Good morning, do you have a few moments to talk about our demon-slaying K-pop saviors?
In the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, the fictional girl group HUNTR/X (pronounced “Hun-trix”) is more than just a trio of K-pop idols—it’s a team of warriors tasked with defending the world from the ever-present threat of a demon invasion by channeling the power of their fans’ adoration to strengthen the “honmoon,” a magical forcefield, and turn it golden. But the demons won’t go down without a fight. Instead, they start a rival demon K-pop boy band, the Saja Boys, in an attempt to damage HUNTR/X’s connection with its fans, weaken the honmoon, and turn the world over to darkness.
Basically, in KPop Demon Hunters, K-pop squares off against K-pop for the soul of humanity.
But the epic stakes of that fantasy narrative pale in comparison to the real-life impact that KPop Demon Hunters is having on the present moment in Western pop culture: In addition to smashing viewership records on Netflix, the film’s soundtrack album has spent multiple weeks atop the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, beating out highly anticipated new LPs by non-fictional stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Cardi B, Mariah Carey, and Doja Cat.
The album has also spawned a number of smash hit singles in the U.S., with four songs from the soundtrack—two sung by HUNTR/X (“Golden” and “How It’s Done) and two credited to Saja Boys (“Soda Pop” and “Your Idol”)—simultaneously cracking the Billboard Hot 100 chart’s top ten this summer, a first for any soundtrack album. The biggest of those hits, “Golden”, the HUNTR/X song that serves as both a thematic overview and a critical plot point in the film, became the first No. 1 single by a girl group since Destiny’s Child‘s “Bootylicious” in 2001 when it first topped the list over the summer. “Golden” continues its reign atop the U.S. singles chart as of publication time, with the October 11th-dated list marking its 15th week ahead of the pack.
KPop Demon Hunters (HUNTR/X) – “Golden” – Official Lyric Video
As the cultural phenomenon of KPop Demon Hunters continues, the singing voices behind the three members of HUNTR/X—Rei Ami (who sings for Zoey), Audrey Nuna (who sings for Mira), and EJAE (who sings for Rumi and co-wrote several songs on the soundtrack)—have begun to step out from behind the animated characters.
Over the weekend, the three singers made a surprise appearance during a sketch on Saturday Night Live alongside host Bad Bunny, the Latin trap superstar recently booked for this season’s Super Bowl halftime show. The sketch, simply titled “KPop Demon Hunters”, comments on the film’s current ubiquity even before EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami emerge in person: During a brunch conversation between intellectual friends about contemporary art and culture, Bad Bunny’s character continues to route the conversation back to KPop Demon Hunters against the group’s will—a pattern you might recognize if one of your loved ones has drank the Saja Boys’ soda pop. [Note to my loved ones: Sorry.]
As a frustrated Bad Bunny says via voiceover when his friends try to curb his KPop Demon Hunters enthusiasm, “Stupid losers. They don’t deserve HUNTR/X. They don’t even know about the power of the honmoon.”
KPop Demon Hunters Sketch ft. Bad Bunny, HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami) – Saturday Night Live – 10/4/25
On Tuesday night, HUNTR/X’s singing voices—not to be confused with the characters’ spoken voices, Arden Cho (Rumi), May Hong (Mira), and Ji-young Yoo (Zoey)—stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for their first official live performance of “Golden” and an interview about their unlikely ascent to stardom. At the end of the interview, Fallon informed the girls that the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack had just gone Platinum and presented them with a plaque commemorating their newly minted RIAA certification.
So, like Bad Bunny was saying, don’t be an idiot and pretend the honmoon is fake. The real-world power of KPop Demon Hunters appears to be quite real.
Below, watch the singing voices of HUNTR/X perform “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters live for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Watch the KPop Demon Hunters animated film in its entirety on Netflix here.
If you’re looking for more on the vast world of K-pop, revisit Fear & Posing In Korea, our recent feature chronicling an eye-opening night at a K-pop fan concert in Seoul.
EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei (Singing Voices of KPop Demon Hunters‘ HUNTR/X) – “Golden” – The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – 10/7/25
EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei (Singing Voices of KPop Demon Hunters‘ HUNTR/X) Interview – The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – 10/7/25