‘Golden’ from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ tops Billboard Hot 100
Huntrix, the fictional K-pop girl group from the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” / Courtesy of Netflix
“Golden,” a song on the soundtrack from the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” has reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the first K-pop song performed by female vocalists to achieve the feat.
It is also the first to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart.
Billboard said in its Feb. 11 preview article that “Golden” rose one spot from the previous week to overtake Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” for the top position.
“‘Golden’ is the ninth song associated with Korean pop to top the Hot 100, and the first performed by female vocalists,” the magazine said.
The Hot 100 is Billboard’s flagship chart, calculated by combining U.S. streaming data, radio airplay and sales figures.
During the latest tracking week, “Golden” recorded 31.7 million streams, up 9 percent from the previous week, 8.4 million in radio audience, up 71 percent, and 7,000 in sales, up 35 percent.
It entered the Hot 100 at No. 81 in early January and reached the top in its seventh week.
To date, only BTS, with six songs, and its members Jimin and Jung Kook, with one each, have topped the Hot 100 among K-pop acts. PSY’s 2012 hit “Gangnam Style” peaked at No. 2.
“Golden” is performed in the film by Huntrix, a fictional K-pop girl group. The vocals were recorded by Korean American singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami.
The song was co-written by EJAE, Teddy and 24, with Teddy and 24 also serving as producers under YG Entertainment’s affiliate label The Black Label. The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation.
While “Golden” was created through a different production process than traditional K-pop, the Western mainstream music market continues to classify it as K-pop.
On Aug. 1, the track also reached No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart Top 100, one of the two most influential pop charts alongside Billboard.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.