The King of Pop and the Kings of pop, the two iconic legacies, may soon collide in a way fans never expected.
BTS have reportedly recorded a never-before-heard Michael Jackson track as part of a global tribute album in the works. The news has been attributed to Paddy Dunning, owner of the Grouse Lodge recording studio in Westmeath, where Michael spent five months in 2006 crafting what was intended to be his major comeback album.
While those sessions were left unfinished after Jackson departed Ireland and remained unreleased following his death in 2009, Dunning has since spearheaded efforts to revive that archive. In a recent interview with The Irish Sun, Dunning shared that “the sessions started last year, and we have already had the Korean boy band BTS over with us in Grouse Lodge, recording one of the songs.”
The project, supported by Michael Jackson’s Estate, will also include a documentary chronicling the music icon’s time in Ireland, offering fans a glimpse into one of the most creatively rich yet publicly unknown chapters of his life.
For BTS, this marks yet another moment in their career where they honour Jackson’s legacy. Their chart-topping English single ‘Dynamite’ paid clear homage to Michael Jackson, right from the glittery outfits and fedora flips to choreographic nods that echoed his legendary footwork. This collaboration, albeit posthumous, cements the cultural bridge they’ve helped build between generations and continents.
Dunning revealed that the tribute album will feature around ten unreleased tracks written specifically for Jackson by his collaborators in Ireland, including producer Rodney Jerkins and rapper Nephew. “The Estate told me to plough ahead with this because, like me, they see it as a tribute to Michael,” Dunning noted, confirming that global artists are being tapped for the rest of the project.
An official release date for the album or documentary is yet to be announced. However, the news was enough to leave BTS and Michael Jackson’s fans excited. Given that the month also marks Jackson’s birth anniversary, one can expect an announcement and release this month. If true, BTS’s involvement would make them the only K-pop group to be part of a posthumous Michael Jackson project.
As Michael once sang, “Don’t stop till you get enough.” And BTS, it seems, never do.
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