Golden, the soundtrack for the animated K-pop movie Demon Hunters, has just made history by taking the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. This marks the first time a K-pop song performed by a female artist has ever achieved this milestone.

According to Billboard, Golden—performed by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X in Netflix’s original animated film K-pop Demon Hunters—officially climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In the summer of 2025, when the K-pop market had yet to produce many truly explosive hits, the arrival of Golden was like an unexplainable phenomenon that defied conventional formulas.

There’s no real-life group, no live performers, no promotional stages—yet that hasn’t stopped Golden from becoming a global hit thanks to its captivating sound, powerful lyrics, and the popularity of the animated film currently taking Netflix by storm.

A Virtual Group Creates a Real-Life Miracle

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, Golden first debuted at No. 81 in early July and steadily climbed the charts—from No. 23 to No. 1 in just seven weeks.

In the most recent tracking week, Golden recorded 31.7 million streams in the U.S. (up 9% from the previous week), 8.4 million radio airplays, and 7,000 copies sold.

The song has also topped the UK Official Singles Chart—one of the most challenging music markets in the world—making Golden one of the rare tracks to conquer both the U.S. and UK charts simultaneously.

To date, Golden is only the ninth K-pop song in history to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, this is the first time the top spot has been claimed by a track performed by a female artist. Previously, the No. 1 position had been held by BTS, Jimin, and Jungkook.

In K-pop Demon Hunters, HUNTR/X is a fictional girl group, but the actual vocals come from three Korean-American female artists: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami.

With its cinematic style, explosive melody, powerful chorus, and inspiring lyrics, the song has quickly become a defining anthem of the summer.

Beyond chart dominance, Golden has gone viral on social media with the #GoldenChallenge. Many famous singers—including Bada (S.E.S.), Lee Hae Ri (Davichi), Solar (Mamamoo), Lily (NMIXX), Ahn Yujin (IVE), and Ailee—have jumped on the trend to cover the song.

Notably, the soundtrack was produced by Republic Records and Visva Records, the new label from songwriter-producer Savan Kotecha, and is now being hailed as one of the most promising contenders for the biggest soundtrack of 2025.

“Honestly, we didn’t expect much at first. You never know what’s going to spark a phenomenon. But both the film and music industries have proven that the universe always sends signals—and if you listen with both your eyes and ears, miracles will happen,”
— Republic Records President Jim Roppo told THR about the explosive rise of the K-pop Demon Hunters soundtrack.