'Golden' Beats BTS Record? Not Exactly, But It Did What No One Else Has in 24 Years

[OSENWORLD] The original soundtrack (OST) “Golden” from the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters has soared to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard reported in a chart preview published on August 11 (U.S. time) that the track dethroned Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” to claim the No. 1 spot.

With this feat, “Golden” becomes the ninth K-Pop song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100, and notably, the first K-Pop song exclusively performed by female vocalists. It’s also the first No. 1 single not featuring any BTS members—previous K-Pop chart-toppers included six group tracks by BTS, plus solo hits by Jimin and Jungkook. Even more remarkably, it is the first girl-group song—K-Pop or otherwise—to top the Hot 100 in 24 years, since Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious” in 2001.

The song’s rise was meteoric: it debuted at No. 81 in early July and climbed steadily—23 → 6 → 4 → 2 and finally No. 1 in its seventh week. During the week of August 1–7, “Golden” earned 31.7 million streams (+9%), garnered 8.4 million in radio airplay impressions (+71%), and sold 7,000 units (+35%) in the U.S.

This marks the first time an animated film OST has topped the Hot 100 since Disney’s hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto in 2022—a three-year gap.

Internationally, “Golden” also dominated both the U.S. and U.K. charts, achieving the rare feat of topping both the U.S. and U.K.—the world’s most influential music markets.

In the film K-Pop Demon Hunters, the fictional girl group Huntr/x (Rumi, Mira, Zoey)—voiced by real artists EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami—performs “Golden” in a climactic moment to complete the “Honmoon,” a magical barrier that protects the world from demons. The film premiered on Netflix on June 20, 2025, quickly becoming a global phenomenon.

/k_inside@osen.co.kr