Friday Song: “Golden”
The Song of the Summer arrives via demon hunters
This year’s Song of the Summer seems to have sneaked up on people, emerging from the most unexpected of places — an animated film on Netflix called KPop Demon Hunters.
The film itself received strong positive reviews almost instantly from sources I trust, and it comes from the same animation teams behind the Spider-verse films, so there was a lot to recommend it. At just over 90 minutes long, it was not a daunting commitment one rainy night, and one that proved entirely rewarding. With a clever storyline, great pacing, good music, neat characters, and a few nice twists, the film never sagged, was intriguing from start to finish, and is something I’d also recommend.
The fictional K-pop girl group at the center of the action — Huntr/X — consists of the characters Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. When speaking, the characters are voiced by actors, but the Huntr/X songs are sung by K-Pop singer-songwriter EJAE, American R&B singer Audrey Nuna, and Korean-American singer REI AMI.
The basic story is that the members of Huntr/X lead double lives as demon hunters who find themselves battling the Saja Boys, a boy band whose members are secretly demons using their popularity to help the top demon steal souls.
“Golden” was co-written by EJAE (real name, Kim Eun-jae) and lyricist Mark Sonnenblick. EJAE has written for numerous other K-pop artists, while Sonnenblick co-wrote the lyrics for The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical.
EJAE spent nearly a decade as a K-pop trainee, so she’s drawing from personal experience when it comes to writing about hiding your insecurities.
- She sings without insecurities now — she belts in this song up to an A5, which is astounding
- Belting in this range requires strong TA engagement, and she’s only three notes away from an operatic high C — if you know, you know
There were 5-6 songs written for the crucial slot in the film “Golden” ultimately occupies. As one producer said, “It had to be not an approximation of, but a legit K-pop hit single.”
It has been, reaching #1 on the Billboard Global 200, while also topping charts in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK. The song additionally peaked within the Top 10 in 13 other countries. It’s the first K-pop song to hit #1 in the UK since PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
Notably, the song has been #1 on the Billboard Global 200 for three consecutive weeks, and it is still gaining steam and streams.
Juggling plot exposition, character motivation, and genre credibility while still slapping hard, “Golden” gives us a glossy, high-energy empowerment jam — and the Song of the Summer 2025.
Enjoy!