Four songs from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ enter Billboard’s Top 10 at same time, a first in chart’s history

Four songs from the soundtrack entered the top 10 of the Hot 100 singles chart simultaneously — a first in the chart’s 67-year history, according to a preview article posted on Billboard’s website on August 25 for August 30. The Hot 100 is compiled based on U.S. streaming, radio airplay and sales data and is widely regarded as a key measure of popularity.

When counting only overall top-10 entries, regardless of simultaneous appearances, “KPop Demon Hunters” becomes the fifth soundtrack to place four or more songs in the top 10, after “Saturday Night Fever”(1977), “Grease” (1978), “Purple Rain” (1984) and “Waiting to Exhale” (1995).

The four songs in the current top 10 are “Golden” at No. 1, “Your Idol” at No. 4, “Soda Pop” at No. 5 and “How It’s Done” at No. 10. Just as in the film — where girl group HUNTR/X and boy group Saja Boys battle through music — the rivalry has spilled over into real-world charts.

The lead track “Golden” first hit No. 1 on August 11 but slipped to second place last week behind Alex Warren’s “Ordinary.” Billboard’s latest forecast indicates it will reclaim the top spot on the August 30 chart. Only two other K-pop songs have ever spent more than two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100: BTS’s “Butter” (2022) with 10 weeks and “Dynamite” (2020) at 3 weeks. “Golden” is the third.

In the film, HUNTR/X’s songs “Golden” and “How It’s Done” are performed by former SM Entertainment trainee and songwriter EJAE, singer Audrey Nuna and rapper-singer Rei Ami.

Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop” were performed by Andrew Choi, a former contestant on SBS’s “K-pop Star” and current SM Entertainment producer; Danny Chung of The Black Label; Kevin Woo, formerly of U-Kiss; Nexwave, formerly of ZeroX; and samUILee, who has worked on albums by boy bands Seventeen and Riize.

“KPop Demon Hunters” follows HUNTR/X, a K-pop trio who double as exorcists. Drawing power from the hearts of their fans through song, they fight evil spirits and build a protective barrier known as “Honmun.” They face off against Saja Boys, a five-member boy group aligned with demonic forces.

Since its release on June 20, the film has become Netflix’s highest-grossing animated feature and its second-most-watched film overall, with 210.5 million views. That figure is closing in on the platform’s all-time leader, “Red Notice” (2021), with 230.9 million views. Netflix calculates viewership by dividing total viewing hours by a title’s runtime.

BY CHOI HYE-RI [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]