K-POP Dominates Global and Domestic Charts in 2025... HUNTR/X’s “Golden” Holds Top Spot for Third Consecutive Week, BLACKPINK Remains Reigning Force in Concerts

K-POP has seized control of both global music charts and South Korea’s live concert market in 2025. The soundtrack for Netflix’s animated film “K-POP Demon Hunters” continues to achieve historic results on Billboard charts. HUNTR/X’s “Golden” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks. The female vocal trio HUNTR/X, composed of EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI, became the first K-POP-related female group to reach the summit of the Hot 100 with “Golden” as their debut No. 1 single. They also set a record by marking the first time a group of three or more women has topped the chart in 24 years—since Destiny’s Child held the top spot for two weeks with “Bootylicious” in August 2001. The “K-POP Demon Hunters” soundtrack continues to record historic milestones. For the first time in 67 years of Billboard Hot 100 history, four songs from this soundtrack simultaneously entered the top 10. Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop” remain at positions 4 and 5 respectively, while HUNTR/X’s “How It's Done” rose from 10th to 9th place. The fact that three tracks from this soundtrack are currently in the top 5 is a historic occurrence. This is the only other instance since the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, where Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” (No. 1), “Stayin' Alive” (No. 2), and Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can't Have You” (No. 5) entered the top 5 during the weekly charts of April 8 and 15, 1978. “Golden” recorded 35.3 million streams in the U.S. from August 22 to 28 (a 4% increase from the previous week), 19.7 million radio plays (a 21% increase), and 9,000 album sales (an 11% increase). It has held the No. 1 spot on the Streaming Songs chart for six consecutive weeks, rose from 42nd to 29th on the Radio Songs chart, and reached No. 1 for the first time on the Digital Song Sales chart. “K-POP Demon Hunters” was released on Netflix on June 20 and debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, setting a record as the highest-performing soundtrack debut of 2025. It later reached No. 1 on the Soundtrack chart, marking the first time a Netflix drama soundtrack has claimed the top spot in over two years. South Korea’s concert market also demonstrated K-POP’s dominance. According to data from the Korea Performance Arts Box Office System (KOPIS), DAY6 emerged as the strongest artist in terms of attendance in 2025. Their third world tour, “Forever Young,” set a record by drawing 95,646 fans across six performances at the KSPO Dome. DAY6 further solidified their strong fan base with their 10th-anniversary tours “The Decade” (No. 3) and “The Present” (No. 10). G-DRAGON ranked second with his 2025 world tour “Übermensch,” attracting 68,339 fans, while NCT DREAM (No. 4), SEVENTEEN (No. 5), and Stray Kids (No. 7) also showed impressive attendance numbers. BTS’s J-Hope entered the top 10 (at No. 6) with “Hope on the Stage Final,” drawing 52,477 fans. In the female artist category, BLACKPINK remained the undisputed champion. Their 2025 world tour “Deadline” achieved the highest attendance among female artists by drawing 77,872 fans across two performances at the Goyang Stadium. aespa, Taeyeon, IVE, TWICE, 2NE1, BABYMONSTER, and NMIXX filled the upper ranks, showcasing the diverse strengths of K-POP female artists.