Has Nicki Minaj worked with BTS? Rapper's collaboration with the K-Pop boy band explored

Nicki Minaj Performs In Nottingham - Source: Getty
Nicki Minaj Performs In Nottingham (Image via Getty)

In her close to 15-year-long career in the rap industry, Nicki Minaj has worked with countless artists - both rappers as well as singers - to produce hits that have topped the Billboard charts.

In 2018, Nicki Minaj collaborated with the Korean boy band BTS on a song titled IDOL for their third compilation album, Love Yourself: Answer, released on August 24, 2018. The song focuses on themes of authenticity and self-love, featuring mostly Korean lyrics with some English lines scattered throughout.


BTS' IDOL with Nicki Minaj peaked at no. 11 on Billboard Hot 100 chart

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BTS released two versions of IDOL in 2018, with Nicki Minaj featured in the alternate version, included as a bonus track in the album's digital bundle. A separate music video was also created for Minaj's version. In her rap verse, she wore a short fluorescent wig, oversized printed co-ords, and pink high heels.

She's also shown waving an oversized yellow hand fan around her face for dramatic effect. Some parts of her rap are also in Korean, which is a remarkable feat for the Trinidadian rapper.

The video of the track went viral once it dropped, garnering over 45 million views within a day. It eventually became the most-watched video in 24 hours, surpassing even Taylor Swift's record of Look What You Made Me Do from 2017.

Soon after its release, Minaj's version of IDOL peaked at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Talking about the meaning behind their album at the Graham Norton Show in October 2018, RM - a rapper from BTS - said:

"Life always has the dilemmas, and we have to have the pain inside because when the light comes, we always have shadows and we cannot avoid that. So, I just wanted to tell that we should find the way to love ourselves. Especially the youth, we can be more happy and we can live a good life."

Nicki Minaj also dropped her fourth studio album in 2018

2018 proved to be a remarkable year for Nicki Minaj, witnessing the release of her fourth studio album, Queen.

Debuting at no. 2 on Billboard's 200 album chart, the album sold over 185,000 album-equivalent units within its first week - an impressive figure for Minaj, who had released an album four years after her last one. Two tracks from Queen - Anaconda and Chun Li - were also featured in the top 10 hits of the Billboard Hot 100.

A year before Queen's release, Minaj had talked about it in a T Magazine interview on October 16, 2017, saying:

"Sonically, I know what the album’s about to sound like. I know what this album is gonna mean to my fans. This album is everything in my life coming full circle and me being truly, genuinely happy."

The Pinkprint rapper continued:

"Now, I can tell you guys what happened for the last two years of my life. I know who I am. I am getting Nicki Minaj figured-out with this album and I'm loving her."

One of the tracks from Minaj's album - Bed - also featured her long-time friend and collaborator, Ariana Grande.


Nicki Minaj followed Queen up with her fifth studio album - Pink Friday 2 - five years later. The album dropped in December 2023, with its tour kickstarting in March 2024. Minaj will conclude the ongoing tour in New York on October 11.

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Edited by Divya Singh
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