Golden, the hit song from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, was awarded the Best Song title at the 98th Academy Awards on Monday.
The other songs nominated in this category were I Lied to You from Sinners (Raphael Saadiq/Ludwig Göransson), Train Dreams from Train Dreams (Nick Cave/Bryce Dessner), Dear Me from Diane Warren: Relentless, and Sweet Dreams of Joy from Viva Verdi!.
EJAE, REI AMI and Audrey Nuna have lent their voice to this breakout single, which became the first female K-pop song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it held the top spot for six weeks. It also topped the Billboard Global 200 for 10 weeks.
Breaking down on stage, EJAE said, “This song is about resilience. People used to make fun of me for listening to K-pop. And now everyone is singing my song”.
KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, beating Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Zootopia 2.
Golden has crossed one billion views on YouTube, becoming the first track from the movie to achieve the milestone.
KPop Demon Hunters is the biggest-selling soundtrack of 2025. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Soundtrack chart and is certified Double Platinum.
Golden also received five Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year.
KPop Demon Hunters follows K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey, who lead double lives as demon hunters protecting their fans from supernatural threats. Their mission escalates when they face a rival boy band that is secretly composed of demons in disguise.