Seven ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ songs hit Billboard

Amid the popularity of Netflix's K-pop-themed animated film "KPop Demon Hunters," seven songs from the original soundtrack have simultaneously entered the U.S. Billboard singles chart. In the United States, the film is being promoted as a strong contender for next year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. At the same time, the soundtrack is also seen as a contender for Best Original Song.

On Tuesday (local time), the song "Golden," performed by the girl group Huntrix in the movie, ranked 23rd on Billboard's main singles chart, the Hot 100. After debuting at No. 81 last week, the song jumped 58 spots in just one week. The song "Your Idol," performed by the boy group Saja Boys, rose 46 spots from the previous week to reach No. 31.

This week, five more songs entered the singles chart. Huntrix's "How It's Done" ranked No. 42, "What It Sounds Like" No. 49, and "Takedown" No. 64, all making it into the Hot 100. Saja Boys' "Soda Pop" also ranked high at No. 42. "Free," a duet by Huntrix member Rumi and Saja Boys member Jinwoo, debuted at No. 58. On Billboard's main album chart, the Billboard 200, the original soundtrack album rose five spots from the previous week to No. 3.

This is the first time since Disney's "Encanto" in 2022 that multiple songs from an animated film soundtrack have entered the Billboard charts simultaneously. At that time, eight songs, including "We Don't Talk About Bruno," made it onto the Hot 100.

With the popularity of the soundtrack, attention is also turning to the singers who performed the songs. EJAE, who provided vocals for Rumi, is a former SM Entertainment trainee and the composer of Red Velvet’s song “Psycho.” Actor Ahn Hyo-seop, who voiced Jinwoo, performed the duet "Free" himself.

Meanwhile, the American film outlet Variety recently described the film as “a strong contender for the 2025 animated feature film category,” calling it “a festive work that combines animation aesthetics with K-pop elements.” Billboard also reported that Netflix plans to submit "Golden" for an award nomination officially. The Academy's official X account posted, “Huntrix didn't just save the world; they also saved my Spotify Wrapped.”

"KPop Demon Hunters" follows the K-pop girl group Huntrix as they take on the role of demon hunters. The film has been praised for incorporating elements of Korean culture, including tigers, magpies, Korean medicine clinics, and Namsan Tower.


사지원 4g1@donga.com