K-Pop fans in India were taken by surprise when the members of two new K-pop groups, Z-Girls and Z-Boys, were announced recently. Two particular names made everyone do a double take — Priyanka and Siddhant. And their reaction was to be expected; after all, it’s for the first time ever that any K-pop group will include Indians.
Priyanka Mazumdar, 21, of Z-Girls, is already a known name among Indian K-pop fans — she had represented India in the K-pop World Festival 2016, after ranking first in the Chennai round and then fourth in the final Indian leg of the competition held in Delhi. The BTS and Chester Bennington fan then went on to win the Excellent Vocal award at the final round held in Changwon, South Korea, in 2016, which saw competitors from 15 countries, including Russia, Mexico, USA, Sweden, Japan, and Hungary.
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Meanwhile, all that is known about Z-Boys’ Siddhant Arora (who has taken the stage name Sid), so far, is that he is a YouTuber who covers Bollywood hits and has also performed at various live events.
Sid and Priyanka will be officially making their debut at the Z-Pop Dream Live in Seoul, a concert scheduled to be held on February 23 in the South Korean capital.
“I’m really surprised and, at the same time, very proud of these two,” says Delhi University student Ananya Agarwal, an avid K-pop fan. “Being firsts from the country, they will help in spreading K-pop in India, too,” she adds. Meanwhile, 18-year-old student Yuvraj Singh Chaudhary says, “They are bringing in exposure of vocals other than that of Korean natives, and this fusion is going to be pretty amazing! The strong vocals of Priyanka and Sid are going to rock the stage!”
Part of Z-Pop Dream project, the new groups are an attempt to create the first ‘truly international’ K-pop group. According to a video release, Z-Pop Dream project is a “global entertainment ecosystem to discover hidden pop music talents, initially from Asia, then on a global scale”. The members belong to countries across Asia, including India, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia.
Both the artists are currently unavailable for official comment. However Priyanka’s sister, Mousumi, told us that the singer is busy preparing for the performance. “Due to her hectic schedule, preparations for the upcoming concert, and company policy, she cannot appear for an interview at the moment. She would love to speak to you once the concert is done.”
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First Published: Feb 15, 2019 17:16 IST
