SEOUL, February 02 (AJP) -“Golden,” an original soundtrack from Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards, marking the first-ever Grammy win for K-pop songwriters and producers.
The award was announced during the Premiere Ceremony of the 68th Grammys held in Los Angeles. Unlike performance-based categories, Best Song Written for Visual Media is awarded to songwriters and producers, recognizing excellence in composition for film and television. With the win, all creators involved in “Golden” are officially credited as Grammy Award winners.
Riding on the global success of K Pop Demon Hunters, “Golden” also achieved a rare chart milestone, becoming the first K-pop song to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Chart, underscoring the genre’s expanding reach in major Western markets.
The track was co-written and produced by EJAE (Lee Jae), Teddy, 24, and producer collective IDO, which includes Lee Yu-han, Kwak Jung-kyu and Nam Hee-dong. Additional credited writers include Park Hong-jun, Seo Jung-hoon and Mark Sonnenblick.
While Korean engineer Hwang Byung-joon and Korean-American engineer Youngin have previously won Grammys in technical categories, this is the first time K-pop songwriters or music producers have received the award for their creative work — a milestone signaling a shift in how K-pop is recognized within the global music industry.
“Golden” led the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack as a self-empowerment anthem performed in character by EJAE as a member of the fictional girl group Huntr/x. The song topped the Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks in 2025 and received four Grammy nominations this year, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
In the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category, where “Golden,” Rosé’s “APT.” and KATSEYE’s “Gabriela” were nominated, the award went to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.
K-Pop Demon Hunters was one of Netflix’s most-watched films in 2025 and a standout piece of global pop culture. With “Golden’s” Grammy win — along with its Golden Globe victory and an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song — the film has now delivered K-pop its first Grammy triumph.
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