Elton John has shared what he thinks about being referenced by K-pop juggernauts BTS on their latest single, ‘Permission To Dance’.

During an appearance on The Official Big Top 40 radio show, the English singer-songwriter said that it was “very flattering” to be mentioned by the boyband, per Metro. “It was so cool to be namechecked by someone like BTS,” he added.

The iconic musician went on to talk about his admiration for younger artists like BTS and The Kid LAROI, noting that these newer musicians serve as inspirations to him. “It does blow my mind [top be referenced] but it’s because I love new, young music. That’s what inspires me,” John said.

“I love the old music, but the new music, when you hear something great by someone new, like Holly Humberstone or The Kid LAROI or someone like that, you just think ‘God, I wish I could have done something like that when I was that young’,” he added.

‘Permission To Dance’, which was co-written by Ed Sheeran, references John during the song’s opening verse. “When it all feels like it’s wrong / Just sing along to Elton John / And to that feeling, we’re just getting started,” sings BTS leader and rapper RM.

The ‘Your Song’ singer had originally responded to the reference in a tweet last month when the track was first released.

Earlier this month, John posted a short cover of ‘Permission To Dance’ and also tried his hand at the song’s accompanying dance challenge. “When the nights get colder / And the rhythms got you falling behind,” John crooned in a short video that was uploaded onto his personal Twitter account.

In other BTS news, the group recently spoke about their desire to keep pushing the limits with their English releases, saying that “language doesn’t matter to us that much like [it did in] the past”.

“You know, we want to transcend everything, even ourselves too. I guess that’s the power of music”, added BTS leader RM. He then went on to assure fans that there are no “borders, boundaries or limits” when it comes to their releases.