KDAHUN 'Golden', First K-Pop Grammy Honor... Major U.S. Media Spotlight

The soundtrack 'Golden' from the Netflix animated series 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 has set a new milestone in K-Pop history by winning at the Grammy Awards, the world's most prestigious music awards. This news was quickly reported by major media outlets across the United States, garnering significant attention.

At the pre-ceremony of the 68th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on February 1 (local time), 'Golden' was selected as the winner of the 'Best Song Written For Visual Media' category. This honor was awarded to the songwriters including Lee Jae (EJAE), Teddy, 24, and Ideyo (Lee Yoo-han, Kwak Jung-kyu, Nam Hee-dong), marking the first Grammy win for K-Pop songwriters and producers.

Immediately after the award, AP News reported, "'Golden' from K-Pop Demon Hunters won the Best Song for Visual Media category, achieving the first Grammy win for a K-Pop artist." It added, "The winning songwriters delivered their acceptance speeches in a mix of English and Korean, emphasizing the song's bilingual appeal."

The New York Times commented, "The hit song from 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 winning the Best Song for Visual Media category finally quenches the long-standing thirst of the powerful global genre (K-Pop)." It further stated, "〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 is the strongest global cultural content of 2025 and has recorded the highest viewership in Netflix history, now adding the record of being the first Grammy winner in K-Pop history."

NYT also projected, "'Golden' still has a chance to win the 'Song of the Year' category, and if it wins, it would be the first instance of a K-Pop song winning the top category at the awards." The winners of the major Grammy categories, including 'Song of the Year', 'Album of the Year', and 'Record of the Year', will be announced at the main ceremony.

NYT reminded that "K-Pop's presence at the Grammys has been minimal in the past. BTS has been nominated five times but has never won."

Hollywood trade publication Variety also reported, "'Golden' from 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉 has become the first K-Pop song to win a Grammy in history," quoting the lyric from the chorus of 'Golden', "It's our moment," indicating that KDAHUN is continuing its peak moment. Variety emphasized the significance of this win as the first Grammy award for a K-Pop song and mentioned BTS's past Grammy attempts.

Variety also added that 'Golden' is being mentioned as a strong candidate for the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards to be held in March.

At this Grammy, 〈KDAHUN〉 was nominated in a total of five categories, including the representative soundtrack 'Golden' in the 'Song of the Year' category. However, the 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance' category, which included 'Golden' and BLACKPINK's Rosé's 'APT.', was awarded to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for their performance of 'Defying Gravity' from the 〈Wicked〉 OST. Rosé's 'APT.' is nominated in the main categories of 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year.'