What Nile Rodgers loves the most about K-pop is that it is fearless. The revered producer, guitarist, and four-time GRAMMY winner (as well as Lifetime Achievement Award recipient) spares no words on how invigorating the South Korean industry is. "For a musician like myself, it’s exciting to have that kind of challenge," he says over a Zoom from his studio, whose walls are covered in gold, platinum and diamond albums.

Rodgers’ work has soundtracked our lives more than we know. In 1977, he co-founded the disco vanguard band Chic, which then spawned samples for the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," and Daft Punk’s "Around the World." He collaborated with Diana Ross, David Bowie, Beyoncé and many others, and produced era-defining albums such as Madonna’s Like a Virgin and Duran Duran’s Notorious. 

Now, he’s ready to make his debut into the K-pop realm alongside girl group LE SSERAFIM. Rodgers is featured on "Unforgiven," the title track from LE SSERAFIM's debut studio album. The track also samples Ennio Morricone’s theme song from the 1966 spaghetti Western film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and the music video, recorded in Thailand, sees them boldly take the town in cowgirl outfits — a celebration of all the "unforgiven girls" and "unforgiven boys" in the lyrics.

Rodgers couldn’t have chosen a better act for his first K-pop feature. LE SSERAFIM takes their name out of an anagram for "I’m fearless." In May 2022, the quintet became the first girl group launched by Source Music under HYBE — the same label of K-pop icons BTS and SEVENTEEN — with the fittingly-titled EP Fearless. Aiming to spread self-confident messages, LE SSERAFIM established themselves as unflinching, dare-devilish stars.

Throughout Unforgiven’s 13 tracks, LE SSERAFIM are boldly themselves, regardless of what others think. Whether they are the unforgiven villains of the title track, "a mess in distress" in "Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s wife," or demonstrate vulnerably on "FEARNOT (Between you, me and the lamppost)," LE SSERAFIM live by their truth. And what’s more fearless than that?

GRAMMY.com caught up with Nile Rodgers and LE SSERAFIM's Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae for an exclusive conversation about Western and Eastern collaborations, what makes K-pop so exciting, and what they learned from each other.

Nile, you have collaborated with many legendary artists throughout the decades. What made you choose LE SSERAFIM to be your first K-pop collaboration?

Nile Rodgers: Why? Because when I heard the song, I loved it.

LE SSERAFIM [in unison]: Thank you!

LE SSERAFIM, did you know about Nile’s work before? What was your reaction when you learned that he was featuring on "Unforgiven?"

Yunjin: Well, I grew up in the States, so of course I knew. We were all so shocked to know that such a legend would work with us. It hasn't even been a year since we debuted, we were so honored and so excited.

Sakura: It was a really, really huge honor, and I still cannot believe that it happened. When Nile first played the guitar for us, I was completely blown away. I was like, "Is this going to be in our song?" I couldn't believe it. I was really proud.

Yunjin: I remember when I first told my parents, they were like, "No way! You? You and Nile Rodgers?" [Laughs.]

Nile, what are your impressions about K-pop in general? How do you see its growth in America and across the world?

Rodgers: This may sound nerdy, but I love the fact that it seems like a lot of the K-pop that I'm hearing lately, the new music, [has] the harmonic changes. The chord changes are a lot more interesting than what's been happening [in other music fields] over the last few years.

And that's made me excited, because I come from a jazz background, so to hear chord changes like that is really cool. They’re not afraid, which is great to me.

LE SSERAFIM, as a K-pop group, why do you think that it's important to collaborate with Western artists like Nile Rodgers? Is making your music more global something that you strive for to reach more people?

Yunjin: As time goes by, on the contrary, I think it's harder to find boundaries. Music is a universal language, and I think it's very good and very honorable to have Western and Eastern artists collaborating from wherever they are. It's just so that more people can enjoy good music. Isn't that the only reason? Like, music is good, and so more people should listen to it.

Rodgers: And I agree.

How has this collaboration inspired you further? Is there anything you learned from working together that you want to apply to your future work?

Rodgers: I was thinking I should have worn a cowboy hat today. [Laughs.]

Kazuha: When we first met online, Nile played [the guitar] according to our song, and it was completely freestyle. It wasn't something like "Oh, I'm gonna sit down and play music," it was just completely freestyle. I thought it was really cool and fascinating for a new work of art to be formed just by going with the flow and feeling the vibe. I thought it would be nice to [have] that process for us too, as true artists and for [creating] similar works of art as well.

Since Nile mentioned the cowboy hat, "Unforgiven" samples The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly soundtrack, which is a surprising novelty. What do you think about the fact that you are actually merging the past with the present, and bridging decades of culture in one song?

Sakura: I just learned that there are no set rules in music, we just do it.

Rodgers: I once attended a concert with maestro Ennio Morricone, who wrote the music for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. He had me sit right behind him while he conducted. It was fantastic.

Yunjin: Wow, so it must have been very weird to hear that in a K-pop song?

Rodgers: It's cool. See, that's the thing I like. K-pop music is stretching the boundaries. I was talking to my engineer today, and we were listening to, not just the rest of [LE SSERAFIM’s] album, but other people who are sending me music or would like me to play with them. And I was noticing that, as I said earlier, harmonically, it's a lot more interesting than what's been happening in the last maybe 10 years, where it's been almost the same four chords over and over and over again, just different melodies.

Nile, you've heard the rest of Unforgiven. LE SSERAFIM’s album. What was the main takeaway that you got from it? 

Rodgers: I actually think that it's really cool. I think it's progressive. It's fun. It's exciting. I hope that what I feel is what the rest of the world feels — I loved it. There’s a lot of good writers and producers. It's really great.

**LE SSERAFIM [in unison]: **Aw, thank you so much!

The title Unforgiven is based on the idea that you don’t need excuses to be who you are. Is there anything specific that you learned about yourselves while working with this concept?

Yunjin: Through every album, we grow with it and then we are able to personify [it]. I think the main message that we want to convey has actually become our story. No matter what people say — even if they might judge us, or misperceive us, or point fingers at us —  regardless of what people think, we might become the villain in other people's eyes. But just like how our music is crossing lines and stretching out the boundaries, we want to become a team that can continue doing that.

Rodgers: I think what you're saying is exactly right. If you have a message and a concept, never worry about some people not liking it, because there's no way that everybody can like everything. 

I mean, even the five of you probably don't like all the exact same food at the exact same moment, but it's okay. Sometimes people don't understand it right away and they get it later on, and that's cool too. Art is personal.

Were there any challenges working together, or any obstacles that you had to overcome while recording?

Rodgers: Well, I was In America, unfortunately, and they were in Korea. You can see that we can work like this, we can work remotely, but it would probably be fun to be in the same room.

Chaewon: Sure, sure, hopefully.

LE SSERAFIM was the first girl group launched by Source Music under HYBE, and now you're part of such a strong new generation of girl groups who also debuted in the past few years. What are some of your thoughts about being part of this new wave?

Eunchae: I think it is really nice to be active in a time where so many great girl groups are getting a lot of attention. A lot of people are listening to their music, and while we are also promoting with other groups, we're getting a lot of motivation and positive influences. I'm really satisfied and happy with that.

There’s plenty of musical styles that you approach on Unforgiven — Latin rhythms, Jersey Club beats, and even some country rock. What are some of your favorite experimentations or favorite moments to work on in the album?

Chaewon: "Unforgiven!"

Yunjin: I think the fact that Nile is in our album is just… You just can't not have "Unforgiven" as a favorite. I think all of us have "Unforgiven" as our top two. It's my personal favorite title track that we have ever done.

Sakura, Kazuha and Eunchae: Yes, "Unforgiven"!

Rodgers: I didn't pay them to say that. [Laughs.]

Nile, do you have any other favorites in the album, besides "Unforgiven"?

Rodgers: I actually liked the whole album. That's why, when we first started talking, I really was impressed with the fact that it's not conventional. It's not exactly what you would think. As a musician, it's great to listen to, to have different styles of music, and all of the styles that they pursue sound sincere.

If you could collaborate together again, what kind of music would you want to make?

Chaewon: Wow, that’s hard. I think if we can collaborate together again, anything would be fine.

Yunjin: We will try our best at everything.

Rodgers: I have a feeling in my heart that we will collaborate again.

[LE SSERAFIM cheer and send heart hands and thumbs ups to Nile.]

10 K-Pop Rookie Girl Groups To Watch In 2023: Le Sserafim, Mimiirose, Ive & More

As days get brighter and longer halfway into March, there’s practically no end to the new music being released to soundtrack your spring. 

Nearly half a decade after their last album, HAIM kick off a new era of music with "Relationships" (and get some hunky help from actor Drew Starkey for the single’s music video). Plus, Frankie Grande makes his own bid for pop stardom on his major label debut single "Rhythm of Love," while Calvin Harris lets his voice shine on the harmonica-heavy "SMOKE THE PAIN AWAY."

Meanwhile, Gwen Stefani adds a few more flowers to her fourth solo album Bouquet with a deluxe edition containing bonus cut "Still Gonna Love You" (as well as an entire second all-acoustic disc). Peso Pluma drops new single "RARI" in the wake of his recently released short film 14-14.

Below, dive into 10 more new releases worth checking out including Chappell Roan’s long-awaited follow-up to "Good Luck, Babe!," a surprise single and music video from Lil Nas X, a new EP from LE SSERAFIM and more.

Four months after debuting her unreleased track "The Giver" on "Saturday Night Live," Chappell Roan has finally gifted fans the official studio version. The country song marks her first new release since the majestic 2024 one-off "Good Luck, Babe!"

Of course, between that rowdy November performance and release day, the Midwest Princess has become a certified GRAMMY winner and 2025 Best New Artist. True to form, Roan isn’t afraid to be completely herself while exploring new genres. On "The Giver," she slyly line dances her way around the innuendo-laden invitation at the center of the song’s sapphic come-ons. 

"Ain’t got antlers on my walls/ But I sure know mating calls/ From the stalls in the bars on a Friday night," she promises with a wink before confidently crowing, "Ain’t no need to hurry/ ‘Cause baby, I deliver/ Ain’t no country boy quitter/ I get the job done."

Read More: Chappell Roan's Road To Best New Artist: 9 Milestones That Led To Her GRAMMY Win

Anitta shows off the personal side behind her larger-than-life stage persona on "Larissa," taken from the soundtrack to her newly released Netflix documentary, Larissa: The Other Side of Anitta.

The Brazilian star (born Larissa de Macedo Machado) pairs a laid-back vocal with skittering, upbeat production as she tells a new flame, "I woke up with you in this hotel/ How did we get there?/ Oh, tell me, how do we leave? If you want, stay so you can understand/ How we got here and how well we fit." The track’s music video features documentary and home footage of the two-time GRAMMY nominee spending time at home, skiing in the mountains, happily dancing on the balcony of a tropical hideaway and more. 

Listen: Love Anitta? Check Out These 6 Brazilian Female Artists Rising To Global Stardom

LE SSERAFIM keep the temperature rising on their new EP, HOT, which arrives just one month before the K-pop girl group is set to embark on their very first world tour and concludes the trilogy they started last year with fellow mini-albums EASY and CRAZY.

From the start of spoken word opener "Born Fire," Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha and Hong Eunchae commit to the EP’s fiery concept — whether they’re smoldering about being "burning hot" on the title track or preparing to rise like the phoenix after setting everything ablaze on the atmospheric midtempo ballad "Ash."

Read More: Meet LE SSERAFIM, The K-Pop Group Nile Rodgers Chose For His First Foray Into The Genre

Lil Nas X capped off a week of teasing his upcoming sophomore album DREAMBOY with the flirtatious new single "HOTBOX." Putting his floating falsetto to good use, the rapper leaves little to the imagination as he gleefully sings, "Hit me with your lovin’/ Boy, I know you wanna/ Pick me up and f— me/ I’ll be waitin’ on ya." 

The weeklong blitzkrieg (which kicked off with the LP’s title track and also includes surprise songs "BIG DUMMY!","SWISH" and "RIGHT THERE!") has been positively pretty in pink, with Lil Nas X posing as a different, muscled-up doll on the cover of all five singles. The Elias Talbot-helmed music video for "HOTBOX" is no exception as he channels both Ken and Sharpay Evans in equal, fabulous measure.

Watch: How Lil Nas X Turned The Industry On Its Head With "Old Town Road" And Beyond | Black Sounds Beautiful

Davido revels in his role as one of the brightest Afrobeats stars on the global stage on "Be There Still." Featured on his upcoming fifth album — the appropriately titled 5ive — the song gives the Nigerian singer plenty to celebrate as he croons, "I want to have it all/ Still define my result/ Na God dey bless me all the way/ Twelve years, I’m still on top/ And my cup runneth over."

Though fans will have to wait until April 18 to hear the entire studio set, "Be There Still" follows in the footsteps of fellow 5ive-era singles "Awuke" with YG Marley and"Funds" featuring Odumodublvck and Chike.

Listen: 10 Afrobeats Songs Turning 10 In 2025: Wizkid’s "Ojuelegba," Olamide’s "Bobo" & More

For Coheed and Cambria’s landmark tenth album, frontman Claudio Sanchez decided to forgo the band’s characteristic sci-fi-fueled prog rock for a series of songs that are more autobiographically meta. The rocker examines his role in crafting the fictional universe eight of the band’s previous nine albums inhabit on "Play the Poet" and even fantasizes about leaving Coheed and Cambria behind on pop-punk rager "Goodbye, Sunshine." 

In addition to previously released singles like "Searching For Tomorrow" and "Someone Who Can," The Father of Make Believe also concludes with an epic 20-minute closer divided into four separate movements: "The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever Mr. No…," "The Continuum II: The Flood," ‘The Continuum III: Tethered Together" and "The Continuum IV: So It Goes."

Fresh off his GRAMMY-nominated 2024 album $10 Cowboy, Charley Crockett enlisted Shooter Jennings to co-produce his follow-up LP, Lonesome Drifter. The release was recorded live with minimal overdubs, with the pair attempting to capture, as they said in a statement, "the magic of performance on tape."

Throughout the 12-track journey, Crockett tips his well-worn cowboy hat to a diverse set of influences. The spirit of Waylon Jennings, Woody Guthrie, Bill Withers and Bob Dylan appear on twangy yarns like "Night Rider," "The Death of Bill Bailey," "One Trick Pony" and closer "Amarillo By Morning."

Read More: Country & Western's New Generation Is Defiantly Of The Moment: Meet Charley Crockett, Colter Wall, Sierra Ferrell, Bella White & Others

SEULGI continues her solo career outside of Red Velvet with the release of her second mini album, Accidentally On Purpose.

Released on March 10, the six-track collection kicks off with infectious opener "Baby, Not Baby," whose music video depicts the K-pop idol becoming more and more hilariously, ahem,batty after a mission to give out free hugs at the mall goes embarrassingly awry. The EP also includes downbeat bop "Better Dayz," the dreamy, elastic bounce of "Rolling (With My Homies)," Korean-language ballad "Praying" and more. 

Carly Pearce expands on her 2024 album Hummingbird with the deluxe release of hummingbird: no rain, no flowers. The original LP’s lead single, "we don’t fight anymore," earned the country singer and collaborator Chris Stapleton a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and now she’s continued the era with a trio of bonus tracks and two acoustic re-workings of "oklahoma" and "things i don’t chase." 

Standout cut "if looks could kill" turns the idiom on its head by putting Pearce on the receiving end of a devastating picture she can’t bear to see. "Heart first" serves as a regretful lamentation of a love affair gone toxic, while "no rain" finds the singer putting her troubles into contemplative perspective while drawing the deluxe album’s wistful subtitle from its chorus.

Neal Francis continues his track record of delivering groovy, retro-leaning psychedelic rock on his latest album, Return to Zero. Front-loaded with a trio of collaborations ("Need You Again," "Don’t Wait" and "Broken Glass") with Brooklyn soul act Say She She, the LP is the Illinois native’s first studio release since his 2023 live album, Francis Comes Alive, which was recorded during back-to-back shows at Chicago’s historic Thalia Hall.

Elsewhere on Return to Zero, Francis gets down over a deliciously addictive bass line on "Back It Up" and pounds out a swirling ode to heartbreak on "What’s Left of Me" before teaming up with Carlile on the synth-heavy album cut "Dirty Little Secret."

Watch highlights from the 2025 GRAMMYs on live.GRAMMY.com.

The 2025 GRAMMYs telecast was reimagined to raise funds to support those impacted by the wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. The Recording Academy and MusiCares launched a dedicated campaign to support affected music professionals, and we need your help. Donate now.

"The thing that makes my life exciting is the fact that I always feel like I'm ready," Nile Rodgers says.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honoree may be the textbook example of the axiom: "if you stay ready, you won't have to get ready." From a tour stop in London, Rodgers notes that he always has his guitar with him — typically his white 1960 Stratocaster, which Fender has since issued a replica of — and "always" has a recording studio with him. "I always believe that I can add something musically," he says.

There's little hubris in that statement, and there shouldn't be. The past 12 months alone have seen Rodgers tour with his band Chic internationally (including his first-ever performance in Korea), work on a GRAMMY-winning project with the most awarded artist of all time, and accept another five-year term as the Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

This level of activity is far from uncommon for the four-time GRAMMY winner. Rodgers got his start as a session musician in the "Sesame Street" traveling band in the early 1970s, though his legend truly began when he co-founded Chic — a disco group whose sound and language have become the blueprint for much of contemporary pop and dance music.

Over six decades, Nile Rodgers developed something of a midas touch, writing and producing canonical earworms for the likes of David Bowie, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, Daft Punk (which netted the producer his first three GRAMMY Awards), and many others. Rodgers has so honed his skill and ear that it's le freaky; his contributions to the pop pantheon come with ease. "I never think about a song before I get to the studio, unless it's an idea that I had come up with the night before," he says.

Such was the case with "LEVII'S JEANS" from Beyoncé's Album Of The Year-winning COWBOY CARTER; the song itself was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2025 GRAMMYs. COWBOY CARTER is the second time Rodgers has worked with Bey: The two celebrated a Best R&B Song win for "Cuff It" at the 65th GRAMMY Awards, while Renaissance itself took some DNA from Rodgers' Chic era.

Nile Rodgers spoke with GRAMMY.com about his genre-defying career and the artists who have helped populate it. Read on for insights into his nominated work, the now-iconic jheri curl activator commercial he penned in 1988, and much more: 

I'm going to get right to business, and start with an existential question.

My favorite kind.

What makes a good and lasting pop song?

Everybody has a different formula and a different concept and a different approach. Rather than try and analyze what are the components of the great lasting pop song, let's just say that all great songs that last are what my music teacher used to tell me: they are always internalized. They're songs that you can't get out of your head no matter how much you try.

The way my professor taught me, he said: "The Itsy Bitsy Spider, went up the water spout down came the rain, and washed the spider out," and he says, "That's internalization. You can't help it." He says, "The national anthem. Go to a baseball game. Look at everybody's mouths. They start doing the lyrics, even though you would never buy the record." Can you imagine going up and buying that? But everybody knows it. It's internalized.

Speaking of great pop songs, I would love to know a bit more about your work on COWBOY CARTER. Is this the first country and Americana influenced album that you've worked on?

Not at all. I've worked with Keith Urban quite a bit. I've worked with David Lee Roth years ago when he did a collaboration with Travis Tritt and I produced a record by David. I've been in the mix with quite a few country players.

Did you bring those experiences to work when you were working on "Levii's Jeans" or when you were chatting with Beyoncé about various projects?

"Levi's Jeans" really started with my guitar part. [Producer The-] Dream and I were just working together out in the Hamptons, and I picked up the guitar and started writing to a lick he was singing. Or I played it and Dream said, "Damn, what's that?" And then started singing on top of it.

So one of those two stories is true. I remember me playing the whole thing. And the voice leading of the guitar playing has the melody and the vibe of [imitates "Levis Jeans" riff.]. So that had to have come before it was even called "Levi's Jeans" or anything like that, because Dream and I were just jamming.

From there, are you involved in the creative process? Do you work directly with Beyoncé or with Post Malone when putting this together?

It’s interesting how songs are composed in today's world. By providing that bed track, that's sort of all I needed to do. Then that sparks an idea, and then they write on top of that. I don't remember it even coming back to me and me having to fix anything.

Honestly, just playing it down the one or two times that I played it down — which is basically the way I always write — I never think about a song before I get to the studio, and unless it's an idea that I had come up with the night before or something. I just was in the room with Dream and mixed it. It was probably one of many songs that we wrote that day.

That was the day that he came to the studio really late; I was sitting there for hours. So that may have been the only song that we wound up doing, and maybe what wound up happening is that there was such clarity and such great direction that by the time we finished it, that's all we needed to do that day. I'm picturing the studio, the house, and the long-ass drive. My studio in Connecticut, in Westport, Connecticut, all the way out to the Hamptons.

You also worked on Renaissance, and "Cuff It," specifically. What was it like to work on projects centered on radically different genres? It seems to me that there's a bit of a parallel between your musical fingerprint and what Beyoncé is doing.

The  way that I look at all music — be it symphonic or small jazz trio or quartet — I always believe that I can add something musically. I'm an old school arranger, so even if my playing isn't the type of playing they want, I could write string parts or I could write horn parts, I could write whatever to make the music a little better.

The most fun I have is just doing stuff. I really say this with no ego: I just believe in my heart that I always have a musical idea that's worth sharing. No matter what the situation is, especially if it comes to composition. The reason why I feel so comfortable writing with people is because, with composition, you don't have to get perfect right then on the spot. You can get something close, and it's just inspirational and it can take you to the next place. I am lucky enough that most of the time I get my part right the first day or maybe the first hour, usually. But if a person calls me back, as some have, and said, "You know what, Nile? That's close, but I was thinking more like this," I go, "Oh, okay, cool."

In today's world, a lot of the recordings that we do, we're not necessarily in the same room at the same time. In the old days, we were always in the same room at the same time. Now, I record in my hotel rooms all the time. I always have a recording studio with me.

For either COWBOY CARTER or Renaissance, was that the situation for your work?

With Renaissance, they had already gotten to a certain place; Renaissance was almost like Daft Punk. So Daft Punk had been working on Random Access Memories and on the track that wound up becoming "Get Lucky" for eight years; Dream had told me that many of the songs that he's done, he's worked on for years. And so he'll play me an idea and I’ll jump on it.

What happened with "Cuff It" was a situation like that. I came in near the end on that one, as opposed to "Levi's Jeans," where I was actually at the beginning. It started with guitar and whatever Dream and I did.

That speaks to your ability to just have that great idea and know how to fit yourself in. You can come in at the beginning, you can come in at the end and provide that flourish that makes the song a bop.

The point I was really making was that I feel like I can always add at any point during the process.

I'm on the new Coldplay record. So Coldplay, I happened to walk in the studio and they just asked me to join the circle, like, Whoa, hey, great. So I had my guitar walked in and started playing. That's unusual in today's world because rarely is the band there, and I happened to have my guitar. That was just a very sort of freak occurrence, and it wound up being cool.

The thing that makes my life exciting is the fact that I always feel like I'm ready. I drag my guitar with me everywhere. If somebody wants to write or perform, I'm down. I learned years ago to not be afraid of failing or making a mistake or having people criticize it, because that's sort of what music is all about. You definitely want to touch people's hearts, you want to get some kind of emotional response; most of the time you want them to like it. Certainly I've written a protesty type of song or two, and it was designed for the person that I was writing it about not to like it. However, I wanted it to be internalized.

You've worked on an incredible number of classic songs over the years that it's hard to pick something in particular to ask you about. Off the top of your head, is there a song that you played on or that you composed, that you produced that makes you smile?

There's been so, so many, but I would have to say probably the most shocking and successful was "Let's Dance" with David Bowie.

When David asked me to produce Let's Dance, he and I had just met. We just bumped into each other at a club and started talking, and I was amazed at his knowledge of jazz artists and composers and arrangers. He was deep into it; we tried to sort of one up each other, going more and more avant-garde, like, "Yeah, well, have you heard so-and-so's record?" "Well, but have you heard 17 West by Eric Dolphy?" I mean, we were really just going at it man.

He then called me and realized, okay, you're the guy I want to produce my next album. I go to his house in Switzerland, and he comes into my bedroom and says, "Now darling, I think this is a hit." And he starts playing a song that sounds very much like a folk song, and that wasn't what we agreed we were going to do, but he was really into it. He said, "I call it 'Let's Dance.'"

I said, "Man, I come from dance music. Let me do an arrangement." And basically, I restructured the whole thing. I had never heard "Let's Dance" until we went to the recording studio the following day and played it. Of course, as an arranger, you can hear it in your head sort of, but I write for an ensemble. When we did the demo, we didn't have a keyboard player. It was just two guitars, very James Brown style.

I said, "David, I want you to sing what you sang in the bedroom and sing it over this music." It really worked. When you hear the "Let's Dance" demo, you can hear how much fun he's having; you're going to hear that he likes it. Obviously, it's the biggest record of his career, but he thought that my arranging skills on a song called "Ricochet" were far superior to "Let's Dance," and he couldn't understand why people didn't like that more. And I thought, Wow, how weird is that?

Usually when I finish a record, I'm on to the next project. If you look at my discography, you'll see that. How could I possibly? The day I finished "Like a Virgin," the very next day I was in the studio with Mick Jagger.

You've worked with so many multi-hyphenate talents and big personalities. Who has been among the most fascinating people that you've worked with?

I certainly know Beyonce's got an incredible work ethic. The first time we ever worked together, we were doing a show where I was the music director for VH1, a television special for Diana Ross. And man, Beyonce was there when she had the group, and they worked so hard. But it was a television show, and usually you do work hard. You only have a certain amount of hours to get things right.

I have to say Madonna. The thing that was so incredibly special about Madonna was her work ethic. It was like her taking power back or control or something. All the musicians were my musicians, we’re working at my recording studio, the place that I called home and christened the Power Station. And she went out of her way to be the boss. It was like, "Madonna, it's cool. We know we're working for you."

But it was incredible; she worked so hard. No matter how early I got to the studio, she would always be there before me. So I called my doorman and asked them one day, I say, "Does Madonna call here and ask you guys has Mr. Rogers left so she can make sure she gets to the studio first?"

She would work out early in the morning, she'd swim and then go to the recording studio and get there before me. The studio's literally 10 blocks from my house.

It seems like you've done a lot with K-pop recently, and you're just finished your first concert in Korea. What excites you about Korean music?

What’s great about K-pop is that a lot of the artists that I work with like sort of sophisticated R&B-styled music. So I get to do interesting arrangements and very sort of old school R&B  guitar playing, and they really appreciate it, man.

I had a big record last year with LE SSERAFIM called "Unforgiven." And then I just did G-Dragon, and he was so cool. It’s almost like I couldn't play enough guitar parts, no matter whatever I did. It was like, "Okay, cool. No, no, no, do some more. Do some more." So I just playing and playing, which I like to do anyway.

Coming to America is my favorite movie of all time, hands down. And when I learned that you did the Soul Glo jingle, my mind was blown. Why didn't we know about this?

I got that job because the person who was in charge of music at Paramount Pictures at the time, I used to do television commercials for him. His name was Steve Adele, and I used to play classical guitar for him, play Spanish guitar for a coffee brand called Savarin Coffee, and the character was El Exigente. And I used to play El Exigente's theme music.

But Coming to America, I composed everything. That's me singing and playing on all of the music that's spilling out the tenements and stuff like that. I did everything like the full orchestral score and the funny, interstitial stuff. And Soul Glo, the commercial.

I learned a lot from [director] John Landis about scoring film. He was saying that even when you're writing funny songs, you have to treat it like it's totally serious. And so then of course, since then, I've done "Beavis and Butt-Head" and all sorts of stuff that was supposedly really silly, but of course I write it in character. When I did Beavis and Butt-Head, and I wrote "Come to Butt-Head" with Mike Judge. I've done quite a few films where I had to do comedic songs, Soul Glo just happens to be one of the best ones.

K-pop's broad influence continued to expand in 2024, as the juggernaut industry fastened its commercial and cultural grip on a global scale.

Releases from genre stalwarts continued to gain traction, from record-breaking albums like BTS member Jimin’s "Who," to viral phenomena such as BLACKPINK’s Rosé and Bruno Mars’ "Apt." K-pop groups also achieved headlining sets at major U.S. festivals, such as Stray Kids' Lollapalooza Chicago performance. 

It was also a year where beloved artists pursued creative freedom. SHINee’s Onew and Taemin, EXO’s Baekhyun, Chen, and D.O, and BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Jisoo each departed longtime agencies, founded their own labels, or joined new organizations. NewJeans’s ongoing dispute with ADOR, and  fromis_9 and Loossemble's recent contract terminations reinforced that trend, showing that artists are willing to make daring moves for fairer work conditions.

As usual, a new generation of promising boy groups and girl groups emerged, with the latter dominating the spotlight — ILLIT, Artms, Izna, Babymonster, Meovv, and Rescene are just some of the names to watch in 2025. And lastly, new music from luminaries like IU, BTS’ RM, SEVENTEEN, and the return of BigBang’s G-Dragon with "Power" (his first release in over seven years) proved that K-pop, like great wines, only gets more refined with age.

To celebrate this busy year, check out the list below with 10 of the coolest, most innovative K-pop songs of 2024 — listed by order of release.

RIIZE — "Impossible"

As SM Entertainment’s latest boy group to debut outside of the NCT multiverse, RIIZE are following the path that made other groups from the company (most notably SHINee). True to their name, the group soar with a vivid discography that brings the best out of old and new sounds.

"Impossible" only came out in April as part of their first mini album, but it burst through the K-pop soundscape like a timeless classic. Propelled by a house beat straight from the early 2000s, the track revs up and never lets go. Hopeful, wistful, and soaked in the "impossible" eagerness of youth, its fizzy enthusiasm will quench your thirst.

Read more: K-Pop Group RIIZE Detail Every Track On New Compilation 'RIIZING – The 1st Mini Album'

Girl group aespa prefaced their first studio album and its title track, "Armageddon," with the  stupefying "Supernova." Meant to be just an appetizer of the LP’s sound, the track was so deliriously addictive that soon became its main jewel — "Supernova" topped charts in South Korea and Hong Kong, went viral on TikTok, and lifted aespa to a whole new artistic tier.

"I'm like… some kind of supernova," leader Karina announces in the beginning of the song, echoing the intro of one of their most distinctive hits, "Savage." Dashing through cybernetic synths and spoken witty verses, you’ll feel breathless by the first chorus — but wait until Afrika Bambaataa’s "Planet Rock" sample starts at the dance breakdown for full euphoria.

Kep1er was formed through Mnet’s 2021 trainee survival show "Girls Planet 999." While they were initially intended to be a temporary group, they decided otherwise in 2024. This year,  seven of the nine original members renewed their contracts with labels WAKEONE and SWING Entertainment.

As a sweet goodbye to their original lineup, Kep1er released the most compelling single of their careers so far. "Shooting Star" blends synthwave with angelic vocals and a larger-than-life message, foreshadowing even better things to come. As Yeseo, one of the members who left the group, sings, "Starlight glitters towards me /With you, I'm not afraid of this ending."

It’s been 10 years since SHINee’s Taemin debuted as a soloist with "Danger." Since then, his meticulous artistry and boundless vision have been a blueprint for the industry — a superstar who is both instantly recognizable and ever surprising.

Taemin is all about the push-and-pull of sin and redemption, of being seen and wanting to hide, of seasoning every pleasure with a pinch of Christian guilt. "Sexy in the Air" — the lead single from latest EP, August’s Eternal — wholly represents those themes, but it’s the pulsing electro funk of "Crush" that best encapsulates Taemin’s power. Here, he captures the tempting moments before a physical encounter and heightens them into a dark, stealthy, and irresistible voyage.

Formed through Mnet’s 2023 survival show "Boys Planet," ZEROBASEONE is, so far, a temporary group set to disband in January 2026. Although renewals are possible, they are not guaranteed, which permeates ZEROBASEONE's releases with a bittersweet taste. 

The best display of that feeling came via August’s "Good So Bad." A spiritual successor to their debut hit, 2023’s "In Bloom," the single revels in lush synths, upbeat melodies, and a hint of nostalgia. It’s a sound that fits the nine-member ensemble like a glove, bringing forward their boyish charms and outstanding synergy. While there’s still another year ahead for ZB1, "Good So Bad" offers a strong argument to keep them together for much longer.

One of the most arresting debuts of 2024, RESCENE have been nailing track after track with gorgeous vocal colors and magical, airy melodies. "Love Attack" starts boldly with the call "I am all you need / I am all you need," but soon swooshes into a Swedish pop chorus that makes you feel like floating up in the sky.

"This is the most kpopiest [sic] song that has ever kpopied in a while and I just wish they would get more recognition for it," says one of the top comments on the YouTube video for "Love Attack." If you wonder what "kpopiest," or even "K-pop" means, give RESCENE a listen, and see why they are poised for stardom.

Every year has its motto, and if 2023 was ruled by (G)Idle’s "Queencard /I’m hot /My boob and booty is hot," 2024 was the year of LE SSERAFIM’s "All the girls are girling girling." Off the latter’s fourth EP, CRAZY, this disconcertingly catchy title track also pays homage to ballroom culture in true K-pop fashion.

From name dropping Pikachu and Galileo, to proclaiming "Act like an angel and dress like crazy" in the chorus, to an odd choreography that includes Sakura duckwalking, this is the kind of performative folly and buoyant panache that we need to see more of in 2025.

"Dangerous" could be just another insipid track if it wasn’t for BOYNEXTDOOR’s charisma. The quirky beat is an immediate attention grabber, but it’s the sextet’s clever raps and deadpan comical lines that do all the heavy lifting in this pre-release off their third EP, 19.99.

When hip-hop and boy groups are nearly synonymous in K-pop, BND have found a way to stand out simply by being themselves. Don’t be startled by the "Mom and dad should not hear this song" introduction — the idea of danger and rebelliousness for these young men is harmless, and therefore deeply relatable. As Leehan sings, "I'm just immature /Pulled an all-nighter yet again /Just here making memories /My youth is my shield."

BAEKHYUN — "Pineapple Slice"

Beautiful things happen when an idol takes the reins of their career — and "Pineapple Slice" is one of them. After a two-year hiatus due to his military enlistment, EXO extraordinaire BAEKHYUN returned to found his own label and released his fourth EP, Hello, World.

Carefully chosen to be the lead single of this era, "Pineapple Slice" is as BAEKHYUN as it could be: sweet and sour, mysterious and bubbly, gloomy and bright. As with previous solo work, he finds himself in R&B melodies, with vocals that effortlessly steer the song wherever he wants it to go. Add a dash of spice and some Michael Jackson inspiration, and here’s his most exciting single so far.

Read more: Baekhyun's Road To 'Hello, World': Embracing New Roles And Reflecting On A Decade Of K-Pop Evolution

2023 debutantes KISS OF LIFE had a remarkable first year and a half, bringing back second-gen K-pop with "Midas Touch" and heating up summer with the steamy "Sticky." However, it’s the b-side "Igloo," off their third EP, Lose Yourself, that takes the crown on this list.

In less than 3 minutes, the quartet take ubiquitous trap beats and spin it into something truly enticing. While the melody mimics a sauna’s stuffy atmosphere (or would it be an igloo on fire?), they sing-talk temptations like "I can melt an igloo, yeah, 'cause I'm so dang hot," and "To me, it's another year, to you, it's all you worry about." It’s the kind of song that requires a specific "cool girl"-ness to work — one that KISS OF LIFE embody with charisma to spare.

Although they have yet to release an album, six-member girl group KATSEYE has already racked up a passionate global fanbase. Those fans have eagerly followed KATSEYE's journey so far, which span nearly three years and multiple continents.

KATSEYE is the result of a highly anticipated, first-of-its-kind partnership between American label Geffen Records — which counts Olivia Rodrigo and Camila Cabello on its roster — and HYBE Entertainment, best known as the home of BTS and subject of a new GRAMMY Museum exhibit. Thanks to the collaboration between two cultures with a track record of turning artists into household names, KATSEYE's Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Yoonchae, and Megan are poised for the global stage.

"This is the most ambitious project both HYBE and Geffen have ever been involved in," Geffen Records President Tom March (now Chairman and CEO of Capitol Records) said during a 2023 press conference, per Weverse Magazine. "We are hoping to create something that genuinely moves culture with a group that makes magazine covers and headlines festivals." 

Ahead of the Aug. 16 release of their debut album SIS (Soft Is Strong), GRAMMY.com rounded up everything you need to know about the rising stars, from their in-depth training process to their global roots.

They Competed Against More Than 100,000 Hopefuls

In late 2021, HYBE and Geffen kicked off a worldwide search for potential members of the group that would become KATSEYE. "In the city of dreams where stars are born, an unprecedented girl group will rise," boasted the promotional video. 

Through online and offline auditions in 15 cities around the world, more than 120,000 talented artists tried out. Only the top 20 girls were selected to become finalists — an acceptance rate tougher than elite universities. 

Revealing the finalists at an August 2023 press conference in Los Angeles, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk said, "I have wanted to form an international group based on K-pop methodology for a while," per Billboard.

Geffen Records CEO John Janick shared the same sentiments. "To develop a global group with Bang, with the best of K-pop methodology, and our Geffen team, is truly special and will bring to life a first-of-its-kind experience in music," he said during the press conference.

They Went Through The Intense K-Pop Trainee System 

The 20 finalists were enrolled in what was dubbed "The Debut: Dream Academy," an "X Factor"-style survival show that was broadcasted in real time on social media for nearly three months in late 2023.

"Dream Academy" offered the finalists a crash course in the infamously rigorous K-pop trainee system, one where aspiring stars train intensely in everything from vocals to dance and foreign languages, all with the aim of developing into well-rounded artists. Through a combination of audience voting and evaluations from a panel of experts (which included executives from HYBE and Geffen), the show whittled down the 20 finalists to the debut group.

The show consisted of three rounds with distinct "missions" that tested each finalists on their dance and vocal prowess, as well as their teamwork and performance skills. The contestants were primarily based in Los Angeles but also had the opportunity to travel to South Korea to train directly in HYBE’s Seoul headquarters.

The final lineup was revealed live on Nov. 17, 2023, with a studio audience in Los Angeles and thousands of viewers watching in real time. The energy and anticipation was palpable as each member was announced one by one to tears of joy and screams of excitement. 

"I can’t even put it into words," expressed Lara after she was selected as part of the final lineup. "This is everything I ever wanted in my entire life."

The official group name of KATSEYE was also revealed on that date, signaling the transition from the trainee process to becoming a full-fledged group.

The entire training and development journey was documented by Netflix and will be released as a series under the name "Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE" on Aug. 21. The show promises to "pull back the curtain on the rigorous process of making a global music sensation."

KATSEYE Members Hail From Around the World

The six members of KATSEYE represent a mosaic of cultures and backgrounds from around the world. Sophia is from the Philippines, while Yoonchae was born in Korea. Manon was raised in Switzerland to Swiss Italian and Ghanian parents. 

The three American members also have global roots: Daniela is Venezuelan Cuban, Lara is Indian, and Megan is Chinese Singaporean.

While KATSEYE’s music is sung in English, the members are also fluent in their fair share of languages, allowing them to connect with fans around the globe. 

The diversity of the members even influenced the group name. KATSEYE is an alternate spelling of the stone cat’s eye, which "shows off a variety of colors depending on its direction, much like all of us who come from all different cultures and backgrounds," the members told Sweety High. 

Industry Elites Form Part Of Their Team 

Even ahead of their debut album drop, KATSEYE has already worked with some of the most prominent names in the entertainment world.

The group’s creative director is Humberto Leon, best known as co-founder of iconic fashion brand Opening Ceremony. His vision helped create "Dream Academy’s" whimsical Art Film of the finalists performing inside an empty school; he’s also had input on all the creative decisions for the group, from styling to posing.

"I want each and every one of them to stand out," Leon told the New York Times. 

KATSEYE’s first single, "Debut", was produced by three-time GRAMMY winner and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who has written songs for icons like Taylor Swift and Adele.

Their Labelmates Are K-Pop Superstars

As part of HYBE Entertainment, KATSEYE is the successor to some of the biggest names in the K-pop world. HYBE is best known for launching BTS in 2013, when the label was still known as Big Hit Entertainment.

HYBE has since expanded and launched groups including TOMORROW X TOGETHER, LE SSERAFIM, and New Jeans, who have all achieved massive heights, from topping the Billboard charts to performing at Coachella.

Ahead of the "Dream Academy" competition, HYBE artists imparted words of wisdom to the contestants in a video letter. "The more challenges you face, you’ll have more worries," said Le Sserafim member Sakura, who made her own debut through a similar competition show in South Korea. "I think the most important thing is to have fun!" 

Read more: 5 Takeaways From The GRAMMY Museum’s "HYBE: We Believe In Music" Exhibit

KATSEYE's  Music Is About Self Confidence

Although the group has released just two singles so far, KATSEYE’s music has already honed in on themes of confidence and empowerment. The first single, aptly titled "Debut," is an upbeat pop anthem that boasts the group’s self-assurance despite being industry newcomers. Second single "Touch" is an R&B and drum-and-bass-influenced ode to independence.

Their debut single is "really just about sisterhood and being confident and strong and powerful and the best version of yourself," Lara told Teen Vogue.

Listeners can expect a continuation of this theme on their upcoming album, SIS (Soft Is Strong). "Our debut comes with a lot of confidence and a lot of willpower and passion," Sophia hinted in the group’s intro film.