Transfer over, BTS: Two new Okay-pop teams are taking up the music charts — they usually’ve by no means even carried out dwell.
Saja Boys and HUNTR/X, fictional teams from the animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” had been delivered to life by animators and filmmakers with assist from a slew of individuals throughout the Okay-pop world. Now, they’ve turn into international superstars.
Inside weeks, viewers of “KPop Demon Hunters” — which was produced by Sony Footage Animation and launched by Netflix — have flooded a Tumblr neighborhood web page for the movie with fan artwork. A Reddit thread continues to spark conversations concerning the film, together with hypothesis about whether or not there will likely be a sequel. On TikTok, movies of followers re-creating dances from the movie, displaying off their reactions to key scenes and debuting cosplays have amassed a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of views. There are additionally Wiki pages devoted to the teams.
From the “Josie and the Pussycats” cartoon TV present and film to the boy band August Moon from the 2024 movie “The Concept of You,” fictional on-screen artists have at all times been outstanding in popular culture. However the reputation of Saja Boys and HUNTR/X has underscored one thing most within the music business have identified for years: Okay-pop and the fandoms surrounding the style are a dominant cultural drive.
Because it debuted on June 20, the movie has been streamed by 33 million individuals, Netflix stated, serving to it rank among the many platform’s prime 10 motion pictures within the 93 nations which are tracked. Billboard stated this week that the movie’s rating is now the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025 and that it has surpassed Disney’s “Encanto” to turn into the highest-charting soundtrack to an animated movie. Hits from the movie, akin to “Your Idol” and “Golden,” have additionally topped the U.S. Spotify charts within the Okay-pop classes in current weeks.
“We undergo, like, crying and completely happy and laughing,” Maggi Kang, a co-director of the movie, stated in a current interview. “This complete final couple of weeks have simply been like an emotional curler coaster, however in one of the best ways.”
The movie facilities on HUNTR/X band members Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (Could Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), who’re tasked with sustaining a barrier to maintain demons out of the human world via their music. The barrier can turn into everlasting solely as soon as all demons are wiped from the human world, which turns into a core a part of the plot.
Because the group gears as much as full its ultimate problem, a brand new plot is hatched by a demon named Jinu Saja (Ahn Hyo-seop), who creates a rival group known as The Saja Boys to harness vitality from followers and weaken the limitations between the worlds. His objective is to feed the human souls to the demon ruler, Gwi-ma, and put an finish to HUNTR/X’s demon-eradication mission.
As a result of music is such an important a part of the movie, Kang and co-director Chris Appelhans used the data of Okay-Pop gurus.
“The movie options songs written by Danny Chung, IDO, Vince, KUSH, EJAE, Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, Mark Sonnenblick, and Daniel Rojas. Plus, Marcelo Zarvos wrote the rating,” in line with Netflix’s editorial website, Tudum. “Music producers embody Teddy Park, 24, IDO, DOMINSUK, Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, and Ian Eisendrath. In the meantime, unique songs are carried out by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI, Andrew Choi, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee, Neckwav, and Lea Salonga. The movie’s soundtrack additionally options an unique track carried out by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of TWICE.”
However consider it or not, the movie wasn’t at all times going to revolve round Okay-pop, Kang stated.
“Initially, it was only a demon hunter concept, as a result of I used to be searching for a mission that may showcase Korean tradition,” she stated. “And I in some way simply landed in demonology.”
Kang stated the idea of demon-hunting “type of naturally led to Okay-pop” as a result of “demon looking is often completed privately” and the characters she imagined could be preventing the demons “wanted a public going through entrance.”
Kang stated that about 9 years in the past, across the time she was first brainstorming her concept, BTS was very fashionable.
“And quite a lot of studios had been attempting to determine a Okay-pop concept and Okay-pop IP,” or mental property, she stated. “And nobody had actually cracked that nut but. And oddly, after I put these two issues collectively [demon hunting and K-pop], it was actually enjoyable. It grew to become a musical.”
Kang and Appelhans wrote the script with Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan. Kang stated that as the concept developed right into a musical that includes two rival Okay-pop teams, she confronted her greatest hurdle: stopping the story from being an excessive amount of like a conventional musical.
“Probably the most difficult factor concerning the songwriting was that it needed to be progressing the story, but in addition we might by no means lose the pop a part of it,” Kang stated. “So as soon as it grew to become a bit too, like, conventional musical, we might ship it again to these songwriters and say, like, you understand, we’re dropping that type of cool, pop issue.”
Their efforts paid off, with the songs persevering with to ring a bell with followers on-line.
Some Okay-pop artists who had been concerned additionally stated they discovered the method rewarding.
Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung of TWICE informed Netflix’s Tudum in a press release that it was “so thrilling” to be a part of the mission “and join with these courageous characters via music.”
“It felt further particular as a result of it brings collectively Okay-pop and animation,” they informed the publication. “Two very inventive worlds!”
