How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ unlocked Netflix’s Grammy possibilities

As it turns out, ‘80s pop star Kate Bush and fictional girl group Huntr/x from “KPop Demon Hunters” have a lot in common.

Over the last several years, Netflix has positioned itself as one of the few video streaming services focused on making an impact in the music industry.

From the surprise revival of older songs like Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in shows like “Stranger Things,” to streaming the most originally produced music documentaries, there’s no doubt Netflix’s audience is musically in tune.

Last summer Netflix hit another level with the overwhelming success of “KPop Demon Hunters.” The animated movie, featuring fictional K-pop idols who fight the forces of evil, has become the most streamed Netflix movie with more than 480 million views since its release in June. But its success wasn’t limited to the viewership.

The soundtrack, full of punchy K-pop melodies and inescapable earworms, is the first to top the Billboard charts since 2022, when Disney’s “Encanto” created a similar frenzy. Huntr/x is also up for five Grammys at the awards ceremony Sunday.

The breakout single, “Golden,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, is nominated for song of the year, the first time a Netflix production has been nominated in one of the Grammys’ big four categories.

Music and movies always have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. Think of classic tunes like “Over the Rainbow” in “The Wizard of Oz” and “My Heart Will Go On” in “Titanic” that became generational hits.

Now, Netflix and other global streaming platforms have taken the synergy to another level, creating new opportunities for recording artists to showcase their music.

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“All of a sudden, people are discovering music they didn’t know before,” said Ian Eisendrath, the “KPop Demon Hunters” music supervisor. “I think that people got hooked on the film, which hooked them on the soundtrack, which led to the discovery of other music.”

Eisendrath said the movie, produced by Culver City-based Sony Pictures Animation, was not expected to be “a slam dunk commercial success. It was a risk.”

Though geared toward children, the movie drew a vast audience of all ages.

“It hit all kinds of angles, the music, the story, the characters, the visuals — [Netflix] was very interested in a film that would have wide-ranging appeal to all the quadrants of movie watchers,” Eisendrath said.

In the streaming era, music supervisors like Eisendrath play an increasingly important role in the success of projects like “KPop Demon Hunters,” said Robert Fink, the chair of music industry programs at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.

He said over the last 10 years, the role has become about more than just finding a song to match a scene..

“They nurture artists in the way that record labels used to do,” Fink said. “They have artists that nobody knows about, or can get some people to write songs for [the project], which might then become a way that those artists and those songs become successful in the industry.”

The singing voices behind Huntr/x aren’t those of the lead actors. They belong to rising musicians Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. Ejae has written songs for major K-pop groups like Twice, Le Sserafim and Red Velvet, while Nuna and Ami have experience as solo artists.

Though they weren’t a group before the film, they have since performed together on the “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Saturday Night Live” and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The soundtrack earned global appeal, with more than two thirds of its streams originating from outside the U.S., according to data from entertainment industry analytics firm Luminate. “Golden” scored a record 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global charts. The popularity of the movie and its music helped boost music consumption on a global scale.

“KPop Demon Hunters” already is faring well this awards season: It won two Golden Globes and received two Oscar nominations for best animated feature and original song.

Justin Kamps, the music supervisor on “Bridgerton,” noticed a similar trend when new seasons of the Regency-era romance series drop. The period piece is famous for playing quaint orchestral covers of contemporary pop artists such as Billie Eilish, Pitbull and BTS. Its latest season is set to feature covers of Third Eye Blind, Coldplay and Usher.

According to Spotify, both the Vitamin String Quartet, the group behind the covers, and the original artists’ songs, like Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” and BTS’ “Dynamite,” experienced spikes in listening after the show’s release.

“Music and streaming has grown together. It’s great for artists, because the moment that a song is featured in a project, it could be an incredible boost to their streaming numbers and get them discovered,” Kamps said.

Perhaps one of the most memorable examples of this dynamic happened in 2022, when “Stranger Things” featured Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Overnight, everything changed for both Bush and Netflix.

Nora Felder, the show’s music supervisor, called the moment “the perfect storm.”

“It exploded through the stratosphere. We didn’t expect that. We were focused on looking for something that told the narrative. It felt like it had been bigger than ever before,” Felder said.

“Running Up That Hill” received roughly 22,000 daily streams on average before it was featured in the show, according to Luminate. Following its star turn, the song it peaked at 5.1 million streams in a single day — nearly 40 years after its release. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and hit 1 billion streams in 2022. The track then spawned viral trends on TikTok and pulled the ‘80s star into contemporary pop culture.

Throughout its five-season rollout, “Stranger Things” continued to influence what viewers were listening to. Felder said the draw of its soundtrack is a mix of nostalgia for older viewers who might have grown up in the ‘80s (the era in which the show is set) and an introduction to a new sonic world for younger listeners. According to Luminate, 28% of Gen Z discovers music through series that are exclusive to streaming.

When Felder works with other studios, she said music can feel like a “last consideration” or like “there wasn’t enough money being put in the music budget.” But with Netflix, music seems to be a priority, as she’s been able to license tracks from David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac and two Prince songs (which played in the “Stranger Things” series finale).

“Netflix is very careful, and for some projects, music is more of a main character than others,” Felder said. “I do feel like Netflix especially has been very careful to try and apply the budget accordingly and take a look at projects and [realize] that music could really be an added force.”

Netflix’s musicality will be put to the test during Sunday’s Grammys broadcast, as the girls of Huntr/x face off with Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, as well as Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars and Rosé. The Grammys will air live from the Crypto.com Arena on CBS and Paramount+.