HUNTR/X From ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Could Become the First K-Pop Act & Second Animated Act to Achieve This Grammy Feat

HUNTR/X, the heroic trio in Netflix’s phenomenal hit KPop Demon Hunters, could make Grammy history when the nominations are announced on Nov. 7. The act’s smash “Golden,” which is in its eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, could become the first K-Pop hit to receive a record of the year nomination.

Moreover, HUNTR/X could become only the second animated act to land a nod in that marquee category. The first was The Chipmunks, which rated a record of the year nod at the inaugural Grammy Awards ceremony in 1959 for the Hot 100-topping “The Chipmunk Song.”

The Chipmunks’ nods went to their creator, Ross Bagdasarian Sr., who went by the stage name David Seville. In addition to its record of the year nod, “The Chipmunk Song” won in two categories – best recording for children and best comedy performance. Bagdasarian died of a heart attack in January 1972 at age 52.

While “The Chipmunk Song” was a novelty hit, “Golden” is squarely in the contemporary pop mainstream. In addition to record of the year, “Golden” is entered for song of the year, best pop duo/group performance, best song written for visual media and best music video. 

If “Golden” receives a record of the year nod, its chief historical significance will be as the first K-pop hit to register in that category. BTS is thought to have come close with “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “My Universe” (the latter, a collab with Coldplay). All three hits were nominated for best pop duo/group performance.

When “Golden” logged its fifth week atop the Hot 100, it became the longest-leading hit by an animated act in the chart’s 67-year history. Two previous cartoon groups each reigned for four weeks: The Archies, with “Sugar, Sugar” in the summer of 1969, and The Chipmunks with Seville, with “The Chipmunk Song” over the 1958 holiday season.

“Golden” is the ninth song in the realm of Korean pop to top the Hot 100; the first by female lead vocalists with ties to the genre. HUNTR/X singers EJAE and REI AMI were born in Seoul, South Korea; the trio’s third member, Audrey Nuna, is from New Jersey.