The Best K-Pop and Global Music Collaborations of 2023

K-Pop continues to globally dominate, and 2023 gave us a new class of hitmakers, thanks to BTS on break. Jung Kook (of BTS) took huge strides as a solo artist and proved to be the king of collabs, showcasing his range by collaborating with everyone from Jack Harlow to Justin Timberlake, Latto, and now Usher. But the list goes on and on. While most of the collaborations proved successful unions, others left us thinking, um, too calculated.

Having said that, here are this year’s Best K-Pop/Global Collabs of 2023, in no particular order.

SEVEN – Jung Kook, Latto

The King of K-pop collabs, Jung Kook, took strides towards global solo star superstardom. While the BTS member is now on his way to join the military service, he’s left behind a 2023 packed with hits, and at the top of the list is 7, his collab with Latto. The explicit version of the single was a shock to many, but the bold move by the artist helped elevate the singer and song to a mainstream global audience, helping the song hit #1 across the globe. And that chorus, catchy AF.

ON THE STREET – j-hope, J. Cole

Not to be left behind, Jung Kook’s BTS bandmate j-hope also took big strides this year on the solo route, working with hip-hop giant J. Cole on the very memorable “On The Street”. While the single didn’t reach the chart heights of Jung Kook’s list of hits, the track gave the artist cred, and let’s be honest, J. Cole doesn’t just feature on anybody’s single. The two sound great together, and the empowering lyrics went a long way towards establishing the performer as a legit artist in his own right.

BACK FOR MORE – Tomorrow X Together, Anitta

I had featured this collab in my #HITSOFTOMORROW column back in September when hot off their MTV VMA win and performance with Anitta, TOMORROW X TOGETHER gave us perhaps their most Top 40-ready single, “Back For More”. The odd pairing works well. The two acts have been huge stars in their respective homelands, but this was a true breakout for both acts in the English-speaking world and proved that K-pop and Latin coming together can get you a mainstream Top 40 hit!

BETTER THINGS (RAYE Remix) – aespa, RAYE

“The girl group has been jumping from one strength to another and it’s likely this is the single to catapult them into mainstream hearts much like NewJeans has seen success this year too. Programmers, there is room for more than one K-pop girl group at a time! Give these talents their chance to shine now too! They’ve earned it!” – I wrote this at the time of the release of the single, when the original mix was featured in my #HITSOFTOMORROW column. While the single was quite fine on its own, the addition of the single’s songwriter and producer, RAYE, to the mix just added a whole new level of fun to the single. RAYE of course saw her own breakout moment over the course of the last year, plus hearing her get her due on a track she put together (with Leroy Clampitt) alongside the aespa girls made this collab all the more special!

SLOW – Jackson Wang, Ciara

“On their own, both Jackson Wang and Ciara are stars with huge followings. Truth be speaking, we never really thought to put these two artists in the same sentence, let alone the same track. But sometimes, when two worlds collide, it works. Ciara used to be a mainstay on the Top 40, while Wang finally had a breakthrough last year with “Blow.”

“Slow” offers the chance for both artists to score an actual blockbuster hit. If their debut at Coachella of the single is any indication, we’re likely to see this global collab become a much-deserved global hit for the twosome. PS: We need a music video, now!” Another #HITSOFTOMORROW alum, and let’s just say the music video didn’t disappoint, and the two got that global hit! All is fair in the world!

ONE OF THE GIRLS – The Weeknd, JENNIE, Lily-Rose Depp

BLACKPINK had a rather quiet year on the charts, but that didn’t stop JENNIE from having her breakout acting moment on the much-maligned series “The Idol.” While the performances and the show were trashed, there seemed to be universal praise for the K-Pop royalty, and she proved her worth on the soundtrack too with “One Of The Girls,” her collaboration with castmates Lily-Rose Deep and The Weeknd. The seductive track worked well on the show and proved that JENNIE is a triple threat just waiting to be unleashed on the right project. PS: I enjoyed “The Idol”, don’t hate me.

CUPID – Twin Version – FIFTY FIFTY, Sabrina Carpenter

Much like the reworking of RAYE into her song “Better Things” with aespa, Fifty Fifty released their own reworked version of “Cupid” featuring Sabrina Carpenter. While once again I don’t really usually fall for gimmicky reworked versions, here, the smart choice on Carpenter added to the already established hit works big time. The single became the band’s breakout moment in the Top 40, and the TikTok craze for the single has yet to die down, frankly.

UNFORGIVEN – LE SSERAFIM, Nile Rodgers

You have to hand it to the legendary Nile Rodgers, who finally found his place in the K-pop genre alongside the ladies of LE SSERAFIM. With a clever sample of Ennio Morricone’s theme from the spaghetti western film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, the track offers a “fearless” introduction to the artists, and Rodger’s presence made all the stronger case to push the track out of the K-pop universe and into the global atmosphere. One of the best K-pop/global collabs of the year! (and you’ll see that reflected in my upcoming Top 100 of 2023; stay tuned!)