More unlikely things have probably never happenned but yes, Dolly Parton has courted the idea of recording with Korean pop superstars BTS, who had a surprise Billboard US No. 1 hit in 2018 with ‘Bulletproof‘, which featured Nicki Minaj as guest vocalist. This has catapulted BTS into American fame, a remarkable achievement for a K-pop group, and only the second to have done so along with Psy of ‘Gangnam Style‘ fame. If you’re left scratching your head at how this all too-unlikely proposition came about, allow us to explain.

BTS were seen dancing to Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton’s performance of ‘Jolene’ at the 2019 Grammys last Sunday night, the footage of which quickly went viral on the internet. So Dolly Parton responded to that on Twitter, posting the tweet, “Maybe my next #Jolene collab will be with @BTS_twt? What do y’all think?”

There has been no response from BTS as yet, but the BTS Army, the official fan club, have confirmed they love the idea. One can only reflect on the unlikelihood of the merger of these two very different musical styles, but you can never second guess such things.

Country guitar twang, even electronically enhanced and looped acoustic guitar has successfully been done before, from The Grid’s ‘Swamp Thing‘ to Madonna’s ‘Don’t Tell Me‘ and ‘Intervention‘ and on a lesser note, Rednex’ guilty pleasure ‘Cotton Eye Joe‘. BTS are part of K-pop royalty along with groups such as EXO, B.A.P., and Shinee, having been a hugely successful pop band back home in South Korea and other territories in South East Asia and elsewhere around the world for several years with lush, polished, often incredibly beautiful dance and electronically oriented sound, arguably peaking with 2016’s stunning ‘Blood Sweat and Tears‘.

Dolly Parton, a woman who needs no introduction, made her name on heartfelt, grassroots country songs which in time turned her into a global country superstar, with songs from ‘Here You Come Again‘ to ‘Coat Of Many Colours‘, ‘I Will Always Love You‘ and ‘9 to 5‘. In summary, these are two musical styles that are practically from different universes, which only serves to underline the unlikelihood of such a collaboration, but then again, the achievement of merging the two makes the idea all the more appealing. It could really work with the right producers and songwriting approach, so we can only live in hope.