K-Pop Demon Hunters’ ‘Golden’ Makes History as First Female-Led K-Pop Song to Top Billboard Hot 100

Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters has made history as its original soundtrack song “Golden” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart—the first female-led K-pop track ever to do so.

On the 11th (local time), Billboard announced that “Golden” climbed one spot from the previous week, overtaking Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” to claim the top position.

Billboard highlighted, “’Golden’ is the ninth song associated with Korean pop to conquer the Hot 100, and notably, it’s the first No. 1 track performed by female vocalists.”

The Hot 100 chart ranks songs based on a combination of U.S. streaming data, radio airplay, and sales figures. During the latest tracking period, “Golden” recorded 31.7 million streams—a 9% increase from the previous week. Radio airplay impressions jumped 71% to 8.4 million, while sales rose 35% to 7,000.

“Golden” is performed by Huntrix, a fictional K-pop girl group featured in K-Pop Demon Hunters. The track was created by composer Lee Jae, singer Audrey Nuna, and Ray Ami—all Korean American artists and former SM Entertainment trainees.

After debuting at No. 81 on the Hot 100 early last month, “Golden” rode the wave of the film’s popularity, climbing to No. 23, then 6, 4, 2, 2, and finally reaching No. 1 in its seventh week—a remarkable chart-topping journey.

Until now, the only K-pop acts to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 were BTS (with six songs), and BTS members Jimin and Jungkook (one song each). “Golden” marks the very first time a K-pop song led by female vocalists has achieved this milestone.

Adding to its historic run, “Golden” previously topped the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100 on the 1st, making it one of the rare tracks to simultaneously reign over both of the world’s most influential music charts.

Photo Credit: Netflix

This article is a translated version of the original Korean article published by Xportsnews, originally written by Hwang Suyeon. This article was translated from Korean using AI-assisted tools and human review to deliver an accurate and culturally appropriate version for international readers.