many sweet moments the group members share with each other." She added that learning with the band has been great and the seniors and juniors have friendly relations. Watch the interview here:-

WION Exclusive: India’s first K-Pop star Shreya Lenka attributes her father for her success

WION's Eric Njoka spoke exclusively to India's first K-Pop Star Shreya Lenka. She is an 18-year-old performer from Odisha who has been selected as the newest member of the popular South Korean band Blackswan.

WION Exclusive: In conversation with India's first K-Pop Star

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