Hurry Up! Covers Riding the Unstoppable 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 Popularity

Someone once said that K-Pop is at its end. But there is a work that pours oil on that end and sets it on fire. It is the Netflix original <K-Pop Demon Hunters>. The story of the demon hunter and idol group 'HuntRix' protecting the Korean Peninsula with song and dance, and the grim reaper disguised as an idol, 'Lion Boys', trying to interfere with them, has received love from global viewers for its charming characters, addictive OST, and humorous yet accurate depiction of Korean society. As expected, many have jumped on the bandwagon of <K-Pop Demon Hunters> as it deals with dance and song. Here are some covers that have challenged to catch up with <K-Pop Demon Hunters>.

Samsung - 'Galaxy Bird'? Recruitment Complete

Why is Samsung suddenly involved? The reason is 'Sussie'. Sussie is the name of the magpie in <K-Pop Demon Hunters>, and this magpie is the pet of the grim reaper Jinwoo, which has an unusual feature: it has six eyes. It is usually depicted in profile rather than a frontal view, so it has three eyes, which led to the nickname 'Galaxy Bird' as it reminds people of the smartphone 'Galaxy S' with three cameras in the Western world. After the popularity of <K-Pop Demon Hunters> skyrocketed, Samsung seemed to have heard of Sussie's nickname, as they featured Sussie and Tiger Duffy in the teaser video for the Galaxy Unpacked event posted on July 8.

Ahn Hyo-seop - A Cover by the Main Body

If the production team of <K-Pop Demon Hunters> designed a good blueprint, it was the passionate performances of Korean actors that perfectly implemented this blueprint. In particular, the casting of Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Byung-hun for the English dubbing, which can be considered the original version, was a stroke of genius. Recently, Ahn Hyo-seop posted a cover video of the original song ‘Free’ from <K-Pop Demon Hunters> on his account. In the work, all the main characters had to show outstanding skills to captivate both HuntRix and Lion Boys, so in addition to the actors playing the characters, separate vocal parts were assigned. The vocal of Jinwoo, played by Ahn Hyo-seop, was taken by composer and producer Andrew Choi. However, Ahn Hyo-seop's cover this time was also outstanding, as he was a former member of the school orchestra's violin section and had three years of training as an idol trainee at a major agency, showing his musical talent. It is rumored that many Jinwoo fans were heartbroken as the main voice directly delivered the vocals. For reference, the scene where Jinwoo first appears and sings in the drama was sung by Ahn Hyo-seop himself.

Needmorecash - The Lion Boys Fans Who Would Follow to Hell Saved by the Lion Boys

The blue suit man, Ryuhei, and Yabai Light, influencers who lead internet memes with their unique parody sensibility, have also recently jumped on the Lion Boys trend. They recently posted dance cover videos of Lion Boys' 'Soda Pop' and 'Your Idol', which recorded 3.76 million and 700,000 views respectively (as of July 11). Centered around Karami, who has a style reminiscent of Needmorecash's romance, along with Baby's Il-o-pal, Jinwoo's Ta2sub, and Mystery's Kim Moi, five influencers joined forces to create an unprecedented live-action adaptation. Needmorecash, a former dancer, showcased his dazzling dance skills, but it was actually Karami who led this gathering. According to the behind-the-scenes revealed by Karami during a live broadcast, he was the only one who had seen the movie at the time of filming. After watching <K-Pop Demon Hunters> on the day of its release, Karami suggested to Needmorecash to make a video after seeing the romance with pink hair like his own, which led to this collaboration. Thanks to them, fans who seemed to be going to hell under the spell of Lion Boys have been sharing testimonies in the comments of the video, saying they have regained their senses.

Kwon Jin-ah - Emotion 300% Golden

In fact, most of the covers of <K-Pop Demon Hunters> are of Lion Boys rather than HuntRix. This is likely due to the addictive 'Soda Pop' or the clearly defined concept of 'Your Idol', but the biggest problem is that the songs of HuntRix are inherently difficult. Lee Jae, the composer of 'Golden' and the vocalist of Lumi in the work, was selected for Lumi's vocal after repeating demo recordings, and he revealed that he did not even think he would be the one to sing and just hit the high notes as requested by the director. Because of the difficulty of the song, there are not many covers of HuntRix's songs, but Kwon Jin-ah threw down the gauntlet with a cover video on July 3. She sang 'Golden' in her specialty ballad style, receiving much praise from listeners for her more poignant emotion and delicate singing than the original. Additionally, among various artists who covered HuntRix, talented Vtubers like Hebi and Song Hyun also gained attention for perfectly delivering 'Golden'.