K-Pop Professor and Filmmaker REACT to KARMA by BLACKSWAN

[@saganlee]

Hi, I’m the MV director of Karma. appreciate it 🙏🏻

[@hallyulikethat]

Oh hi!!! What a pleasant surprise. Really loved your work. Thank you for leaving us a comment. 😀

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Wow, thanks for your kind comment. You made our day and we wish you much success!

[@MusicallyObsessedBoi]

BLACKSWAN releasing music in Korean without any Korean members is so commendable! They could easily release music in English and really try to break into the global scene that way, but they choose to release music in Korean and promote in Korea. Being successful in Korea is their goal, global popularity will come along with it. BLACKSWAN fighting!

[@sumandutta4834]

I think Blackswan is trying to do what Korean bands were trying to achieve in American market in the past which is recognition for their talent. The only problem is small size of fandom both domestic and international for Blackswan which makes it difficult to get them noticed by general public. Plus missing Korean members, the group is not viewed in positive light or taken seriously to the point that some toxic fans are attacking them with racial slurs which they may not use for other groups.

[@느림보라이더]

​@@sumandutta4834 작은것을보고 전부라 주장하는 다소 비약된 발언입니다 그렇지않아요 대부분 그들을 긍적적으로 보고있다는게 정설입니다 가급적 호도하는 발언 블랙스완 에게 조금도 도움되지않아요 각별히 재고하고 애기하기를요

[@surabhikashyap241]

@@느림보라이더 I am not making any leaping statement. I used the word 'some toxic fans'. Viewing them positively is one thing but it is also true that Blackswan members are often get belittled or abused on same issues which K-Pop community in general opposes in public. When social media helped propelled K-Pop far and wide, then certainly the conversations be it good or bad within online K-Pop community will be taken into account. I am not saying it's all bad but the point I am trying to make is also true. More than anything, I want the current Blackswan members to become the pioneers of what future K-Pop will look like with diversity of talented individuals from all over the world competing against each other for good music. After all K-Pop is now a global phenomenon.

[@kpopdisco2330]

​@surabhikashyap241 From what I've seen it's international kpop fans that are acting nasty to BlackSwan. Koreans are ,from what I've seen, embracing them. It's funny to me ,whenever I see a non Korean standing up on their soapbox about how kpop is supposed to be Korean only ,only to see actual Koreans genuinely happy to see foreigners participating in said "Korean only" thing. I won't get into how that argument doesn't make since because realistically "Kpop" is pretty much American Pop with a Korean flair. But yeah I've mainly seen non Koreans perpetuate this "No Koreans; No Kpop" barrier as if it's their place to make such rules. If the Korean based company is satisfied with their choices, and have no issuse with a full Non Korean group. Then they are a kpop group. And if Korean kpop fans are happy to have them and consider them a kpop group then thats what they are. Who are those people, as non Koreans, to complain and dictate what is and what isnt kpop, or who should and who shouldn't be in kpop.

[@yeong20]

블랙스완은 정상에 설 것입니다

[@Seoul_Korea_]

한국인 멤버가 없더라도, 한국에서는 블랙스완을 명확히 케이팝 그룹으로 인식하고 있습니다. 그리고 긍정적인 반응이 훨씬 많습니다😊

[@donnahallyulikethat]

이 소식을 듣게 되어 너무 기쁩니다. ☺

[@grethi8110]

Yes❤

[@goldyd144]

​@seon-u-yw6yj We're very close to 3 million views! Keep streaming, Lumina 🥰

[@User_37821]

K-POP'S TRUE GLOBAL TEAM -BLACKSWAN XG created the wrong perception of k-pop.

[@seonghwa-thestandard]

@jayc3603 FYI XG is trained under Korean training system, with all Japenese members, with song releases in English, mini releases in English, Korean and Japanese and promotes in Korea. XG's CEO also claims that XG is not a Kpop group. Please

[@goldyd144]

The leader, Fatou (the charismatic rapper of the group) clarifies that they also consider themselves a Kpop group. Korean Luminas and even regular Korean Netizens also consider them a Kpop group and actually defend them from hate communities that say they shouldn't be Kpop. I feel like, unlike XG who are trying to carve themselves into the international pop market by appealing to different fanbases and singing primarily in English - with Blackswan, they went the normal Kpop route with training, being under a Korean company, and singing in Korean. Their primary market, although they do perform in and appeal to international markets, is Korea. When they say they are a global group, it not only refers to the lineup being composed of all non-Korean members, but also is used more in the traditional Kpop sense in that they have global appeal. Not that they're trying to do Western-style pop. They have expressed that they want to do songs in other languages that the members speak like Hindi, French, and Portuguese, but at the end of the day they're primarily singing in Korean. I've been following Blackswan since before the re-brand when they were BP Rania with Alex Reid. Although the company has a lot of issues, the management and team behind this current lineup seem to be doing very well! The MV was filmed in Odisha (member Sriya's hometown), and I love how her culture was showcased here. ZANY Bros worked with them for the MV, and it shows in the production value this time around. I love the current lineup, and am happy to see them gain more interest and fans! I encourage you to check out the live stages

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Thank you for your comment! You are so on point with this and I appreciate you sharing what Fatou had to say on this issue!

[@hallyulikethat]

Amazing comment! Love your distinction between XG and Blackswan.

[@that_sam_94]

There are Kpop groups with Thai (BLACKPINK, GOT7), Malaysian(IN2IT), Japanese (TWICE, NCT, PENTAGON, etc), Chinese (f(x), EXO, WayV, etc) and American (BTOB, KARD, The Rose, DAY6) members so BLACKSWAN is just taking it a step forward onto the global platform! Even though they're not the first to do this, they are making a splash and as a Lumina I'm proud of them and hope they get lots of love!

[@ijustwannabehappier-v4973]

they're currently the first ever kpop group with NO korean member tho.

[@dana8503]

Also, interesting that they are embracing not only members who aren't Korean, but members who are not north asian. You can see withgrabbing the Korean or Japanese demo with Thai or Chinese members they are foreign, but not foreign enough to trigger any possible xenophobia, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese have similar ethnic looks. With a mix of African, Indian and European members, it's going really foreign, and this is going to be interesting.

[@ijustwannabehappier-v4973]

@@디아나2000 Lmaooo first of all XG is not classified kpop but partly kpop. And they aint the first. Blackswan is the first kpop group in Korea with no korean idols. Get your facts right

[@user-kb7zu8oc5b]

The key point is their language skill, Not their skin color or racial figures at all. Most of western kpop fans' biggest mistake is that they don't know how much their world is different to the eastern world. For them, everything looks like a matter of race skin color things but for eastern people, culture is everything. An example - Daniel Dae Kim can never be a part of Korean culture even though he is a full Korean and eat Korean food every day because of his poor Korean skill but Koreans call Jonathan Yiombi a 100% Korean brother even though he is a full black African born in Congo and eats Congonese food every day because his Korean skill is perfect. Same in Japan. So many pure Japanese blood Brasilians try to live or work in Japan but most of them give it up anyhow soon because they are just aliens who are able to speak a few random Japanese words only for mainland Japanese society. This is why every western boys and girls have been failed to be a Kpop idol and of course even couldn't understand what's really going on their life in Korea. Not race barrior things at all. It's a language barrior. A language is the absolute and the only operation system of its culture. Without it, you never understand their culture and never be a part of their culture. Look how amazing Jonathan Yiombi did in Korea. Literally all Koreans even tried to make him a Korean citizen to stop him going back to African and to hold him in their entertainment industry permanently.

[@sagitabhuyan3633]

This traditional dance is called odishi😊

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Thanks for this clarification! Traditional Indian music and dance is so rich, beautiful, and complex and has such an amazing history!

[@anonymous-d5s]

@@donnahallyulikethat Fun fact : Sriya , the main dancer of group shes trained in that dance form too. this art focuses very much on expressions hence sriya's expressions come out like a professional :)

[@radhikaskitchen1741]

@@anonymous-d5s yes her circle rounds and hand postures are clear cut because of it Odishi is hard to learn and really tough to master. for me it is most graceful dance form among indian classical dance forms,

[@jksassistant9740]

I think that's odissi?

[@andyandys5356]

Their other song "cat and mouse" mv just dropped

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes! We are uploading a reaction very soon! So excited!

[@csj7332]

블랙스완 사랑해요

[@Aniram789]

Thank you for this reaction. You mentioned they didn't go full Bollywood. What I've seen from the comment section, Bollywood is based in North India and Sriya is from Odisha which is in East India. Some people from her home state were commenting that they never see themselves represented in Bollywood productions and now they are suddenly in a K-pop video. So I think the reason it's not full Bollywood is because they chose to stick closer to Sriya's actual roots. They did mention wanting to use more of the other member's heritage too. NVee is from the US, not sure if they could show something new there. But both Fatou & Gabi have mixed heritage. I don't know if they could manage filming on location in two different continents for just 1 mv. But seeing a Senegalese/Belgian mv or a Brazilian/German one would definitely take the global claim to the next level!

[@mimis.5139]

Odisha isn't in South. it's EAST INDIA.

[@Aniram789]

@@mimis.5139 Thanks for clarifying, I edited the comment.

[@geminigrrl66]

There's a lot of different styles from the US that could be showcased. East Coast and West Coast styles are totally different. Same with the Southern US. With that said, I totally agree that it would be very cool for the group to incorporate their heritage into their songs. I think doing that would make them even more unique. #TeamFatou

[@Aniram789]

​@@geminigrrl66 I thought lots of K-pop groups have filmed in the US? Wouldn't they have done all this already?

[@geminigrrl66]

@@Aniram789 the US is huge lol. Just because some K-pop groups have filmed here before doesn't mean there's nothing new. I still agree with you about filming M/V's in the member's home countries would be cool.

[@katet8639]

Funny how he says Gabi's korean is spot on when in reality she is not the best in conversational speaking. Its Fatou who is the best at speaking the language. I hope the members keep improving for more succes, they also simg live and its decently good. Every stage they gotten better and better its insane how fast they improve. I lreally like Blackswan❤

[@lwmanofman]

블랙스완이 좋아.

[@Boonies]

BLACKSWAN is a kpop global with no Koreans (they may add their Koreans and Japanese trainees later on) group their company DR has been in the industry for YEARS they had the biggest girl groups in the past BABY VOX and RANIA and now BLACKSWAN they’ve been through A LOT with the hate and company issues but they have come out strong with the comeback karma and their b side cat and mouse definitely will go viral soon ❤️

[@zacharikurbah6358]

Actually Blackswan was Rania before, who had went through many lineup changes since 2011 till 2019, in early 2020 they decided to rebrand as Blackswan with Hyemi the longest member who joined Rania in 2015, Youngheun former Stellar member in 2019 alongside Leia (Larissa when she was announced as a new member, she's Brazilian-Japanese, she's inactive for now), then Judy and Fatou were added, they were supposed to debut in early 2020 but due to the covid pandemic, they debut in October

[@Boonies]

@@zacharikurbah6358 um we are talking about blackswan not rania I know who tf my favs are, stop spreading misinformation bye

[@aaishagupta3820]

No new members pls

[@nanichan3926]

Tbh they don't need a Korean member. They have a uniqueness in their group which no other group has. All of them sing in Korean. They can really sell this in the market.

[@Boonies]

@@nanichan3926 I agree, they are doing well without any Korean members so far x

[@oluwashinaomisanya7487]

They better get ready. Cause this group has it!!! 🔥

[@surabhikashyap241]

Truthfully speaking, the idea of a K-Pop group consists of people who are not ethnically or pass as East, Southeast Asians is still considered an outlier. Unless the big players of the industry start normalizing it, the current members of Blackswan will find it hard to survive. If they still succeed and get the recognition, they will certainly open the gates wide open for other ethnicities in K-Pop which will help in further expansion. DR Music is certainly trying to do something unique in the industry. But I don't know how serious they are with the concept. It is a big gamble.

[@sayanmandal1289]

I think that's not 'bharatnatyam ' that's 'Odissi' the local classical form dance , where Sriya comes from it's been shoot there. They came here during Hockey World in Odisha , they shoot the video that time. I mean the state of Odisha is the home of Sriya .

[@sssr18]

Yes it's odissi

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes, thanks so much! I haven't had a chance to see Odissi live in person, hopefully someday.

[@anonymous-d5s]

its orrisi

[@sayanmandal1289]

@@anonymous-d5s Yes I know , but in English pronunciation it's called 'Odissi' .

[@anonymous-d5s]

They worked with a local production team and music directors , the tourism department of the area also helped em in findin locations !

[@tysan2808]

I fell in love with the group cos of Fatou, the rapper.

[@ashantijordane1862]

Nvee has only been trained for about 3 months and gabi and sriya for a year I think

[@sri-jagan]

BLACKSWAN FIGHTING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Readish]

Guys it is considered to be as kpop as they sing in korean

[@mateussousa524]

They rocked this comeback ❤❤🎉

[@abhipsanayak6553]

The classical dance in the mv is odissi.

[@mits2480]

#Blackswan soo Cool , this Vibe Is Soo addicted waoo so Gorgeous ❤

[@anonymous-d5s]

The new lineup is more solidd than my floor :)

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments and for pointing out that the girl was performing Odissi dance and not bharatanatyam. Sorry about that and I'm glad for the opportunity to learn more about Odissi. I am curious though, does anyone know what traditional Indian instruments can be heard in the opening? I can hear the tanbura-like drone but was wondering what the other bowed string instrument is?

[@yeong20]

앞으로 블랙스완은 많은 관심과 성공을 만들것입니다.

[@JoshJazz01]

Something about Blackswan releasing this song and their current lineup(which i think is solid) at this time just seems so cosmically… Correct :) 🤍

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes, well-said! So true!

[@NoeliaGenov]

So happy you guys reacted to karma !!

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Thanks! We are happy as well and thankful to Blackswan for creating this wonderful video to react to!

[@mostbadhiyalist407]

2:27 its odissi dance form one of the Indian dance form out of many💃💜

[@zacharikurbah6358]

Blackswan's music has been a great bop since their debut, although despite losing 3 members, they still came back stronger, I hope their label will stop using the graduation system, I hope they can add Korean members again soon, I still support both the current members and the 3 Korean members

[@hallyulikethat]

Yeah, I am on the fence about the graduation system...

[@user-vs9se6vd9p]

I'm korean but I dont want any korean members in this group. Non korean kpop group is a great marketting point of this group. And it can be a good identity of this group.

[@LovelyLittleLillies]

Having a Korean member will help Korean fanbase grow. Who wants to Stan some random foreigners living in Korea? Very few. They need a Korean member for loyalty.

[@ArchanaBehera-v8b]

The dance is odissi classical dance form native to odisha of India.

[@qea9728]

I'm hooked on the song

[@hallyulikethat]

Me too

[@mits2480]

Lets Goo5M+ Straight keep watching for 100 days a and 20000 people can Cross These

[@bablidevi6055]

Yes Luminas Lets Go ❤

[@seraraujoo6932]

Obrigado por reagir blackshawan 🇧🇷😘

[@jyotivoice907]

Listen their cat and mouse

[@softdad7367]

Looooove Blackswan!!!! Another group with amazing cinematography is LOONA! they are having a rebrand soon as ARTMS so keep an eye out! would love to see any of your Loona reactions!

[@chrystalsimmons5802]

Ive been into kpop since 2002. There are a lot of non-koreans in kpop but they were asian or half asian.

[@bablidevi6055]

OhnGosh This is amzing , Karma Sooo cool

[@dilbarrahemankhan8021]

That one odishi dance form.. Love from odisha, India🇮🇳 ❤

[@hallyulikethat]

Thank you!

[@anantamajhi8269]

Omg u know Bharat natyam and holi.lots of ❤️ from India 🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@rraul3294]

It's Odishi dance not Bharatnatyam ❤

[@donnahallyulikethat]

@@rraul3294 Thank you!

[@poonamjoshi2623]

It was very nice

[@terrydavis2887]

Ty for your reaction. This mv is So good, music, vocals, dance, location. Members are global but respect Kpop and language. Perfection!❤❤

[@emirtieni]

The traditional dance is Odissi, this was shooted in Odisha too.

[@sarthakdas89]

The traditional dance by the little girl is odissi. This belongs to the state of odisha which is also the home state of the member sriya lenka

[@hallyulikethat]

Thank you so much for the correction.

[@anamikasharma6176]

They doing good ❤😊❤😊I like them

[@anonymous-d5s]

thannks for the reaction !

[@YS0210]

Thanks for reacting to blackswan!!!!!!!!

[@49deepaksinghrathour12]

we love them yasssssss we love u slayyyyyyy

[@Readish]

I think the kid danced is odisha dance as Bharathanatiyam is a tamilnadu dance

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes, thank you! This has been a great opportunity to learn more about this style of dance! It's beautiful!

[@that_sam_94]

Thank you for reacting to them!

[@hallyulikethat]

You're welcome!

[@lamkhawsungam8538]

Thank you so much for reacting 🙏🙏🙏

[@krrishvivanmahanta2802]

This video shoot India one of the state called odisha

[@simbanotthelion2640]

That’s actually odissi dance, one of the 7 classical form of dance.

[@mahuyaroy9523]

Best of luck 👍

[@YS0210]

please react to their performance of karma

[@jaxcgerard]

I think its jot bharatanatyam but more to odissi, one of the nine classical dances other than Bharata. since Sriya is from Odisha.

[@anonymous-d5s]

the traditional dance is orissi :)

[@rraul3294]

Awsm song❤❤❤❤

[@bhagyashreerout2825]

This traditional dance is odishi... odishi is the odisha state traditional dance... this is not Bharatnatyam... Bharatnatyam is the traditional dance of tamilnadu state.

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes, thanks so much! I want to learn more. Anyone know what instruments are played in the beginning?

[@srishti2901]

​@@donnahallyulikethat it's Indian instrument sarangi I think

[@donnahallyulikethat]

@@srishti2901 That's what I thought too but I also thought it could be a violin played in an Indian style like they do in Carnatic classical music.

[@snehasinghrajput7]

💜💜💜

[@maliennegirl7209]

😊😊😊 #blackswan

[@user-ww3qf4ty5z]

Nope thats not Bharat natiyam that is Odishi another India dance form coming from odisha from where Sriya Lenka belongs

[@donnahallyulikethat]

Yes, that's so cool! Again, so happy to hear that they are getting so specific about drawing on not only Indian heritage but the region where Sriya Lenka is from.

[@user-ww3qf4ty5z]

@@donnahallyulikethat yah exactly

[@이상기-g6c]

아무튼 블랙스완이 세계적으로 인정받기 위해서는 철저한 훈련과 한국어 구사 등 언어능력을 키워야 합니다. 리더인 파투를 제외하고는 한국어를 제대로 구사하지 못하고 있습니다. 이게 문제입니다. 한국어를 자유롭진 않아도 어느 정도 선까지 구사능력이 있어야 한국어 관한 감정전달이나 의사전달이 쉽거든요, 그렇지 못하면 말로만 떠드는 노래가 됩니다. 그러면 대중들의 감정을 흔들진 못합니다. 그리고 가창력도 키워야 하고요..대부분 멤버들이 가창력과 파워가 매우 부족합니다. 이래서는 오래 못 갑니다.

[@zeethakur1154]

The young dancer is dancing Odissi.

[@zuuverbby3414]

haloo nice reaction btw can u react secret number too

[@kalyanibelsare1762]

I love this song but i don't know why they only show the poorest side of India when india has a devloped cities and villages also that clothes faction also too old💜🇮🇳

[@abhilipsasenapati2786]

Oh God! It's not Bharatnatyam it's Odissi, the traditional dance of Odisha.. As Shriya is an Odissi dancer and she is from Odisha, India..

[@NabamJoseph-i5z]

It is not important to see your reaction they are best but when other kpop idols give reaction then it will be😊😊😊

[@HopeObi-z1v]

XG is literally a pop girl group like little mix bt they branding themselves as global girl group because they promoting in Korea n may bt Hv succeeded if only promoting in the western world.

[@nil.sun_9836]

This is Not "Bharat natyam" this is odisha's traditional dance "Odishi"

[@HopeObi-z1v]

From wat i know blackswan is kpop made up by foreigners even Korean medias Hv articles abt it bt XG is not kpop as they not known by a kpop company and sing in English so even if they had some Korean members I don’t think XG will still be kpop .

[@ejlee5090]

누구??? 난 처음 보는데???

[@qea9728]

Blackswan