BTS to release collab track with Steve Aoki, Desiigner

MANILA, Philippines — Just days after a jaw-dropping US television debut at the American Music Awards (AMAs), K-pop group BTS is again set to shake the globe with the release of MIC Drop remix today. The remix will see Grammy-nominated musicians Steve Aoki and Desiigner giving a fresh, new spin on MIC Drop, the track originally appearing in the group’s latest EP Love Yourself: Her, and will be accompanied by a music video upon release.

The prospect of a collaboration first came about when Aoki posted an Instagram photo with BTS members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook with the caption “BTS x AOKI. #comingsoon” during the boy band’s Vegas trip for the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) last May. Desiigner and BTS were introduced at the said event, where the group memorably bested Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes for the Top Social Artist award.

BTS’s fifth EP Love Yourself: Her recently made Billboard history by being the first Korean album to chart Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The title track DNA also debuted at No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 67, making it the group’s first Hot 100 single.

Undeniably making huge waves in the United States, the global superstars made their way to Los Angeles for a series of appearances on popular daytime and evening shows like Ellen, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, among other radio and television guestings with the likes of Mario Lopez and Ryan Seacrest. Highlighting boys’ trip is their debut performance of DNA at the AMAs last Nov. 19.

After K-pop artist PSY around five years ago, BTS is only the second-ever K-pop act to both win a BBMA and perform at the AMAs, a feat acknowledged by PSY himself on a recent Instagram post. The throwback photo of his Gangnam Style stage at the AMAs was captioned with the hashtags “#tbt2012 #momentumofPSY #5yrslater #BTSturn #proudofthem.”

There is no doubt that the boys of BTS continue stretching K-pop’s borders, not just in their ever-growing reach and popularity, but in their philanthropy. On Nov. 1, BTS formally announced an ongoing partnership with the Korean Committee for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) named Love Myself, a campaign supporting UNICEF’s global #ENDviolence project to fight violence against children.

Funds for the campaign will be raised over the course of two years through BTS and its company BigHit Entertainment’s own donation, three percent of the income from Love Yourself: Her, 100 percent of the income from the official Love Myself merchandise (to be launched Dec. 1) and donations made at UNICEF desks. The campaign has raised a total of 500 million won so far.

As the band’s rollercoaster of a year comes to a close, BTS still has a Japanese single album due for Dec. 6, featuring an original track Crystal Snow and Japanese versions of songs from Love Yourself: Her, including DNA and MIC Drop.

In a tweet last Nov. 18, producer Zedd mentioned @BTS_twt to express his mutual interest in collaborating with the group, to which BTS cheerfully responded, “Let’s do it!!” The two artists have since begun following each other on Twitter. If the short but sweet online interaction reveals anything, it’s that when it comes to BTS, more surprises are always to come.