3 minutes of readingFebruary 2, 2026 10:00 am IST
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles began with a historic first for K-pop, as Golden, the original song from the Netflix K-Pop animated film Demon Hunters (2025), took home the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The win, which was announced during the Grammy premiere ceremony before the main broadcast, marks a milestone for Korean pop music. It shows how far the global influence of the genre has reached. The song was also nominated in the song of the year category.
Performed in the film by the fictional K-pop group Huntr/x, voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. The song has already dominated the 2025-26 awards season, having swept major honors including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice for Best Original Song. the clues The triumph of the Grammys adds another laurel to a remarkable career that has taken him from the streaming charts to the soundtrack spotlight.
Huntr/x, although fictional, was developed with the same care as a real K-pop group, with defined roles, vocal colors, and a distinctive visual identity. Voice performers worked closely with vocal directors to ensure authenticity, while choreographers designed routines that reflected current K-pop performance trends.
“Golden” KPop Demon Hunters wins the Grammy #GRAMMY #GRAMMYs2026 #KPOPDEMONHUNTERS pic.twitter.com/KT28waZVTm
—Jennifer Su (Jen Su) (@jennifer_su) February 1, 2026
The Best Song Written for Visual Media award recognizes songwriters whose work excels within its visual context while also standing out as a piece of songwriting and songwriting. Golden’s creators, songwriters EJAE, 24-year-old Mark Sonnenblick, Ido and Teddy, were celebrated for creating a song that perfectly marries cinematic storytelling with the high-energy pop spirit of K-pop.
The Grammy win marks a significant moment for the K-pop industry, which has long dominated global charts but has struggled to gain top-tier recognition in Western awards circuits. While artists like BTS have received five nominations over the years without winning, and Blackpink’s Rose earned three nominations, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, for APT featuring Bruno Mars, Golden tops the track to score the genre’s first Grammy-winning song.
The group came forward to accept the victory, and producer Jeong Hoon Seo (who goes by 24) gave a speech in a mix of English and Korean. At the end of the speech, Jeong gave special recognition to “K-Pop Pioneer Teddy.”