K-Pop Demon Hunters Aims for Five Songs in Billboard Top 20, Conquering Frozen and Encanto Prior Success

Lookout, world. There’s a new winner in animated movie soundtracks.

For the last many decades, Disney has owned the modern movie-musical charts. Whether it was The Little Mermaid (1989), The Lion King (1994), or Phil Collins singing “You’ll Be in My Heart,” The Walt Disney Company has dominated in the field of music from animated movies. Perhaps it’s best example was Frozen (2013) turned the Billboard 200 into a snow globe, spending 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1—more than any album that year—and finishing as 2014’s year-end No. 1 album. “Let It Go,” the big song from the album, topped out at No. 5 on the Hot 100.

Frozen II repeated the album feat, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in December 2019—even if it didn’t generate a Hot 100 chart-topper. In other words, the franchise proved albums led by princess protagonists could dominate long-form listening, even as their signature singles fell shy of the summit.

11 years ago today, “Frozen” was released in theaters, and “Let It Go” was born. The rest is history. ❄️ pic.twitter.com/JjtZi6c2i5

— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) November 28, 2024

Then came Encanto (2021), which split the difference: the soundtrack reigned for nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while the earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” did what “Let It Go” couldn’t—reach No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it stayed for five weeks. Notably, “Bruno” is an ensemble number, not the heroine’s solo, and the track’s rise was propelled by social virality and streaming.

However, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before from any animated film in the history of cinema, a new movie from Netflix has completely taken over pop music.

The new, undisputed champ? Netflix and Sony’s anime-inflected musical K-Pop Demon Hunters. The film’s fictional girl group HUNTR/X just scored a historic Hot 100 No. 1 with “Golden”—the first Hot 100 chart-topper by a K-pop girl group (real or fictional). Meanwhile, the soundtrack is shocking the Billboard 200’s top tier, peaking at No. 2 so far. The single’s ascent has been fueled by TikTok/Instagram virality and rare U.S. radio support for a K-pop act, and the movie itself has delivered Netflix-scale reach. But without having even reached the top spot for albums, why is K-Pop Demon Hunters the runaway winner for most pivotal soundtrack out of an animated film ever?

HUNTR/X: EJAE, @audreynuna, and @reiamimami’s “What It Sounds Like” is currently challenging for a new peak inside the top 20 on next week’s Billboard Hot 100.

It will become their third top 20 hit on the chart and the fifth song from K-Pop Demon Hunters Soundtrack to reach the… pic.twitter.com/yQlgGs3hQj

— Chart Predictions (@ChartPredicts) August 17, 2025

Yes, you’re seeing that correctly. K-Pop Demon Hunters is on the verge of having five… FIVE… songs in the top 20 Billboard singles chart. In other words, total and complete cultural phenomenon, worldwide. 

So how has the Netflix animated movie managed to do this? For one, they’ve reverted the “girl boss” model back to actual female hero archetypes. Instead of the world having to accept the main character in K-Pop Demon Hunters for who she is, the movie has a vulnerable main protagonist who must overcome a feeling of shame to accomplish greatness. It is the hero’s journey. But unlike much of the modern girl boss tropes, this time she and her friends do so with the feminine heroic actions of empathy, nurturing and forgiveness. Yes, they’re slaying demons, but sort of as an afterthought. The movie is actually about female relationships at its core.

‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ will be submitting the original song ‘GOLDEN’ for Awards Consideration, Variety reports.

The song will also become an official single starting this Friday. pic.twitter.com/iyJvOUdX8k

— ToonHive (@ToonHive) July 3, 2025

1. Heroine energy in the single, not just the album.
   Disney proved female-led narratives could own the album chart; the Frozen era was an LP phenomenon. Encanto finally produced a No. 1 single, but it was an ensemble piece. KPDH moves the center of gravity to a heroine-coded act (HUNTR/X) delivering the song of the moment—an explicit Hot 100 No. 1 tied to female protagonists.

2. A pop format engineered for today’s attention economy.
   “Golden” blends bilingual hooks, tight runtimes, choreo-friendly structure, and K-pop production values—design choices that convert instantly on TikTok/Instagram and then feed U.S. radio. This social-to-radio flywheel is exactly what kept “Bruno” aloft, but KPDH channels it through a girl-group anthem rather than an ensemble novelty.

3. Fictional idols with real-world chart credibility.
   The HUNTR/X concept gives audiences a parasocial “group to stan,” letting the film function like an idol launch. That’s part of why multiple soundtrack cuts are charting and why the album is flirting with No. 1 territory.

4. Distribution that meets the fandom where it lives.
   A Netflix-first rollout delivered massive scale (the film quickly became the streamer’s most-watched animated movie and one of its most-viewed originals), creating a larger top of funnel for the music than a typical theatrical-only window.

A screenshot from the trailer to KPop Demon Hunters – YouTube, Sony Pictures Animation

On pure album dominance, Frozen (13 weeks) and Encanto (9 weeks) still set the gold standard. But the K-Pop Demon Hunters playbook—girl-group protagonists + K-pop architecture + platform-native virality—has done something those juggernauts largely didn’t: deliver a heroine-aligned Hot 100 No. 1 single, conquer the rest of the Top 20 as with additional winners, while keeping the soundtrack in striking distance of the Billboard 200 crown. If the OST climbs one more rung, it will have matched Disney’s best-in-class album feats with a single that defines the summer. That’s a strong case that KPDH has, indeed, “cracked the code” for female heroes in the streaming-first pop era.

And considering K-Pop Demon Hunters is somehow still rising, it’s now the clear, top IP for girls and young women. Congrats, Netflix… you’ve taken the lead in a previously-considered one horse race.