The Top 7 K-Pop Collaborations from 2021 to Fall in Love With
As K-pop grows more and more global, we’re seeing an increase in collaborations between Korean artists and international artists. Of course, we’ve had a ton of amazing collaborations in the past—including BLACKPINK with Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa, BTS with Halsey and Nicki Minaj, and Monsta X with French Montana. Throughout 2021, we’ve seen a new group of collaborations blossom in the music scene. Here’s a list of the top seven K-Pop collaborations from 2021.
1. “SG” by DJ Snake, Ozuna, Megan Thee Stallion, and LISA
Image from DJ Snake’s Official Instagram
Kicking off our list of K-Pop collaborations from 2021, we’ve got the highly anticipated “SG” by DJ Snake, Ozuna, Megan Thee Stallion, and BLACKPINK’s LISA.
With teasers coming out a few months before the actual release, “SG” is a song fans were beyond excited for. The track features a mixture of Spanish and English, but the artists on this song bring quite the mixture of cultures together for one powerful, bass-driven song. Officially, the music video for this song came out on October 21, 2021.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJXPfNDVF4I[/embedyt]
The unique beat of the song, the captivating vocals, and the combination of spectacular artists is enough to make this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 memorable. The collab couldn’t have come at a better time, though. LISA was already in the spotlight, having put out her own solo mixtape only the month before. Her addition to “SG” only proved how much power her talent has.
To add more to this, LISA is also credited as a composer and writer for this song, proving even more that she’s not just a powerful performer and visual, but an all-rounder in the music world.
2. “Going Dumb” by Alesso, CORSAK, and Stray Kids
Image from Stray Kids’ Official Twitter
At the beginning of 2021, it was announced that Stray Kids would be collaborating with world-famous CORSAK and multi-platinum record holder Alesso on a special track for the PlayerUnknown’s Battleground Mobile (PUBG Mobile) game. And on March 19, 2021, Stray Kids released the official lyric video on YouTube.
Combining the powerful DJ beat with the appealing vocals from Stray Kids, this song was bound to be a hit from the moment it was released. The song catchy—the beat and lyrics carrying a special bounce to them—and everything you’d want in a K-Pop collaboration from 2021.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jjcuRckOJc[/embedyt]
Further, it’s also Stray Kids’ first global collaboration. Their fandom was beyond excited for this song to come out and even more excited with how great the song was. The collaboration also sparked a lot more attention for the group internationally, many fans reported hearing this song on the radio overseas—another first for Stray Kids.
Truly, this was an unforgettable K-Pop collaboration from 2021.
3. “A Little Space” by Pentatonix, featuring ATEEZ’ San, Yunho, and Jongho
Moving on to our next K-Pop collaboration from 2021, we’ve got a remix song from the group Pentatonix that features a few of the members from ATEEZ (San, Yunho, and Jongho).
On August 18th, Pentatonix teased a remix version of their well-loved song “A Little Space,” including a picture of three mystery people blocked out by shadows. (Of course, no shadow is strong enough to hide who they really were from fans.)
Image from Pentatonix’ Official Twitter
A day later, the 19th, the remix collaboration was released as an audio. And, again, a day later a music video featuring the ATEEZ members was dropped. Fans immediately took to showing their appreciation for the song and the collaboration opportunity. The addition of San, Yunho, and Jongho’s vocals to the already boppy and smooth track made it all that more enjoyable.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NopH1AxEq8[/embedyt]
It was one of the first times ATEEZ members were able to collaborate with an international artist in such a way. Though the group has done their fair share of collaborations with plenty of Korean artists—this includes their collaborative mini-album with Kim Jongkook that also came out in 2021.
Fans discovered that Pentatonix are actually big fans of ATEEZ, so this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 meant a lot for the fans of both artists.
4. “Leaves” by Ben&Ben and Young K
Image from Ben&Ben’s Official Twitter
Continuing the trend of remix version K-Pop collaborations from 2021, Young K featured on the remix version of Ben&Ben’s popular song “Leaves.”
Bringing a significantly softer sound to our list, “Leaves” is a song that holds a gentleness in both the vocals from each artist and the backing music. It lulls you to calmness in the best way possible. Ben&Ben first announced the remake of their 2017 single “Leaves” on May 26 on Twitter, adding the fact that Young K would collaborate with them in this feat to push the message of the song. They really wanted to remind their fans that “everything will be alright in time” amidst the chaos the world was still in.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oxxi0d7AQI[/embedyt]
Officially, the music video for this song was released by Ben&Ben on their YouTube channel on May 28th, including Young K with his own studio video. Mixing the meaning of the song, the fantastic collaboration, and the gentleness of it all… we’ve gotten a K-Pop collaboration from 2021 that you won’t want to forget.
This song is one you’ll definitely want to keep in your comfort playlist and play any time you need the reminder that everything will be alright in time.
5. “Demente (Spanish Ver.)” by Chungha and Guaynaa
Image from Chungha’s Official SoundCloud
One of the earlier K-Pop collaborations from 2021 was “Demente (Spanish Ver.)” by Chungha and Guaynaa. This track came out in mid-March, marking the first song that a Korean artist sang completely in Spanish.
Originally, this song was released in February on Chungha’s first Korean studio album Querencia. It included both Korean and Spanish at the time, already including Guaynaa in the process. The collaboration went further, of course, when they decided to release the full Spanish version together. Including Guaynaa singing on the track and participating in the music video released.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsHZI6nYLFM[/embedyt]
The catchy beat and welcoming Spanish sound are more than enough to bring this K-pop collaboration from 2021 to the top of any list. But the uniqueness of the track—the newness of a Korean artist singing fully in Spanish on their own song—has also helped bring this song to the limelight.
Fans of Chungha absolutely adored this collaboration, many Spanish-speaking comments fill the comment section on YouTube. Most appreciated the effort the singer put into speaking another language. Since many fans already loved the Korean-Spanish version of the song, it’s no surprise that they also loved the fully Spanish version.
6. “World is One 2021” by Chuu, Kim Yohan, and Eric Bellinger
With Grammy-winning artist Eric Bellinger, this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 is a special one. Chuu from YOONA and Kim Yohan from WEi teamed up with Eric Bellinger to bring a high-spirited and comforting song to the world. The lyrics themselves are not only upbeat and bright, but the music video is just as uplifting.
This song was first released on September 15th, coming out over a month before the World Is One 2021 Charity Concert that took place online. The concert itself included quite a few artists from around the world, so this collaboration should come as no surprise.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boAKqlSYAbQ[/embedyt]
The song itself talks about being one with each other and being able to face the troubles of the world—of course, with the time this song came out, it’s no doubt that this has to do with the current pandemic going on.
Further, the World Is One 2021 Charity Concert was put together to help children around the world suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This K-Pop collaboration from 2021, basically a theme song for the concert, wraps up the message of the concert wonderfully.
7. K-Pop Collaborations from 2021: BTS
Of course, this wouldn’t be a list of K-Pop collaborations from 2021 if we didn’t include BTS. In 2021 alone, BTS collaborated with three different international artists. Some just as producers and others as features on their songs. But 2021 was a fantastic year for BTS and their collaborations, so take a look at them!
“My Universe” by Coldplay featuring BTS
One of the most anticipated collaborations between K-Pop and international artists is Coldplay and BTS. Since a couple of the members have expressed their love and wish to collaborate with the other band—Jin and V specifically—BTS’ fans have eagerly waited for the two groups to band together in what was sure to be an unforgettable collaboration.
At the beginning of 2021, BTS appeared on the American show MTV Unplugged. Amongst their other songs, the group also performed a special cover of Coldplay’s song “Fix You.” You can read our article about the performance to find out more!
From this initial cover, fans speculated a collaboration between the two groups (as Coldplay doesn’t typically allow others to cover their songs like this). It wasn’t until September, though, that fans truly got confirmation about the collaboration.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YqPKLZF_WU[/embedyt]
“My Universe” came out with a lyric video on September 24th and a music video with both groups on September 30th. Fans immediately fell in love with the energetic and upbeat song, getting it to debut number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the first week after its release. Even months later, the song is still on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
For BTS fans, Coldplay fans, and fans of music in general, this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 is one of the most spectacular ones of all. K-Pop fans and non-K-Pop fans alike enjoy this song.
“Butter” by BTS (remix featuring Megan Thee Stallion)
Image from BTS’ Official Twitter
After their chart-topping and record-breaking song “Butter” took over the internet, it was announced that the septet would be releasing a remix version with Megan Thee Stallion. However, this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 took a bit more effort to get released than what you might expect.
BTS fans first heard about the collaboration when an unexpected issue arose for Megan. We won’t go into too much detail about what was happening, but what we will say is that there was a disagreement between Megan and her company about the collaboration. After the legal battle came to head in BTS’ fandom, an uproar occurred. After the court hearing, Megan was officially cleared to release the song and it came out soon after on August 27th.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymaIzkXY8nQ[/embedyt]
Including all of the original parts from “Butter,” Megan’s addition to the song came in a special verse added halfway through. Her rap blended perfectly into the song and fans loved it. Since it took so much effort to come out, it made this K-Pop collaboration from 2021 that much better.
Originally, BTS and Megan were set to perform the remix together at this year’s American Music Awards (AMAs). Unfortunately, Megan wasn’t able to make it due to personal reasons. But they made up for it when Megan made a surprise appearance at BTS’ Permission to Dance On Stage in LA concert day two (November 28th).
“Permission to Dance” by BTS (produced by Ed Sheeran)
Image from BTS’ Weverse
After the first collaboration song between BTS and Ed Sheeran became a hit—their song “Make It Right” from BTS’ mini-album Map of the Soul: Persona in 2019—it was only a matter of time before the artists collaborated again.
Ahead of the “Permission to Dance” release, Ed Sheeran actually gave a little spoiler of his collaboration with the group on this song. Though there wasn’t a name to the song yet, Ed Sheeran had fully spoiled the collaboration. Of course, this only led BTS’ company to confirm this K-Pop collaboration from 2021.
By the time the music video came out on June 9th, the UK singer had spoiled more on the song. But fans weren’t too upset; in fact, the spoilers only made them more excited for the collaboration.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuklIb9d3fI[/embedyt]
This K-Pop collaboration from 2021 did not disappoint, as BTS never seems to do. The song was comforting, uplifting, and everything fans could’ve wanted from the group’s third all-English track. You can read more about this song in the blog post we wrote for it back in July.
Do you have a favorite K-Pop collaboration from 2021?
Though we mainly focused on K-Pop collaborations from 2021 that featured international artists, there are actually far more songs in K-Pop produced by international artists than you might know. For example, TXT’s song “Frost” off of their album The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE was written and produced by British producer Jacob Manson, American rapper Ashnikko, and a few others. There are a ton of songs written and produced by international artists for K-Pop singers, so you just have to keep your eye out for them!
Though our list of K-Pop collaborations from 2021 only contains a small number of songs, there will be even more collaborations to come in later years. With the growth of K-Pop globally, we’re only just getting started with international collaborations. If you’d like to read more about your favorite K-Pop artists, feel free to check out our K-Pop Category! We’ve got multiple blogs written about the comebacks that came out during 2021, so give them a glance. And if you want to check out more Korean artists outside of the K-Pop genre, take a look at our Music Category. We’ve written about artists ranging from the indie genre to the heavy metal genre!
