Steve Aoki on BTS and the Cultural Importance of "Waste It On Me"
Rest assured, BTS are just as fun and friendly as they seem.
The K-pop boy band teamed up with Steve Aoki for their single "Waste It On Me", and the veteran producer says Jungkook, 21, V, 22, Jimin, 23, Suga, 25, RM, 24, J-Hope, 24, and Jin, 26, were a dream collaboration.
"Every time we got to spend time together it was like we were friends from high school," Aoki tells E! News. "They've got this vibe where there's no wall up. Once you get in the room with them, it's really fun. The energy is high. We're all laughing, joking… They're just awesome, awesome guys."
They even traded fashion tips—and articles of clothing.
"They've got their fashion game on point. I'm a fashion guy. I always look for what's poppin', what's fresh, who's doing something different," says the 41-year-old DJ, who just wrapped his latest Australia tour. "They know what's going on. They do something totally unique. I'm always like, yo, that s--t's dope, and they do the same with me."
Case in point: "RM gave me his jacket. I gave him my sweater. RM was like, I love your sweater, and I was like, I sewed some patches on here and made it unique—here [take it]. He's like, I'll give you my jacket!"
"Waste It On Me"—BTS' first song entirely in English—is a global sensation and has topped charts around the world. But Aoki wanted to make sure the music video for the Neon Future IIItrack conveyed a message beyond its catchy lyrics.
"I realised how culturally important this song was. Here's a song with an Asian-American DJ and seven Koreans. We are Asian faces and we have a No. 1 song around the world," Aoki tells E! News.
"It made me think back to when I was a kid, like who are the Asian faces in pop culture? So I put together an all-Asian cast with an Asian director, along the same lines and very inspired by Crazy Rich Asians. It's by far my favourite video I've done."
The clip features appearances by Ken Jeong, Jamie Chung, Ross Butler, Jimmy Yang, and more, who Aoki says he hit up over DM to make happen—but there was one cameo that was surprisingly difficult to secure.
"One of the hardest people to get was my sister [actress and model Devon Aoki]. I'm not kidding. We're really close. We talk all the time. But to get her to do something with me on that level? She's got three kids. She's got a lot of stuff going on," he says. "I was like, Devon, you have to be part of this. I never really ask her for very much because I know how difficult it is. But I was like, we need to represent."
The collaborations don't end with "Waste It On Me". Aoki's latest album, Neon Future III, features tracks with Bella Thorne, Louis Tomlinson, Blink 182 and more.
Read his thoughts on his famous collaborators on E! News.
