--- 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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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## 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 [00:00] For the people who don't know who CL is, what is your [00:02] career, who are you, and what are you doing here? [00:05] [ MUSIC ] [00:11] America's introduction to K- Pop was via Psy, [00:13] Gangnam Style. [ MUSIC ] That was 2012 and since [00:18] then K- Pop has grown in much more substantial and [00:21] significant ways. [ MUSIC ] [ UNKNOWN ] [00:25] Hiphop stars are touring America more than ever [00:28] where seen the fandalists are a much more substantial [00:30] in growing. What is it gonna take for an Asian [00:34] start breakthrough in musically. That's I think the [00:37] interesting question. [ NOISE ] A dear friend [00:42] of mine about to [00:46] make her They fired [00:50] main hero giving up [00:55] for. [ MUSIC ] My name is [ UNKNOWN ] and I come [00:59] from [ UNKNOWN ]. I'm a performer artist, musician. [01:01] I'm in a band called 2NE1. [ MUSIC ] She's like the [01:12] Nicki Minaj of that world which is the coolest artist to [01:14] work with, I think. Right now I'm working on my solo [01:17] album in America You know sitting on it's own, maybe [01:20] just the creation process. The first thing that we're [01:23] actually going to do is pretty simple, is just recite the [01:25] lyrics to [ UNKNOWN ] The whole thing? I got myself a [01:29] 40. I got myself [01:37] a shorty. [ MUSIC ] [01:45] And she is very [ UNKNOWN ] I didn't see [01:47] [ UNKNOWN ] doing the right way because she is [01:48] coming to the right channel so, she is like getting new [01:50] friends and also developing what [01:55] is putting around [ UNKNOWN ] record. Do talk shows [01:58] and then people forget about her she's developing and [02:00] gaining fans from the ground up. [ MUSIC ] [02:09] Me coming to US is not that different because To [02:14] me being creative is expressing myself and i've been [02:17] doing that for a long time and the only deference [02:20] would be that i'm singing in English now. [02:31] [ MUSIC ] There's no Asian artist on a music scene [02:35] really that is a very small Club that is deciding that is [02:38] deciding who is in, who's out. Tons of gatekeepers and [02:42] what not. It's almost easier for an asian star to pick [02:46] up and leave America and go to Korea where their [02:49] kind of guaranteed the sort of interest and fame. [02:51] [ MUSIC ] My names Eric. [02:58] Eric Nam working based out of Seoul but originally [03:02] from Atlanta. [03:07] [ MUSIC ] Growing up in the states you don't have any [03:10] Asian American or Asian faces doing music here. And [03:13] so I never thought it was possible and so I always [03:15] thought to myself I guess I have to go to Korea if I ever [03:18] want to do music. Photo time. The goal and the dream [03:22] would be to cross over into the States. That would be [03:26] the coolest thing, it would be a dream come true. To [03:29] be able to perform in what I consider to be my first [03:32] home, in my native language and in front of my friends [03:36] and family, we're all here. Korea's had its eye on [03:39] America for a couple of years now, and I think there's [03:43] been a lot of interesting experiments. [ MUSIC ] [04:25] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [04:45] Dean is so interesting too because I think he's really [04:49] quick to distance himself from the k pop world. He's [04:53] Coming up strictly on his own terms and releasing the [04:55] videos when he wants and you know, getting the right [04:58] people that will ensure people are talking about him. [05:01] [ MUSIC ] It isn't just money wise, it's about [05:05] taking it to that next level and trying to represent [05:07] something larger. Someone like CL, that's what I think [05:10] really burns her and really ignites the passion I [05:15] feel like there's not one pop star. Like, no one female [05:19] pop star that's representing all the girls that's living out [05:22] here. I want to represent, you know, Asian girls. [05:32] To be honest, the challenge is that America is a huge [05:36] country with many different cultures and many talented [05:38] artists. [ FOREIGN ] Race kinda just has to drop out of [05:40] the picture. The music just has to be really good. It has [05:43] to be something that people want to connect with and [05:45] dance to and sing along with. An Asian star will be a [05:47] success when you see everyone copying their route. [05:50] Cuz all it takes This is what ?>> What I need right now [05:54] for me to make it here is, it's a matter of time [05:58] [ LAUGH ]. 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