In a year that was challenged by the continued effects of the pandemic, K-Pop remained a thriving force in the global entertainment industry.
From BTS to BLACKPINK and TWICE, South Korean artists have constantly pursued to connect and collaborate with like-minded music personalities in producing the songs that got us through 2021.
This list rounds up the most creative K-pop crossovers that happened this year.
With their groovy cover of Rain and J.Y. Park's “Switch to Me,” TWICE's Dahyun and Chaeyoung joined forces to reinvent the track with their sweet voices and charming personalities.
SHINee's back and they stopped by “IU's Palette” for the release of their seventh album “Don't Call Me.”
In the SHINee-ing episode, IU performed her impressive rendition of the group's 2013 single “Sherlock” while SHINee delivered an emotional cover of her song “Dear Name.”
SHINee's Taemin created soulful harmony with Girls' Generation's Taeyeon for “If I Could Tell You,” one of the five tracks from his third solo EP “Advice.”
With the song's electric piano tunes and soft synth sounds, it featured a story of two close friends who are on the verge of falling in love.
In their most recent comeback album “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze,” Tomorrow X Together released their youthful title track “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You) featuring the honey vocals of the “Lovers in the Night” songstress Seori.
When Tzuyu released her cover of “ME!” for TWICE's “Melody Project” series, fans were pleasantly surprised to hear Stray Kids' Bang Chan on the track as well. The “Feels” singer revealed that she was originally planning to sing the song by herself, but after consulting with others, they agreed that a male voice would make the cover more colorful.
Following their performance at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs), NCT's Taeyong and Red Velvet's Seulgi composed and recorded their long-awaited collaboration project “Rose.”
Ahead of the song's release, the “Make A Wish” singer posted a 6-part teaser of their collaboration on his Instagram.
Uniting two global superstars for a feel-good anthem, “Permission to Dance” is a chart-topping track co-written by Ed Sheeran and recorded by BTS.
The K-pop giants also delivered a live performance of this song at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last September.
In AKMU's star-studded collaboration album “Next Episode,” the siblings forged creative partnerships with K-pop stars Beenzino, Crush, and many more.
However, this crowd-favorite track from the album brought AKMU's Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun together with the South Korean nation's sweetheart IU. The brother-sister duo also guested in a fun-filled episode for 'IU's Palette' in July.
BTS' AMA-winning single “Butter” was made hotter, sweeter, and cooler when American rapper Megan Thee Stallion hopped on the track for its viral remix version.
Posted on BANGTANTV's YouTube channel last September, a special dance choreography of the remix was performed by BTS members J-Hope, Jimin, and Jungkook.
SHINee's Key and Girls' Generation's Taeyeon show a different face to their tight-knit friendship with this soul-stirring collaborative track for the former's first solo mini-album 'Bad Love.'
In August, the longtime couple and labelmates debuted as a duo with the release of their mini-album “1+1=1.” Their title track "PING PONG" was accompanied by a music video where the pair showcased their undeniable on-stage chemistry.
Lighting up the world with one of the most cosmic crossovers in the music industry, “My Universe” brought together BTS and Coldplay for a track on the latter's new album “Music of Spheres.”
DAY6's drummer DOWOON made his solo debut with “Out of the Blue,” a collaborative digital single featuring singer-songwriter Song Hee-jin.
The drummer-turned-soloist shared that he made certain his original vision was aligned and executed in the song's melody and lyrics.
The talk-of-the-town music video brought Jessi's fierce vocals together with the equally-powerful performance of dance crews from the famous South Korean dance survival game, “Street Woman Fighter.”
The TikTok dance community quickly picked up the choreography, pushing the song to be more popular than it had already been.
Following her massive hits “LALISA” and “MONEY,” BLACKPINK's Lisa teamed up with DJ Snake, Ozuna, and Megan Thee Stallion for the perfect dance tune.
They even released a creative music video that brought together the four artists despite their different geographic locations.
Meanwhile, revisit the K-pop comebacks and collaborations that happened last year.
On December 10, American rapper Juice WRLD announced that BTS superstar Suga will be joining one of his album's side tracks, "Girl of My Dreams."
The song landed on Billboard's top-selling charts, marking a first in both of the rappers' solo careers.
Gifting the world with a year-end treat, DPR Ian brought 2NE1's CL and DPR LIVE on the second single of his latest album, 'Moodswings in this Order.'
"No Blueberries" exploded with chemistry as CL's soulful voice harmonized perfectly with Ian's cool sound. To tie it perfectly together, DPR LIVE's rap verse solidified the track as an obvious standout in the album.
Two elite South Korean vocalists brought merry to the Christmas season when they released and performed a holiday collaboration titled "Solo Christmas."
Fans were set ablaze when the song dropped, meeting the high expectations they had set from the two superstars.
Thai idols are coming into the world of K-pop.
For the next stop in Mew Suppasit's Global Collaboration Project 2021, he featured the magnetic talent of South Korean singer-songwriter Sam Kim in a charming love song that quickly topped the charts in several countries.
One of the most awaited K-pop crossovers in 2021 is a 10-track album headlined by SM Entertainment's top homegrown artists from Super Junior, Girls' Generation-Oh!GG, NCT, TVXQ!, aespa, Red Velvet, SHINee, EXO, and many more.
This collaborative winter package kickstarted the entertainment company's year-ender series of events called 'SMTOWN 2022: SMCU EXPRESS.'
Released ahead of his upcoming second-mini album, GOT7 member BamBam released his latest solo single "Who Are You" featuring Red Velvet superstar, Seulgi.
BamBam confirmed via Naver that the collaboration track is a story about "recognizing the existence of another [him]." The K-pop duo also came together for a crowd-pleasing music video that highlighted their top-notch vocal and performance abilities.