Dream K-pop collabs: Blackpink x Lady Gaga and BTS feat. Nicki Minaj got us thinking – what if these 4 Korean idols got to work with their favourite international stars?

Apr 1 , 2021

IU fan girling with Corinne Bailey Rae, and Blackpink’s Lisa and Kehlani – might we see a collab soon? Photo: @Koreaboo/Twitter; @lalalisa_m @kehlani/ Instagram

Red Velvet’s Wendy and Jessie J respect each other from afar, while IU’s obsession with Corinne Bailey Rae already saw her join the UK star onstage in Seoul

Blackpink fans played matchmaker when they found out how much Lisa loved US singer Kehlani – could all these fangirl collaborations actually be on the cards?

As K-pop enjoys an increasingly global audience, fans have been treated to more and more collaborations between Korean idols and international pop stars – from BTS and Nicki Minaj’s song Idol, to Blackpink’s collab with Lady Gaga on Sour Candy, and Red Velvet and John Legend’s Written in the Stars.

So who else can we expect to collaborate in the future? And can we look to our favourite K-pop stars’ own idol crushes for clues? It turns out everyone from Blackpink’s Lisa to IU has been showing love towards their favourite overseas acts on social media, and matchmaking fans are trying to help things along. Could these mega-star mash-ups create the next big hit?

IU and Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae and IU together in Seoul, pre-pandemic. Photo: @Koreaboo/Twitter

Now 13 years into the K-pop business, IU is truly the idol of idols, with Chungha, BTS’ Jungkook and several other fellow stars citing the Celebrity singer as their role model. But even IU turns into a bashful fangirl in front of her own idol – Corinne Bailey Rae.

Since the day she debuted she has sung covers of Bailey Rae’s tunes, including Like a Star, a song she said was what got her interested in music and learning guitar as a 16-year-old in the first place. In 2011, she finally got to meet her idol at the Night of TV Entertainment show, where she couldn’t hide her excitement, blurting out that she loved Bailey Rae even more than her mum. After their meeting, she was invited to perform with Corinne Bailey Rae at her Korea concert.

Ever since then, they’ve continued to build their friendship, with Bailey Rae gifting IU a song she composed herself, which IU added lyrics to and revealed to the world as the track 4am on her 2011 “Last Fantasy” album.

Fans must have been reassured to see IU’s gushing Twitter response to Corinne Bailey Rae wishing her good luck for her show. IU replied: “Now I’m good enough to die.” Even the world’s best performers get star struck, it seems.

Blackpink’s Lisa and Kehlani

Blackpink’s Lisa has made no secret of the fact that she’s most impressed by US singer Kehlani’s voice and would love to collaborate on a song. Photo: @lalalisa_m/Instagram