It's a fierce syndrome. The original soundtrack (OST) 'Golden' from the Netflix animated film 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' has reclaimed the throne of the Billboard Hot 100, the main singles chart in the United States.
Billboard announced on the 25th (local time) in a chart preview article that 'Golden' has risen one spot from the previous week, securing its second week at number 1.
This song, which entered the 'Hot 100' at the beginning of last month, first reached the top of this chart on the 11th of this month but lost the number 1 spot to Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' last week.
The Billboard 'Hot 100' ranks songs based on a combination of U.S. streaming data, radio airplay scores, and sales data.
During this charting period, 'Golden' recorded 33.8 million streams, a 3% increase from the previous week. Radio airplay scores increased by 39% to 16.2 million, and sales rose by 11% to 8,000.
This week, the OST of 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' saw a total of 4 songs, including 'Golden', enter the singles chart 'Top 10'.
The boy group in the film, Lion Boys, had 'Your Idol' and 'Soda Pop' at 4th and 5th place, respectively, while HuntRix's 'How It's Done' landed at 10th place.
Billboard explained, "This is the first time in Billboard history that 4 songs from a single OST have simultaneously entered the singles chart 'Top 10'."
'Golden' is sung by the K-pop girl group HuntRix, the protagonists of the animation, with vocals by former SM Entertainment trainee and composer Lee Jae, singer Audrey Nuna, and Ray Amiga.
So far, 'Golden' is the third K-pop song to maintain the number 1 position on the 'Hot 100' for more than 2 weeks, following BTS's 'Butter' (10 weeks) and 'Dynamite' (3 weeks).
Previously, 'Golden' became the first K-pop song sung by a female artist to reach the top of the 'Hot 100', and it also topped the UK Official Singles Chart 'Top 100', achieving a remarkable record of dominating the two major singles charts worldwide.
Unlike typical K-pop hits that show strength in physical album sales and downloads due to strong fandom, 'Golden' has shown a steady rise in the streaming market based on the original animation's widespread popularity.
There are analyses suggesting that it may maintain a long reign on the singles chart as its global popularity shows no signs of waning. The synergy between the animation and the OST, achieving good results in both the box office and Billboard charts, is also noteworthy.
‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ topped the North American box office after selling out over 1,000 theaters during a special sing-along screening event held locally on the 23rd and 24th.
Billboard stated, "The popularity of the film is expected to increase due to the sing-along event," adding, "The increased streaming and sales metrics from the sing-along event will be reflected in next week's chart."
