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?

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? What were these K-drama actors like in university? IU and Corinne Bailey Rae 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. Who were the best and worst dressed at the Grammys? 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. @CorinneBRae Now i'm good enough to die..♥ Love IU — 이지은 (@lily199iu) November 23, 2013 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. 4 K-pop BFFs to know, from ‘the Padding Squad’ to Jennie and Irene Blackpink’s Lisa and Kehlani In a 2018 magazine interview, Lisa name-checked her role model and favourite artist as US singer-songwriter Kehlani, saying she hoped they could perform together sometime. Lisa’s fans decided to play cupid, bombarding Kehlani with messages until she noticed. “Y’all keep talking about saying something about this girl Lisa from Blackpink,” she said on an Instagram live in May 2018. From that point on, Kehlani began following Lisa’s Instagram and liking her pictures. Lisa responded by uploading Kehlani’s songs Nunya and Footsteps on her Instagram stories, and Kehlani retweeted on of Lisa’s dance performances. K-drama explainer: why are ramyeon noodles an invitation for sex? SHE KNOWS I LOVE HER 👑 https://t.co/dMDKwja7pA — Kehlani (@Kehlani) March 11, 2021 So will the two collaborate on a track? It seems even more likely after Kehlani retweeted one fan’s comment about such an idea. Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Beyoncé Since day one, Seulgi’s love and admiration of Beyoncé has been well known, not least because the Red Velvet singer never missed a chance to mention the Houston native whenever asked who her inspiration was. Blackpink’s Jennie and G-Dragon: 4 reasons they make the perfect K-pop couple On a 2017 episode of Abnormal Summit, Seulgi admitted that she’d been a big fan of Beyoncé’s from a young age, regularly watching her stage performances and being astounded by her energy and presence. Then, when Seulgi appeared on Knowing Brothers, she added that it was her dream to sing a duet with Beyoncé, before being more realistic and saying she’d be just as content with a chance to see Queen Bey in concert. Are Blackpink’s Jennie and G-Dragon really each other’s type? Red Velvet’s Wendy and Jessie J During the same episode of Abnormal Summit, group mate Wendy said she was a big Jessie J fan. Then on Snowball Project, Wendy expertly sang a cover of Jessie J’s Price Tag, and Jessie J herself left a string of heart emojis on the video in response. The idol definitely noticed, saying on Kim Shin-young’s Noon Song of Hope radio show: “Dear Jessie J, thank you for liking my cover and heart emojis. Once again thank you very much I hope I can collaborate with you one day.” Is Hyun Bin’s new penthouse a marital home for Son Ye-jin? The two now seem to support each other a lot, with Jessie J posting Wendy’s cover of her song to her Instagram stories in 2019, when Wendy was injured rehearsing for the SBS Gayo Daejeon, to show her support. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.