K-pop’s First Grammy Win for “Golden” – A Historic Victory for KPop Demon Hunters

“The Golden” by the Netflix animated film *KPop Demon Hunters* won the “Best Song Written for Visual Media” award at the 68th Grammy Awards, marking a pivotal moment in K-pop history. Announced during a pre-event held on February 1 in Los Angeles, USA, this victory marked the first time a K-pop OST received a Grammy award.

“The Golden” is performed by Korean-American singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami. It became the first K-pop song to simultaneously top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Chart within the top 100 last summer. The track was also nominated for “Song of the Year” and “Pop Duo/Group Performance.”

EJAE, who contributed to the song’s composition, was formerly a Trainee at SM Entertainment. Though he failed to achieve his dream of debuting as an idol, he realized his ambition as a composer and singer-songwriter. In his acceptance speech, EJAE expressed pride as a Korean-American and called it “incredible” that lyrics in Korean were now sung around the world.

Since this award is intended for songwriters, EJAE, producer Teddy, 24, and IDO (Yuhan Lee, Joongkyu Kwak, Hee-dong Nam) received the Grammy trophy. This was the first time a K-pop composer or music producer won a Grammy Award. The entire OST album for the film was also nominated for “Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media,” and it marked the first time a K-pop song was nominated in the General Field category at the Grammy Awards.

“The Golden”’s success was anticipated in global music charts long before its Grammy win. Along with the film’s release in June of last year, the song gained massive popularity. Its soundtrack album reached number one on the Billboard 200 and surpassed 10 billion streams. The track had already won the “Best Original Song” award at the Golden Globe Awards and is up for the same category at next month’s Oscar ceremony.

“The Golden”’s Grammy victory signifies that K-pop has received artistic recognition from America’s mainstream music industry, going beyond mere commercial success. Last August, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences added K-pop artists, producers, and singer-songwriters such as SEVENTEEN’s Woozi, ENHYPEN’s Jungwon, and LE SSERAFIM’s Yunjin to its voting membership in recognition of their contributions to K-pop’s development. These efforts are seen as the foundation behind “mainstream acceptance of K-pop songs.”