The K-pop track "Golden" from the animated American film "KPop Demon Hunters" has successfully maintained its position at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart for a third consecutive week. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the genre's continued dominance on the American music charts.
Billboard announced on Tuesday that "Golden" retained its number one position on the upcoming main singles chart, while Alex Warren's "Ordinary" remained at number two for the second week in a row. The continued success of "Golden" comes as Stray Kids' album "Karma" simultaneously holds the top position on the Billboard 200 main albums chart, creating a rare scenario where K-pop dominates both major Billboard charts.
This dual chart dominance represents the first time in approximately five years that the K-pop genre has simultaneously controlled both the singles and albums charts. The last occurrence was in December 2020, when global superstars BTS topped both charts with their album "Be" and its lead track "Life Goes On." The Billboard Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs across all genres in the United States, using data from streaming platforms, radio airplay, and physical sales.
During the tracking week of August 22-28, "Golden" demonstrated impressive growth across all metrics, earning 35.3 million streams (representing a 4% increase), 19.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 21%), and selling 9,000 copies (an 11% increase). These numbers reflect the song's expanding reach beyond traditional K-pop fan bases and into mainstream American audiences.
"Golden" features the vocal talents of Korean American artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, who provide voices for the fictional girl group Huntr/x in the Netflix film. The track's creation involved notable figures from the K-pop industry, including composer Ejae, who previously trained at SM Entertainment, and Rei Ami, both of whom were born in South Korea. The production team included renowned producers Teddy and 24, who are known for their work with major K-pop agency The Black Label.
The song's journey to the top of the charts has been remarkable, starting from its debut at number 81 before climbing through positions 23, 6, 4, and 2 to reach number one. After briefly dropping back to number two, it reclaimed the top spot last week and has now maintained that position. According to Billboard, "Golden" joins an exclusive group as only the third K-pop song to hold the number one position for more than three weeks, following BTS's "Butter" (which held the top spot for 10 weeks) and "Dynamite" (three weeks).
Last month, "Golden" made history by becoming the first K-pop song performed by female artists to top the Hot 100 chart. The track also achieved the unprecedented feat of simultaneously reaching number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the British Official Singles Top 100 on August 1st, demonstrating its global appeal across major English-speaking markets.
Unlike many K-pop hits that typically rely heavily on dedicated fan bases driving physical album sales and digital downloads, "Golden" has achieved success through steady growth on streaming platforms. This organic growth has been significantly boosted by the global popularity of the original Netflix film. Billboard noted that "gains for 'Golden' were boosted by the film's August 23-24 sing-along wide release in movie theaters and that version's August 25 premiere on Netflix."
The animated film "KPop Demon Hunters," produced by Sony Pictures Animation, centers around the fictional girl group Huntr/x, who must protect the world from demonic spirits. The movie has become a cultural phenomenon, combining traditional K-pop elements with supernatural action and animation, appealing to both K-pop enthusiasts and general audiences worldwide. The film's success has contributed significantly to the soundtrack's chart performance, creating a synergistic relationship between visual and musical content that has proven highly effective in the American entertainment market.
