The success of Netflix’s best new movie has been unprecedented. No, not by viewership (though it’s good), and no, not by critic and audience scores (though they are great), but the fact that it’s tearing up…music charts?
If you’ve been paying attention, that would be KPop Demon Hunters, the animated feature that created two fictional KPop groups who have now broken two separate records over the course of the last day.
I reported only yesterday that the boy band from the film, Saja Boys, had just moved past BTS as the most streamed KPop group on Spotify. But now?
Each group has now set a Spotify KPop record. Girl group HUNTR/X, the heroes of the movie, has surpassed BLACKPINK as the most-streamed female KPop Group. And as before, Saja Boys passed BTS. But now both are the highest charting KPop groups ever, both hitting #1 in their respective category. Again, these are fictional groups from a Netflix movie (albeit, of course, with real singers behind them).
This is all very ironic because the literal plot of KPop Demon Hunters is about a group of global protectors, HUNTR/X, who shield the world from demons with the love of their fans. Saja Boys are demons turned into handsome lads who will siphon away that power if they get more fans, so the main plot point is the two dueling on the charts which is…exactly what’s happening here.
The two most popular songs from each group are Your Idol from Saja Boys with 38 million streams, and Golden from HUNTR/X with 43 million streams. I guess we are currently safe from demons.
It’s already been widely discussed that the film is going to submit itself for consideration for multiple awards, which could include things like Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Oscars and awards for its tracks or the entire album at the Grammys. I’m not quite sure what it might be a frontrunner for, but at the very least, I’d say Animated Feature.
The playlist is on Spotify here if you want to check out the album, but I would recommend doing so after you’ve watched the actual feature, which isn’t just full of good songs; it’s a great, well-animated movie as well.
Netflix has not announced how the KPop Demon Hunter world may expand from here, but its creators are already talking about the possibility of future projects in the universe. No doubt they would come with more killer tracks.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
