SAEDNEWS: Netflix’s animated film KPop Demon Hunters just pulled off a historic chart win: its soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after seven weeks stuck at No. 2, making it the first soundtrack to top the chart in over three years.
According to Saed News; The global power of K-pop just added another chapter to its ongoing story, and this time it’s through an animated film. Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack has soared to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, ending a three-and-a-half year drought for soundtracks.
According to Billboard, the soundtrack rose from No. 2 to No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 20, 2025, earning 128,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending Sept. 11. That makes it the best week yet for the project. The surge followed a deluxe reissue released on Sept. 5 that included 23 new tracks — from sing-along versions to instrumentals — along with the wide CD rollout featuring collectible posters and photocards.
KPop Demon Hunters didn’t reach the top overnight. Instead, it spent seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2, making fans wonder if it would ever break through. That long wait makes it the first album in nearly 50 years to endure such a streak before finally taking the crown. The last album to wait longer was Linda Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams in 1977.
The album’s rise also marks the longest climb to No. 1 since The Kid LAROI’s Fck Love* in 2021, proving that patience — and reissues — can pay off big.
What drove the soundtrack’s success wasn’t just strategy — it was the songs. Four of its tracks landed in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10, the most for any soundtrack in nearly three decades. Among them: the No. 1 hit Golden by HUNTR/X, performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI, who also voice the film’s main characters Rumi, Mira, and Zoey.
Fans flooded TikTok with clips of the songs, sparking viral dance challenges and fueling streams. The soundtrack generated more than 141 million on-demand streams in just one week.
KPop Demon Hunters is only the seventh animated film soundtrack to ever hit No. 1 since Billboard began publishing weekly charts in 1956. It now joins the ranks of Encanto, Frozen, and The Lion King.
For Netflix, the victory is even sweeter. The film premiered in June with a limited theatrical run before streaming on the platform, and it quickly became its most popular original film ever. When Netflix re-released a sing-along version in August, streams surged once again, showing how tightly music and fandom can fuel each other.
Much of this success also comes down to K-pop fandoms, who are known for their organization and streaming power. The release of five different CD versions, each with unique artwork and photocards, created massive demand in both the U.S. and global markets.
Meanwhile, social media buzz kept momentum alive, with fans treating every new version as a collectible. On Reddit and X, users shared stories of buying multiple copies just to collect the full set.
The win also highlights the growing role of soundtracks in pop culture. Since Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” went viral in 2022, film soundtracks have proven they can dominate charts the same way traditional albums do. KPop Demon Hunters may just be the clearest proof yet that music and storytelling are more intertwined than ever.
And for fans, this moment feels historic. As one viral tweet put it: “We’ve seen Frozen. We’ve seen Encanto. Now it’s time for the era of KPop Demon Hunters.”
