The soundtrack outgrew the film. KPop Demon Hunters put a fictional girl group at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and kept it there for eight weeks — the longest run this century by a female group. Here’s every song, who actually performs it, and why the tracklist confuses people.
- 9 original songs plus 3 pre-existing tracks (TWICE, MeloMance, Jokers)
- Released 20 June 2025 by Republic Records. Score by Marcelo Zarvos
- “Golden” hit #1 on the Hot 100 for 8 weeks and was 2025’s most-streamed song globally
- The album topped the Billboard 200 and is RIAA certified
The songs everyone is looking for
| Song | Performed by | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Golden | HUNTR/X — EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami | Hot 100 #1 for 8 weeks, 5× Platinum |
| Takedown | TWICE — Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Chaeyoung | Released alongside the album |
| Soda Pop | Saja Boys | The boy group’s bubblegum number |
| Your Idol | Saja Boys | The turn — same group, darker register |
| How It’s Done | HUNTR/X | The opening statement of intent |
| What It Sounds Like | HUNTR/X | The emotional close |
The most common search is some version of “who sings Golden.” The answer is EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, credited as HUNTR/X — not the voice actors you see in the cast list. Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo speak the characters; these three sing them.
See the official Netflix soundtrack breakdownWhy the tracklist confuses people
Three separate things get mixed up.
- Character vs performer — songs are credited to the fictional groups (HUNTR/X, Saja Boys), so the real vocalists sit one layer down in the credits
- Staggered releases — “Golden” went to streaming on 4 July 2025, while “How It’s Done,” “Soda Pop,” “Your Idol” and “What It Sounds Like” arrived in late August. People assumed songs were missing when they were just not out yet
- Original vs licensed — the album mixes 9 original songs with 3 pre-existing tracks by TWICE, MeloMance and Jokers. Not everything on it was written for the film
The chart run, in numbers
| Achievement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Hot 100 #1 | 8 consecutive weeks for “Golden” |
| Record | Longest #1 run this century by a female group |
| Streaming | Most-streamed song released in 2025, globally |
| Certification | “Golden” 5× Platinum; album RIAA Platinum |
| Album chart | #1 on the Billboard 200 |
Worth sitting with: a group that does not exist held number one for two months. No touring, no promo appearances, no members to interview. The songs did it alone.
The records that get left out
The eight weeks at number one is the figure everyone repeats. Several others are arguably more unusual.
| Record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Billboard Global 200 | 18 weeks at No. 1 |
| Simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s | Four at once — the first soundtrack ever to do it |
| Billboard 200 top 10 | First 30 weeks and counting |
| Soundtracks chart | 28 weeks at No. 1 |
| Animated-film comparison | Beat The Archies and The Chipmunks, both four weeks |
The four simultaneous top 10s is the one worth pausing on. Soundtracks usually push one single and let the rest sit as album tracks. This one had four songs inside the Hot 100 top 10 at the same time, which no soundtrack had managed before.
The animated comparison puts the run in scale. The previous animated chart-toppers were The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” in 1969 and The Chipmunks’ Christmas single in 1958, and both led for four weeks. “Golden” doubled that.
It also worked on radio rather than streaming alone. “Golden” reached No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay, a format that does not usually take K-pop, let alone K-pop performed by a group that does not exist.
What the sequel means for the music
Netflix confirmed a sequel on 12 March 2026, with Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning to write and direct.
For this soundtrack that matters more than it would for a live-action follow-up. The songs were not incidental scoring — they were written and produced as releasable K-pop, which is a separate production track running alongside the animation rather than after it.
That is part of why the wait is long. A reported 2029 target has been called optimistic by Sony Pictures Animation’s president, and pre-production had not begun when the sequel was announced. A second album of this standard is not a post-production task.
There is also a harder problem than schedule. The first soundtrack succeeded partly because nobody expected it, and its songs were judged as pop records rather than as film music. A sequel arrives with the opposite condition — the audience already knows the standard and is listening for it. Matching a number one is a different assignment from producing one by surprise.
Why the music actually works
Plenty of animated films have soundtracks. Very few chart like this. The difference is in how it was built.
- Real K-pop production — the songs were written and produced by people who make actual K-pop, not by a film composer approximating the genre
- Trained vocalists, not actors — EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami are working musicians. The two-voice system exists so the songs can stand alone
- TWICE on the tracklist — bringing in a real group for “Takedown” tied the fictional world to the industry it’s about
- Songs that survive removal from the film — you can listen to the album without context and it plays as a K-pop record
That last point is why the film kept growing months after release. The soundtrack pulled people back to the movie, not the other way round.
The deluxe edition
Released 5 September 2025. It adds:
- Two previously unreleased songs
- Karaoke, instrumental and a cappella versions of every track
The a cappella versions are the interesting inclusion — they isolate vocals that were built to sound like a group performance, which is the part the film’s central illusion depends on.
Bottom line
Nine original songs, three licensed tracks, and one of them — “Golden” — became the biggest song of 2025. The vocals belong to EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as HUNTR/X, with the Saja Boys carrying “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol.”
If a song seems to be missing from your streaming app, check the release date before assuming it isn’t there. The tracks came out in stages between June and late August 2025.
Read next
- KPop Demon Hunters characters: full cast, HUNTR/X and Saja Boys
- KPop Demon Hunters pop-up store in Seoul
- Best Korean dramas on Netflix, sorted by mood
FAQ
Who sings “Golden”?
EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, credited as HUNTR/X. They provide the singing voices for Rumi, Mira and Zoey respectively, while Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo voice the characters’ speaking parts.
How many songs are on the soundtrack?
Nine original songs plus three pre-existing tracks by TWICE, MeloMance and Jokers. The deluxe edition released on 5 September 2025 added two previously unreleased songs along with karaoke, instrumental and a cappella versions of every track.
Did TWICE really record a song for it?
Yes. “Takedown” is performed by TWICE members Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung, and was released alongside the album.
How well did “Golden” chart?
It spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 — the longest run at #1 this century by a female group — and was the most-streamed song released in 2025 globally. It is certified 5× Platinum.
Why can’t I find some of the songs?
The tracks were released in stages. “Golden” arrived on streaming on 4 July 2025, while “How It’s Done,” “Soda Pop,” “Your Idol” and “What It Sounds Like” came in late August. If something looks missing, check the release date.
Who composed the score?
Marcelo Zarvos composed the film’s score, separate from the nine original songs. The soundtrack album was released by Republic Records on 20 June 2025, the same day the film premiered on Netflix.
