From ROSÉ and Bruno Mars to ZEROBASEONE: The Expansion of K-POP’s Global Collaborations

K-POP artists’ global collaborations are expanding, setting new records in the international music market. “APT.” featuring BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ and American pop star Bruno Mars achieved the highest ranking on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart. The song entered the chart at number 4 in the issue dated January 25, marking the highest position ever attained by a K-POP artist on this Pop Airplay chart. The previous record was held by BTS’s “Dynamite,” which reached number 5 in December 2020. ROSÉ also became the first female K-POP artist to enter the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while “APT.” dominated the Billboard Global 200 chart for 11 consecutive weeks. Collaborations between K-POP legends and newer generation artists are also drawing attention. “Lucky,” released on January 15 by K-POP legend Kim Wan-sun and Red Velvet’s SEULGI, is a fresh collaboration featuring 1980s pop aesthetics. These music icons from two different generations created a track filled with electric energy, and their partnership—showcasing Kim Wan-sun, known as “Korea’s Madonna” for pioneering K-POP, alongside SEULGI, who represents modern K-POP—proves the historical depth of K-POP. ZEROBASEONE became the first K-POP group to collaborate with Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito. Junji Ito participated in creating the digital cover for the track “Doctor! Doctor!” included in their fifth mini-album, released on the 17th, using his unique artistic style to depict emotions of being addicted to love. The core of the artwork is a mysterious composition featuring a boy clutching his heart and a doctor observing him. ZEROBASEONE’s “Doctor! Doctor!” is an easy-listening track that compares the feeling of love to a severe fever. The preview version of the song was released on the 20th, with the full fifth mini-album set to drop on the 24th of next month. The growing scale of K-POP’s international collaborations goes beyond mere musical trends, demonstrating that K-POP is moving to the center of the global music market. These collaborations across different generations, countries, and genres reaffirm K-POP’s musical diversity and global influence.