The hit song "Golden" from the animated Netflix film "KPop Demon Hunters" has maintained its grip on the top spot of Billboard's Hot 100 chart for an impressive fourth consecutive week. The track continues to demonstrate the growing global influence of K-pop music and Korean entertainment content in mainstream American markets.
According to Billboard's Monday preview of its upcoming main singles chart, "Golden" successfully retained its number one position this week, while Alex Warren's "Ordinary" remained locked at number two for the third week running. This sustained chart performance highlights the song's remarkable staying power in the competitive American music landscape.
The track features a powerhouse collaboration of Korean American artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, who perform as the fictional girl group Huntr/x within the film's narrative. Both Ejae, a talented composer who received training at the prestigious SM Entertainment company, and Rei Ami were born in South Korea, bringing authentic Korean musical sensibilities to the project. The song's production team includes industry heavyweights Teddy and 24, who are well-known for their successful collaborations with major K-pop agency The Black Label.
"Golden" has experienced a meteoric rise since its chart debut, showcasing one of the most impressive climbing trajectories in recent Billboard history. The song initially entered the Hot 100 at a modest number 81 position before systematically climbing through the ranks to number 23, then number 6, number 4, number 2, and finally reaching the coveted number one spot. After briefly slipping back to number two, the track reclaimed the top position two weeks ago and has maintained its dominance since.
This achievement has significant historical implications for K-pop representation on American charts. "Golden" has now surpassed BTS' previously record-holding "Dynamite," which spent three weeks at number one, to claim second place as the K-pop genre song with the most number one weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The track still trails behind BTS' "Butter," which holds the record with an impressive ten weeks at the summit.
The Hot 100 chart, which ranks the most popular songs across all genres in the United States, bases its calculations on comprehensive data including streaming numbers, radio airplay statistics, and direct sales figures. For the tracking week of August 29 through September 4, "Golden" demonstrated strong performance across all metrics, earning 34.5 million streams despite a slight 2 percent decrease from the previous week. The song showed particular strength in radio play, generating 22.1 million radio airplay audience impressions with a healthy 13 percent increase, while digital sales reached 9,000 copies sold, representing a 4 percent uptick.
The success of "Golden" is part of a broader phenomenon surrounding the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack, which has achieved unprecedented chart domination. In addition to "Golden" at the top, three additional songs from the soundtrack currently occupy positions within the top 10. "Your Idol" and "Soda Pop" each dropped one position from their previous peak standings at numbers 4 and 5 respectively, while "How It's Done" continues to hold steady at its chart high of number 9.
This remarkable chart performance has earned the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack a place in Billboard history. As Billboard noted in its analysis, the soundtrack "has become the first soundtrack to generate four simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s over the chart's 67-year history," marking a significant milestone for both animated film soundtracks and K-pop music's penetration into mainstream American popular culture. This achievement underscores the growing appetite for Korean entertainment content and the successful fusion of traditional K-pop elements with Western pop sensibilities.
