KPop Demon Hunters wins big
“KPop Demon Hunters” just cleaned up at the 98th Oscars — its song “Golden” won Best Original Song and the film took Best Animated Feature at the March 15 ceremony, signaling major mainstream recognition for K-pop–styled soundtracks Golden win Animated Feature win.
Director Maggie Kang became the first filmmaker of South Korean descent to win in the Best Animated Feature category ([abcnews.com)]. The songwriting credits for “Golden” list Kim Eun‑jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick, 24, IDO and Teddy, and several of those co‑writers were cited as the first South Koreans to receive Academy recognition in the song category ([abcnews.com)]. Since its June 20, 2025 Netflix debut the movie has logged roughly 325 million global views while its soundtrack amassed about 8.3 billion streams, and “Golden” spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with roughly 952 million Spotify streams reported by the songwriting team’s press accounts ([deadline.com)]. The film’s fictional girl group HUNTR/X—voiced/sung onstage at the Oscars by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami—performed “Golden” live, and Lionel Richie presented the Oscar to the full songwriting team during the ceremony ([yahoo.com)]. Portions of EJAE’s emotional acceptance remarks were abruptly cut off onstage, prompting boos from the audience and widespread reaction online about the Academy’s handling of the speech ([forbes.com)]. Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation are reported to be in talks for a sequel, with the directors and studio later confirming deals with the streamer as the franchise discussion moved forward after the awards season surge ([hollywoodreporter.com)].
