K-pop Demon Hunters Break Records with Golden at No. 1
Before HUNTR/X, the first female collective to top the Billboard Hot 100 was Destiny's Child, whose Bootylicious reigned in August 2001.
Voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, Golden is the ninth K-pop-associated track to reach No. 1 and the first led by female vocalists. It is also only the second song from an animated film this decade to top the chart, following Disney's We Don't Talk About Bruno from Encanto. With this, K-pop Demon Hunters becomes the first non-Disney animated feature to achieve such a feat.
Released on June 20, the film's track climbed to the top in just seven weeks, fuelled by 31.7 million official US streams in the August 1–7 tracking week, alongside an impressive 71% boost in radio airplay and 7,000 digital sales. On streaming platforms, 'Golden' has consistently outperformed many real-world pop acts, even rivalling numbers from BTS, Rosé and Katseye.
This has made 'Golden' not just a chart-topper but a serious contender for music awards, elevating its status in the soundtrack and K-pop spheres.
The soundtrack's reach isn't limited to HUNTR/X. Rival fictional boy band Saja Boys has also scored chart success, with 'Your Idol' climbing to No. 9 on the Hot 100. Nearly every track from the film's OST—aside from a couple of B-sides and score pieces—has entered the main chart.
The success of 'Golden' has extended beyond the US. In the UK, the track has topped the Official Singles Chart, making it the first K-pop song to do so since PSY's Gangnam Style in 2012. It's also reached No. 1 on Amazon Music, Apple Music's global and US charts, and US Spotify.
For an animated soundtrack, this level of crossover appeal is rare—Let It Go from Frozen famously peaked at No. 5 in 2014, despite its cultural ubiquity.
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