BTS are set to release their fifth studio album ARIRANG in the second half of March, but the excitement has already spread worldwide since the beginning of the year when the news was revealed. BTS’s comeback album after three years away due to military service has been met with high expectations for soмєтнing “new,” highlighting the group’s maturity and distinctive style.

The global promotional campaigns prepared by BigHit Music for BTS’s return have further fueled the hype as the comeback date approaches. From a large installation artwork featuring the BTS logo on the stairs of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, to lighting up the Empire State Building in New York in purple, and the “What Is Your Love Song?” campaign on Valentine’s Day in major cities around the world.

Adding to the excitement are rumors directly related to the music in ARIRANG, which have further thrilled netizens. In particular, fans have been paying close attention to a list of female artists rumored to be “highly likely” to collaborate with BTS on the new songs.

The four female artists listed include Megan Thee Stallion, Halsey, Laufey, and Sabrina Carpenter. According to leaked information, these artists have been involved in the music production process with BTS since November last year.

As soon as the news was shared, it sparked major discussions within the fandom. Halsey is already very familiar to ARMYs thanks to her outstanding collaborations with BTS. Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion previously featured on a remix of “Butter,” which was loved by ARMYs, and the dream of an official track between the female rapper and BTS seems to be gradually becoming a reality.

Laufey and Sabrina Carpenter would be collaborating with BTS for the first time, so fans are also highly anticipating how their voices will blend with the group. Notably, although they have never collaborated with BTS before, they have a close connection with the group. Sabrina Carpenter has been a longtime fan of BTS, and her bias is SUGA. Meanwhile, Laufey was once DMed by V on Instagram in 2022 after he admired her musical talent.

At this point, fans could not contain their explosive reactions, expressing soaring expectations: "The concept of a BTS album with only women as featuring artists", "Yeah this collab list just so insane, please to be true", "If Laufey is on that album I will actually combust", "Another collab with Halsey, another collab with Megan. This sounds too good too be true", "What kinda album is this that got Laufey and Sabrina Carpenter on it. OMG, they're my fav artist", "I doubt it but if they rlly do these collabs, it'll be the best day of my lifeeeee",...

So far, BigHit Music has not revealed much about the collaboration lineup with BTS, except for DJ Diplo, who has been officially confirmed to be participating in the production of ARIRANG. However, fans’ eagle eyes are determined not to miss any hints. As a result, several Western artists and K-pop idols have also been speculated by fans to possibly appear on the group’s upcoming album, especially based on the “What Is Your Love Song?” campaign.

On February 21, fans were surprised to discover that Benny Blanco and Charlie Puth shared posters with their names on the signature red tape background via Instagram Stories. While Benny posted alongside BTS and Snoop Dogg’s collaboration track “Bad Decisions,” Charlie shared Kiss Of Life’s song “SADE.”

Other clues have also been cited to support this theory, including information that j-hope visited Benny’s house around March 2025, and that V and j-hope previously shared photos of BTS hanging out with Charlie Puth around August 2025 when the group was in Los Angeles for a songwriting camp.

In addition to the two names above, Taylor Hanson, Becky G, Taylor Hanson, Tablo, TXT, and CORTIS also participated in the campaign and have therefore been suspected as potential collaborators. Another source also listed Swae Lee and NIKI as part of the production team, even though they did not make any moves on Instagram.

Ultimately, only time will tell. We’ll have to hold our breath until March 20, when the truth behind these star-studded collaborations is finally revealed.