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The four-member K-pop group BLACKSWAN (also stylized as Black Swan) released their first single album titled Close to Me on October 15. The members are all new but the BLACKSWAN group under DR Music has a long history. The group has been busy with promotions and is seen performing on Inkigayo, Music Bank, and other top music shows, making more people curious about the supposedly “new” girl group.
BLACKSWAN debuted with five members: Youngheun, Leia, Hyeme, Fatou, and Judy on October 16, 2020 with their studio album Goodbye Rania. Following a scamming incident involving Hyeme in November, the agency announced their exclusive contract had ended with the idol and that she would be leaving the group.
Meet the new K-pop girl group in town, BLACKSWAN
Formerly known as Rania, the group has undergone multiple member changes. Rania debuted in mid-2010 as an eight-member group and all of the original members have since left.
As the rebranded Rania, BLACKSWAN now has members Youngheun, Fatou, Judy and Leia showcasing their charismatic performances for their techno-pop song Close to Me.
1) Youngheun
Go Young Heun debuted in the K-pop industry with the now-disbanded group Stellar in August 2017. She then joined Rania as a new member in 2019 and finally debuted in October, after announcing that she would continue promoting as BLACKSWAN. The 26-year-old is the leader and vocalist of the group.
2) Fatou
The multi-talented idol was revealed to be the new member of BLACKSWAN in July 2020. Fatou is the lead dancer, main rapper and vocalist of the group, and a model under DR Music. She’s from Senegal, Belgium and provides a unique charm to the K-pop group. It’s unusual, or next to impossible, to find a dark-skinned K-pop idol, but the 1995-liner Fatou shatters those stereotypes with her incredible charm.
3) Judy
The main dancer and vocalist of the group, Judy’s real name is Kim Da Hye. Her dancing skills amaze fans, especially on the Close to Me performance stages. They also love her ability to pull off both cute and intense scenes flawlessly. She even choreographed their latest B-side track Get Up (SHARK Remix), while Fatou wrote its lyrics. She’s the same age as Fatou.
4) Leia
BLACKSWAN's maknae Leia, also known as Larissa and Lisa, holds the positions of lead rapper, visual and singer in the group. She was introduced in 2019 as a member of Rania and then continued with BLACKSWAN. She chose her name as Leia as a reference to Star Wars’ Princess Leia. The 2001-liner is the second Brazilian K-pop idol in the industry, after Victor from AboutU.
Check out their Close to Me music video below:
Former members of BLACKSWAN
The original eight members of Rania were Yijo, Joy, Riko, Yina (aka Saem), Jooyi (aka Lucy), Di, T-ae, and Xia. Sarah was the first one to leave the group and Yijo was her replacement. Soon, all the members began leaving one by one, including the new members. Sharon, Alexandra, Yumin, Ttabo, Zi.U, Jieun, Namfon, and Seunghyun are the former members of Rania.
BLACKSWAN is now trying to get back in the game with their unique charm and performances. Surviving in a cutthroat K-pop industry isn’t easy, especially when the competition is only rising. But the girl group is gradually getting their much-deserved recognition.
