"It's all worth it at the end of the day": BLACKSWAN's Fatou opens up about her journey of becoming a K-pop idol

K-pop idol Fatou from BLACKSWAN has garnered attention on social media from millions of fans for her charming visuals and unique vocal skills. Group member Fatou, who was born in Senegal but then moved to Belgium, is the only active black idol in the K-pop music industry.

In the past, Fatou had revealed her ambition to debut as a K-pop idol. While the road to success wasn’t easy, especially in such a competitive industry, the idol said that the difficulties she faced were worth it because she finally fulfilled her goals:

"Let me tell you the cold hard truth: It’s so goddamn difficult. But it’s all worth it at the end of the day."

BLACKSWAN has seen many replacements and changes over the years, due to group members leaving and even the group’s name changing from time to time. The K-pop girl group was previously known as Rania, and then they swapped to BP Rania. After a few years of success, the group’s name was modified as B.P., which was later changed to BLACKSWAN.

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BLACKSWAN's Fatou talks about working at an airport and finally stepping into the K-pop music industry

The veteran K-pop girl group has been commended for their diversity as they boast members from all across the globe.

Group member Fatou previously revealed details of her journey towards becoming a K-pop idol. The singer stated that a friend of hers at school showed her K-pop boy group SHINee’s Replay music video, and the rest was history.

"I was like 'Oh, that’s something I’ve never seen before.' After school, I went home on my computer and searched K-Pop and there was a whole other world of music."

She continued:

"K-Pop is so bright, fun, and light-hearted, you know all about being one and everything. That’s what really caught me and made me fall for it."

Although Fatou was mesmerized by the K-pop music industry and seemed interested in the idea of exploring it as a career, her parents urged her to focus on something more stable and realistic.

"Back when I was a teen, I asked my parents if I could attend a music school, but music is not a very stable career. They were like, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ So since I like traveling, I love languages and learning about other countries’ cultures, I chose tourism."

After her college graduation, Fatou took a one-month vacation and traveled to South Korea. The idol described how she had felt nervous at first and rather out of place. However, upon returning to Belgium and beginning her work at an airport, she suddenly felt the urge to take the risk and return to South Korea on a work visa.

Finally getting the opportunity to follow her dreams, BLACKSWAN’s Fatou joined a K-pop dance cover group and signed with a modeling agency. During her modeling career, Fatou met the CEO of DR Music, and she readily signed up with them to become a K-pop trainee.

Fatou was revealed as the fourth member of BLACKSWAN after two years of intensive training, proving that the singer’s hard work had paid off:

"I almost gave up. But my members believed in me so hard that they said, 'You know what, no, we’re here for you. If you have a hard time, come to us, we’ll always be here. We are here, Fatou, talk to us."

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On May 27, 2022, BLACKSWAN revealed two new members who will be debuting soon. After conducting successful international auditions to fill the spot of former member Hyeme, the agency picked two contestants instead of one, Shreya Lenka and Gabriela Strassburger Dalcin. Shreya, also known as Sriya, is the first-ever Indian K-pop idol to enter the industry.

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