South Korea Celebrates First K-Pop Grammy as Golden Turns Film Success Into Music History

A Soundtrack Song Delivers a Historic Grammy

Seven songwriters behind "Golden" helped deliver a breakthrough that some of South Korea's biggest music stars had pursued for years. On Sunday, February 1, 2026, the song from Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the first K-pop track to win a Grammy.

The award was presented during the Premiere Ceremony, held before the main television broadcast at Los Angeles' Peacock Theatre. The winning song belongs to Huntr/x, the film's fictional girl group, whose singing voices are supplied by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as Rumi, Zoey and Mira.

The victory brought recognition to a song that had already reached audiences far beyond the film. "Golden" spent eight consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during summer 2025, topped the Billboard Global 100 and finished as Spotify's seventh most streamed song of the year. Its message of finding confidence and hope helped turn a soundtrack entry into an international anthem.

For K-pop, the award ended a long wait at a ceremony widely regarded as music's most prestigious. BTS had collected five Grammy nominations since 2021 without winning, while Blackpink had also failed to turn nominations into victories. Those disappointments had fueled criticism that the Recording Academy was overlooking a genre capable of breaking streaming records and filling stadiums around the world.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung joined the celebrations, describing the achievement as opening a "new chapter in K-pop history." The moment connected a fictional group's success with the real composers, producers and singers whose work has carried Korean popular culture to a global audience.

The Film Behind the Global Hit

"KPop Demon Hunters" arrived in June 2025 through a collaboration between Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix. It became Netflix's most watched film in history, recording more than 480 million views.

The story follows Huntr/x, also written as Huntrix, a girl group whose members lead double lives as performers and demon hunters protecting humanity. Their rivals, the Saja Boys, are both a competing boy band and actual demons. Music has the power to save the world within the story, making the songs part of the action rather than simply something playing behind it.

Kayti Burt, a critic at Time, observed that the music can influence listeners inside the film's world. That connection helps explain why the soundtrack matters to the narrative: singing changes what happens to the characters, giving the songs a purpose beyond accompanying a scene.

Nielsen measured 20.5 billion viewing minutes for the film in the United States during 2025. That amounted to the equivalent of 207 million complete viewings, even though the movie was released midway through the year. Netflix's figure counts views on its platform, while the Nielsen figure describes the time spent watching in the United States.

The film's presence also spread into everyday life. It inspired ramen products themed around Demon Hunters, helped draw tourists to Seoul's historic fortress walls and other cultural sites shown in the animation, and made its characters popular choices for Halloween costumes in the United States.

A Soundtrack That Reached Beyond the Screen

"Golden" was the most visible part of a much larger soundtrack success. The album became Billboard's highest charting album of 2025 and reached the top of the Billboard 200, a feat last achieved by an animated film soundtrack with Disney's "Encanto" in 2022.

Four songs from "KPop Demon Hunters" also appeared in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten at the same time. No soundtrack had previously achieved that result. The movie was producing several popular songs at once, rather than relying on a single hit to keep listeners interested.

The Billboard 200 tracks albums, while the Hot 100 ranks individual songs. Success on both charts showed that audiences were listening to the wider collection as well as returning to "Golden." Its eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Hot 100 made that sustained interest especially visible.

The song's standing as Spotify's seventh most streamed track of 2025 added another measure of its reach. Alongside the film's viewing figures, the chart results explain why its Grammy win became a cultural event in South Korea: the award followed months in which a song containing Korean lyrics had become familiar to listeners around the world.

The Seven Writers Behind Golden

The Grammy went to songwriters Ejae, whose Korean name is Kim Eun-jae; Park Hong Jun, known as Teddy; Joong Gyu Kwak; Yu Han Lee; Hee Dong Nam; Jeong Hoon Seo; and Mark Sonnenblick. The category recognizes songwriting for a film, television programme or other visual production, placing the people who created the song at the centre of this victory.

Ejae supplied the singing voice of Rumi, the film's protagonist. She also became the first Korean-American female songwriter nominated for Song of the Year, bringing her recognition in a major Grammy category beyond the soundtrack award.

Teddy's contribution connected the film with more than two decades of Korean music reaching international audiences. His work with BIGBANG, G-Dragon, PSY, 2NE1 and Blackpink has helped shape that expansion. At the ceremony, producer Jeong Hoon Seo, professionally known as 24, delivered the acceptance speech in English and Korean and paid tribute to Teddy as "the pioneer of K-pop."

Ejae's route to the song began with an ordinary journey. She composed its melody while travelling to a dentist appointment. The words "gonna be golden" came later, developing into a message of confidence during a difficult period in her own life.

Before the Grammy ceremony, Ejae described the personal feeling behind the song and its hopeful refrain:

I don't know if Mark knows this, but when I wrote 'Golden,' I was going through a hard time. I actually cried singing the demo, because it connected with me so much.

Maybe that's why 'Golden' is 'going up up up,' because everyone is going through a hard time and they want to feel hope.

Korean Lyrics at the Heart of the Celebration

Maggie Kang, the film's co-director, specifically asked for Korean lyrics to be woven throughout "Golden," rather than kept within separate verses. The result brought the two languages together across the song, allowing its Korean identity to remain present as audiences followed the melody.

Ejae spoke in the Grammy press room about what it meant to hear people around the world singing those words. As a Korean-American songwriter and performer, she connected the award with the visibility of a culture that had once been less familiar to people around her:

Growing up, people didn't know where Korea was or what Korea was, and that's why it's so incredible to have the song 'Golden' being sung all over the world, singing the Korean lyrics word by word. It means so much and I think this award is about that representation. Today's about celebrating culture and music that unites all culture, and we need that right now.

Ejae had struggled as a young K-pop trainee in South Korea before establishing herself in the United States. Her appearance at the Grammys brought that personal journey together with the international success of the character she voices.

At the press conference, she described the moment in personal and national terms:

This is crazy because this is like a historical moment for you know, as being a Korean American.

It's a song that also represents Korea.

Why the Grammy Breakthrough Mattered

BTS, the septet that helped popularize Korean pop across Western markets, had accumulated five Grammy nominations since 2021. Three were in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for "Dynamite," "Butter" and "My Universe." None resulted in a win.

Blackpink's international influence had likewise failed to produce a Grammy victory. For fans who had watched Korean acts achieve commercial success without receiving a trophy, "Golden" crossed a barrier that had become a recurring source of frustration.

Music columnist Kim Do-hoon described a longstanding tension between the way K-pop is produced and the musical qualities traditionally rewarded by Grammy voters. He referred to what he called its "cookie-cutter format" and heavy production values, then explained his assessment:

The Grammys have traditionally placed strong emphasis on musical quality, an area in which K-pop is not widely recognised. They are also known for avoiding heavily produced music, which is often the case with K-pop artists.

The Recording Academy announced in August 2025 that more contributors to K-pop had joined its voting membership. They included Supreme Boi, Wonderkid, Bumzu, Slow Rabbit, Huh Yunjin, Jungwon, Yeonjun, Zico, Woozi and Vernon. Their inclusion increased the genre's representation among the people who choose Grammy winners and may have helped its breakthrough.

South Koreans had already won Grammys in technical and classical categories. "Golden" marked a different milestone: the first victory for a K-pop production in a major popular music category. Its success suggested a change in how the American music establishment was responding to Korean popular music.

Rosé and Katseye Share the Spotlight

Rosé opened the main Grammy television broadcast with an energetic performance of "APT." alongside Bruno Mars. The Blackpink member's collaboration earned nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, although she left without a trophy.

Her appearance brought several firsts. Rosé became the first K-pop artist nominated in the general field as a main performer, the first Korean soloist nominated for a Grammy and the first Korean soloist to perform at the ceremony. She joined BTS as the only K-pop acts to have performed on the Grammy stage.

The general field includes awards that bring together music from different genres, rather than placing performers within a particular style. Rosé's nominations therefore carried her work into direct competition with some of the year's biggest releases across popular music.

Katseye, created through a partnership between South Korea's HYBE and the American label Geffen Records, received two nominations. These included Best New Artist, with "Gabriela" part of the group's breakthrough. Katseye's music combines several influences beyond a strict definition of K-pop, showing how the industry's connections now reach across national and musical boundaries.

"Golden" and "APT." both competed for Song of the Year against entries by Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and Doechii. Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell won for "Wildflower." The presence of two Korean pop entries in that category gave the evening a broader sense of recognition, even beyond the soundtrack win.

South Korea Celebrates a New Chapter

President Lee Jae Myung congratulated the creators on the social media platform X. His message focused on the composers and producers behind the award:

This marks the first time a K-pop composer or producer has won a Grammy Award. I extend my warmest congratulations on this remarkable achievement.

Lee described the result as opening a "new chapter in K-pop history." His response reflected the national pride surrounding a song whose fictional performers had become a vehicle for real Korean musical talent.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun daily described the Grammys as "a conservative awards show that is not particularly open to diverse music genres, making it difficult for K-pop to break through." Yonhap used "Kedehun," shorthand referring to "Korean Demon Hunters," in its headline announcing the victory.

YouTube commentator striderz1971 captured a strand of fan reaction by pointing to the unsuccessful Grammy runs of BTS and Blackpink. With "Golden" winning, the commentator said "a path had now been forced open" for future recognition.

The celebrations linked three developments: a Korean cultural story attracting a huge film audience, its songs succeeding independently on music charts, and its creators receiving an award that leading K-pop acts had long sought. Together, they gave the victory a meaning beyond a single soundtrack category.

The Awards Calendar Continues

"Golden" had already won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards before its Grammy success. As of February 6, it was also nominated for Best Original Song at the forthcoming Academy Awards, becoming the first K-pop track to receive an Oscar nomination.

"KPop Demon Hunters" was competing for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. The film and song therefore continued their awards season together, with recognition for both the animation and the music central to its story.

Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami were scheduled to perform "Golden" at the BAFTA Film Awards in London on February 22. The appearance would be the Huntr/x trio's first international performance outside the United States.

The main dates show how the film's success developed:

• June 2025: "KPop Demon Hunters" was released through Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix.
• Summer 2025: "Golden" led the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks.
• August 2025: The Recording Academy announced the addition of more K-pop contributors to its voting membership.
• February 1, 2026: "Golden" won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammys in Los Angeles.
• February 22, 2026: The Huntr/x singers were scheduled to perform at the BAFTA Film Awards in London.

Netflix and Sony Animation had also confirmed plans for a sequel to "KPop Demon Hunters." Ejae, meanwhile, had released the solo single "Time After Time," an anthemic pop song about heartbreak that presented another side of her work beyond Rumi.

A Korean Identity With an International Sound

Some critics questioned whether "Golden" should be classified as K-pop because much of it is in English and its production draws on American pop. Comparisons with Katy Perry and early Lady Gaga formed part of that debate.

The song's success brings those different elements into the same story. Korean lyrics, a film centred on a Korean girl group, contributions from established K-pop creators and a sound accessible to international pop audiences all helped shape its identity and reach.

Music critic Lim Hee-yun described how the film reached viewers whose knowledge of Korean pop had previously been limited to its biggest groups:

certainly boosted awareness of the K-pop world and even sparked interest in traveling to South Korea.

For audiences familiar mainly with BTS or Blackpink, the film offered another entry into Korean popular culture. Its tourism effect, soundtrack records and Grammy victory connected interest in an animated story with interest in the music and places behind it.

The Grammy recognized a specific song and its writers. The wider celebration reflected something larger: Korean language and culture becoming part of a shared international hit, with a fictional group helping real musicians secure a milestone.

The Bottom Line

• "Golden" won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2026 Grammys, becoming the first K-pop track to win a Grammy.
• Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami perform the song as Huntr/x, while seven songwriters received the award.
• The song led the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and was Spotify's seventh most streamed song of 2025.
• "KPop Demon Hunters" became Netflix's most watched film, with more than 480 million views.
• Rosé and Katseye also received Grammy nominations, expanding the ceremony's visibility for artists connected to Korean pop.
• President Lee Jae Myung celebrated the victory as a new chapter in K-pop history.
• "Golden" continued its awards season with an Oscar nomination and a performance scheduled for February 22 at the BAFTA Film Awards.
• Netflix and Sony Animation had confirmed plans for a sequel.