Unexpected, iconic, and successful music collaborations

When artists collab unexpectedly it creates a stir around the music's release and usually a huge hit or a huge miss. This list compiles some of the most iconic, unexpected and successful collaborations since the 80s.

5. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds

By far the most recent of these collabs we never expected to see is the iconic 'FourFiveSeconds' by Rihanna, Kanye West and the legendary Paul McCartney. Despite McCartney’s vocal contribution being a weird gibberish chat in the second verse, this song took over the charts not only because of the shock value of these three producing a song together but also the unique style and beautiful lyricism.

4. Elton John and Eminem – Stan, 2001 Grammy Awards

Two artists at totally different ends of the spectrum of music at the time, Eminem performing his hit song 'Stan' alongside Elton John made history. Most surprisingly, Elton sings the backing vocals in this emotional performance, and we see a softer side to Eminem that he rarely shares especially when performing at awards shows.

3. Michael Jackson and Slash – A long history of collaborations

After Michael Jackson relentlessly sought out Slash, his manager finally got through to him and claimed Jackson had been trying to get in contact with him for a while. Some of their collaborations include ‘Give in to Me’ and Slash’s guitar playing in Jackson’s 2001 album ‘Invincible’.

2. Limp Bizkit and Method Man – N 2 Gether Now

After years of making hybrid Nu-metal – hip-hop music, Limp Bizkit wanted to create a pure hip-hop song. Method Man has always longed to work with a rock band as it was a completely new horizon for him. This led to the iconic collaboration ‘N 2 Gether Now’. It gained popularity quickly for its unique sound and style and still stands as a unique piece of art.

1. Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat – Opposites Attract

Although you might not remember this song, you will remember the music video. The video sees the very real Paula Abdul dancing alongside cartoon 'MC Skat Kat' and almost makes you feel uncomfortable because of the chemistry and passion between the two stars. They sing a song about how they’re opposites but still love each other when one is 3D and one is 2D, it’s pure genius.