Songfacts®:

• "Golden" is a 2025 single performed by the fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x in the animated musical fantasy film KPop Demon Hunters. In the film, Huntr/x is comprised of the characters Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, voiced by K-Pop singer-songwriter EJAE, American R&B singer Audrey Nuna, and Korean-American singer REI AMI.
  
  In the film, Huntr/x lead double lives as demon hunters. They square off against their sparkly yet sinister rivals, the Saja Boys, a boy band whose members are secretly demons that are using their popularity to steal souls.
• "Golden" marks a turning point in the film's story arc; it introduces the mystical concept of the Golden Honmoon, which is a magical seal that keeps the demonic realm at bay. As the characters face escalating stakes, the song becomes their "I Want" moment - a musical-theater staple where characters reveal their desires, doubts, and emotional fuel in the form of a catchy hook. Think "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid), "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" (My Fair Lady) and "Over The Rainbow" (The Wizard of Oz).
• Executive producer Ian Eisendrath told The Hollywood Reporter that crafting "Golden" was no easy task: "We had five to six songs written for that slot, and we just kept going until it was the right energy... it had to be not an approximation of, but a legit K-pop hit single."
  
  That meant the song had to juggle plot exposition, character motivation and genre credibility all while still slapping hard. The result is a glossy, high-energy empowerment jam.
• "Golden" was co-written by EJAE (real name Kim Eun-jae) and lyricist Mark Sonnenblick along with four accomplished K-pop writer/producers, notably Teddy Park, who has worked on much of BlackPink's catalog.
  
  EJAE has serious K-pop credentials, having written for Red Velvet, Aespa, Le Sserafim, and Twice, among others. Sonnenblick, for his part, brings Broadway flair to the table - his previous credits include co-writing the lyrics for The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical.
• EJAE spent nearly a decade as a K-pop trainee, so when she voices the half-demon Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters, she's drawing from deep, personal experience, especially when it comes to hiding your insecurities.
  
  "'Golden' is the song I wish I had when I was training," she told Billboard. "The industry's tough - competitive to the core. Perfection is everything when you're a trainee, and I felt broken inside trying to meet that standard."
  
  EJAE channeled the heartbreak of being dropped by SM Entertainment into the lyrics and performance, turning her past struggles into something powerful and healing.
• David Guetta dropped his remix of "Golden" on July 25, 2025. Dubbed the "David Guetta REM/X," the new version pumps the original full of the DJ's trademark EDM energy, giving the song a high-voltage boost.
• "Golden" climbed to the top of the UK Singles Chart on August 7, 2025, becoming the first K-pop #1 since 2012, when PSY's "Gangnam Style" reached the summit.
• When "Golden" hit #1 in the US on August 16, 2025, it was the ninth K-pop song to top the Hot 100, and the first led by female vocalists. It was also the first song by an all-women collective of three or more members to reach #1 since Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" reached the summit in August 2001.
• When "Golden" clocked its fifth week at the Hot 100 summit, it became the longest-leading #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 by an animated act, surpassing The Chipmunks' "The Chipmunk Song" (1958), and The Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" (1969), both of which spent four weeks at #1.
• Huntr/x wasn't conceived as a live act, but when "Golden" became a huge hit, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami were dispatched to start performing it on short notice, no easy task since they were a studio act that had never met before working on the film.
  
  They debuted "Golden" live as a full performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 7, 2025, when the song was in its eighth week at #1 in America. Dressed head-to-toe in black, the trio were introduced by a short animated video before launching into the song. The appearance marked EJAE's first live performance in over a decade, after spending the past 12 years focused on songwriting rather than the stage.
  
  The trio performed the song at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve, and on various showcases before awards season rolled around and they found themselves singing "Golden" everywhere from the BRITs to the BAFTAs, culminating at the Oscars on March 15, 2026.
• Fittingly, "Golden" won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song at the 2026 ceremony. EJAE gave a heartfelt speech, saying, "When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fulfill one dream: to become a K-pop idol. I was rejected and disappointed that my voice wasn't good enough, so I leaned on songs and music to get through it. Now I'm here as a singer and a songwriter. It's a dream come true to be part of a song that is helping other girls, other boys, and everyone from all ages to get through their hardships and to accept themselves."
  
  "This award goes to people who have had doors close at them," she added. "I can confidently say, rejection is redirection. Never give up. It's never too late to shine like you were born to be."
• "Golden" became the first K-Pop song to win a Grammy when it won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2026 ceremony. It was up for Song Of The Year but lost to "Wildflower" by Billie Eilish.
• To nobody's surprise, "Golden" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2026, becoming the first K-pop song to do so. "Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone is singing our song and all the Korean lyrics," EJAE said in accepting. "This award is not about success - it's about resilience."
  
  Earlier in show, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami performed the song with a backdrop of dancers waving golden flags and an audience wielding lightsticks that were handed out before the performance. In the Huntr/x universe, the lightsticks are used to transfer energy to the demon hunters.
  
  Three days before the Oscars, Netflix announced that KPop Demon Hunters 2 was in the works.