--- title: Nicki Minaj Features on a New Song from K-Pop Superstars BTS description: The 'Queen' rapper lent her vocals to a new song from the K-pop group BTS, who just released their extended album 'Love Yourself: Answer' canonical: https://time.com/5377307/nicki-minaj-bts-idol/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-24T15:26:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:54.569Z og:title: Nicki Minaj and BTS Join Forces on a Hard-Charging New Song og:description: The 'Queen' rapper guest stars on the new BTS song "Idol" og:url: https://time.com/5377307/nicki-minaj-bts-idol/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nicki Minaj and BTS Join Forces on a Hard-Charging New Song twitter:description: The 'Queen' rapper guest stars on the new BTS song "Idol" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Nicki Minaj and K-Pop Superstars BTS Join Forces on a Hard-Charging New Song > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=96e67c7d-aca2-4c07-8629-01cacf3dd70c&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: K-Pop's Next Act [Watch (HLS stream): K-Pop's Next Act](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ukAz9Fl.m3u8) (6:04)  _Published 2016-10-31. Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 24, 2018 3:26 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 24, 2018 3:26 PM UTC On their brand-new extended album _Love Yourself: Answer_, [K-pop superstars](http://time.com/5181183/j-hope-bts-hope-world-interview/) BTS tapped a familiar U.S. artist to pump up the energy of new track “Idol:” [Nicki Minaj](http://time.com/5369448/nicki-minaj-vmas-2018/). Minaj, the popular Queens rapper who just dropped her own album _Queen_ [earlier in the month](http://time.com/5364696/nicki-minaj-queen-album-review/), is the only other artist featured on the 26-track album other than DJ and producer [Steve Aoki](http://time.com/4563402/steve-aoki-dj-interview/), who previously worked with BTS on their hit song “MIC Drop.” _Love Yourself: Answer_ is technically a repackaged version of their album _Love Yourself: Tear_, with an additional seven new tracks, and marks a final chapter in their _Love Yourself_ series. Both a non-Minaj and a Minaj-featuring version of “Idol” appear on the project. “Idol” is a clubby, beat-heavy track that pulses with energy and a sax melody line off the top. The seven-member [K-pop group](http://time.com/5124176/best-k-pop-artists/) contribute to rapping and singing, partially in English and partially in Korean, across its four-plus hard-charging minutes. Minaj’s verse serves as a celebration and an introduction: “What’s good, Korea / You know I’ve been a boss for my whole career,” she reminds listeners. The release of _Love Yourself: Answer_ and this collaboration mark the beginning of BTS’s impending arrival on the U.S. scene. They’ve nabbed a number of titles and records over the years — including as _Billboard_‘s Top Social Artist, being named to TIME’s [Most Influential](http://time.com/4815217/most-influential-people-internet/item/bts-2/) on the Internet list and topping the [_Billboard_ 200](http://time.com/5292964/korean-boyband-bts-k-pop-billboard-200/) — BTS will be playing their [first official U.S. tour](https://www.ticketmaster.com/BTS-tickets/artist/2110227?irgwc=1&clickid=Vy7Vz5Wc4R-nU23z4hWUzVGHUkg0Er3KhSKkSo0&camefrom=CFC%5FBUYAT%5F1223901&impradid=1223901&REFERRAL%5FID=tmfeedbuyat1223901&wt.mc%5Fid=aff%5FBUYAT%5F1223901&utm%5Fsource=1223901-Pitchfork&impradname=Pitchfork&utm%5Fmedium=affiliate#artist%5Ftable%5Ffocus) starting in September in L.A. with dates at the Staples Center. Listen to the full IDOL by BTS song below. ## Transcript For the people who don't know who CL is, what is your career, who are you, and what are you doing here? [ MUSIC ] America's introduction to K- Pop was via Psy, Gangnam Style. [ MUSIC ] That was 2012 and since then K- Pop has grown in much more substantial and significant ways. [ MUSIC ] [ UNKNOWN ] Hiphop stars are touring America more than ever where seen the fandalists are a much more substantial in growing. What is it gonna take for an Asian start breakthrough in musically. That's I think the interesting question. [ NOISE ] A dear friend of mine about to make her They fired main hero giving up for. [ MUSIC ] My name is [ UNKNOWN ] and I come from [ UNKNOWN ]. I'm a performer artist, musician. I'm in a band called 2NE1. [ MUSIC ] She's like the Nicki Minaj of that world which is the coolest artist to work with, I think. Right now I'm working on my solo album in America You know sitting on it's own, maybe just the creation process. The first thing that we're actually going to do is pretty simple, is just recite the lyrics to [ UNKNOWN ] The whole thing? I got myself a 40. I got myself a shorty. [ MUSIC ] And she is very [ UNKNOWN ] I didn't see [ UNKNOWN ] doing the right way because she is coming to the right channel so, she is like getting new friends and also developing what is putting around [ UNKNOWN ] record. Do talk shows and then people forget about her she's developing and gaining fans from the ground up. [ MUSIC ] Me coming to US is not that different because To me being creative is expressing myself and i've been doing that for a long time and the only deference would be that i'm singing in English now. [ MUSIC ] There's no Asian artist on a music scene really that is a very small Club that is deciding that is deciding who is in, who's out. Tons of gatekeepers and what not. It's almost easier for an asian star to pick up and leave America and go to Korea where their kind of guaranteed the sort of interest and fame. [ MUSIC ] My names Eric. Eric Nam working based out of Seoul but originally from Atlanta. [ MUSIC ] Growing up in the states you don't have any Asian American or Asian faces doing music here. And so I never thought it was possible and so I always thought to myself I guess I have to go to Korea if I ever want to do music. Photo time. The goal and the dream would be to cross over into the States. That would be the coolest thing, it would be a dream come true. To be able to perform in what I consider to be my first home, in my native language and in front of my friends and family, we're all here. Korea's had its eye on America for a couple of years now, and I think there's been a lot of interesting experiments. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] Dean is so interesting too because I think he's really quick to distance himself from the k pop world. He's Coming up strictly on his own terms and releasing the videos when he wants and you know, getting the right people that will ensure people are talking about him. [ MUSIC ] It isn't just money wise, it's about taking it to that next level and trying to represent something larger. Someone like CL, that's what I think really burns her and really ignites the passion I feel like there's not one pop star. Like, no one female pop star that's representing all the girls that's living out here. I want to represent, you know, Asian girls. To be honest, the challenge is that America is a huge country with many different cultures and many talented artists. [ FOREIGN ] Race kinda just has to drop out of the picture. The music just has to be really good. It has to be something that people want to connect with and dance to and sing along with. An Asian star will be a success when you see everyone copying their route. Cuz all it takes This is what ? >> What I need right now for me to make it here is, it's a matter of time [ LAUGH ]. 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