Black Swan may be one of the most unique groups in the kpop landscape, having formed from former kpop Rania before debuting under the name “Blackswan” in 2020 under DR Music. They originally had five members: Hyeme, Youngheun, Judy, Leia, and Fatou, but have gone though more than a few lineup changes since, and now have four: original member Fatou with three new members Gabi, Sriya, and Nvee. Interestingly, none of the current members are Korean; Fatou is from Senegal, Gabi is from Brazil, Sriya is from India, and Nvee is from America, sparking conversations on whether Black Swan is really a kpop band.

Here are my credentials: so, it’s a bit complicated here. I think I’ve heard a song or two by Blackswan—cue me in three paragraphs going “OH I KNOW THIS SONG”—and I’ve heard a bit about the controversies surrounding them and the conversation on what “kpop means”. But I can’t say I know much more, so I’m looking forward to this. Let’s get into it!

Album #1: Goodbye Rania

As an idea of how little I knew about Black Swan, I was genuinely surprised that Tonight was mostly in Korean (stupid of me, I know) and not in English. Despite coming out in 2020, it felt very classically second gen, like a song that 9Muses or AOA would have done during their respective heydays. It starts with a pretty great rock riff too. It was nothing like I’d expected, so it really threw me for a loop–in a good way. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Fatou’s rap verse, since it felt a bit tacked on, but I do like her unique voice and her tone. But overall, minus a few questionable outfit choices, I liked this one.

From the album, I enjoyed the light, lilting vocals in Over and Over and the incessantly catchy hook of Don’t Start A Fire (which has an actually good rap break?? Incredible). My hidden gem was Up, whose dance floor beat is 2nd gen in a whole different way from Tonight and which is my hidden gem. Half of the songs are labeled “Remixes”, from which I assume that they were previous songs from Rania’s career? I could be wrong. My favorite of those was probably the spacey, electro Hello.

My absolute least favorite was Dr. Feel Good, which is just…so creepy. I get that it’s supposed to be sexy but Christ does it miss the boat. What the hell are those lyrics? Whose idea was this? Anyway, this is a very strong debut, and I’m curious where they’ll go from here.

Single #1: Close To Me

 If Tonight feels 2nd gen, Close To Me is much more of a 3rd gen sound, between its hints of girl crush and that anti-drop. I’m not the biggest fan of the harshness of the beat in the background or said anti-drop (which I feel cheapens a pretty good chorus), but otherwise I like the song. The rap, despite not really being necessary, flows much better too. I also really wanted to say how impressed I am by Fatou’s Korean here, btw; there’s a marked improvement between their debut and this one.

Single #2: That Karma

Though there were of course things going on behind the scenes, Karma may well be made by a different band, not in the least because the only member that’s the same from Close To Me is Fatou. I enjoyed the Indian influences here, one of the few instances of this in k-pop where it’s not painful cultural appropriation as new member Sriya is actually from India, and (as far as my untrained eye can tell) it’s done respectfully. I think I liked the idea of Karma better than the song itself, though; I’m not a fan of anti-drops at the best of times and this doesn’t do anything to change my mind. I really like the pre- and post-choruses, though, and I think that the bridge is undeniably the best part of the whole thing. The instrumental too is lovely. It’s just not quite there.

Single #3: Cat & Mouse

To say that Cat & Mouse’s twinkling, light-footed beat isn’t what I was expecting after songs like Karma and Close To Me, but I’m happy to hear it. I’m not the biggest fan of the rap verses again, unfortunately; I thought we were making some progress after the last few songs but I guess not. Something I did really like was the way the MV blended live action and cartoon elements, giving a very goofy effect that, to its credit, the song leans into. It got a few good laughs out of me, that’s for sure, even though I doubt I’ll go out of my way to listen to it.

EP #1: Roll Up

Roll Up takes us from India and Tom and Jerry to a bar in the Wild West. This is the first song of theirs that I’d say feels very 4th gen, between the sing-talk and the more obvious leaning into girl crush. My biggest gripe is that the build-up is just incredible…and the payoff is meh. Not bad, that’s for sure. I’ve heard worse anti-drops in kpop songs—worse in this review—but after that, it just feels disappointing. I will say that the raps don’t feel out of place in this song, and while I still don’t think they’re necessary, I don’t mind that they’re there. I also mostly liked the music video—besides some entirely unnecessary shots of just their asses, because, come on, guys—with its warm tones, cowboy influences, and those cool red dresses. It’s probably the best song as a whole with Black Swan’s new line up.

From the EP, I enjoyed the smooth vocals and trippy beat of Double Down.

Single #4: I Like It Hot

I Like It Hot has similar influences to Karma, with a thundering drum and woodwind led opening that soon leads into a more relaxed first verse. I think I like the idea of it better than I like it in practice; it’s interesting and stands out from the kpop landscape, definitely, but besides that the bones of the song itself just aren’t so interesting to me. I couldn’t definitively find out where the MV was filmed, but it looks like the United Arab Emirates to me. I have mixed feelings about that, considering that the entire city was built off of the back of modern-day slavery, but I digress. I did like the music video as a whole.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. Like I said, I didn’t know much about Black Swan before this, so I decided to watch the K-pop Idols documentary on Apple TV. I was just planning to watch one episode, but I got sucked in, because of course I did. Learning more about their journey and all the struggles behind the scenes, especially with Fatou and Leia, really made me get a new perspective. I’d recommend watching it, and I have a feeling that CRAVITY may be a review in the not-too-distant future. I also watched their performance of Roll Up on It’s Live, which is a lot of fun.

My Top 5 songs were Tonight, Start A Fire, Close To Me, Karma, and Roll Up with Up as an honorable mention. Blackswan gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me. I think the biggest issue I had with them is that they don’t feel like the same group from Goodbye Rain to I Like It Hot, which is obviously because they aren’t. It would be hard for any group to go through so many lineup changes and keep a concrete identity, so I can’t really fault them for it. But it does mean that they don’t really have an identity, besides being from around the world, which I would guess is why that’s what everyone is so focused on. I’m hopeful that with what seems like a more secure lineup and an end to the drama showcased in the documentary, they can start a new chapter.

Next time, we’re onto a very different girl group. Tschüss!