Who Are the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and Why Are They Charting This Week?
Plus, how rare is it for fictional artists to chart on the Hot 100?
If you take a look at some of Billboard’s charts this week — specifically the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, plus our Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 5) — you’ll notice some unexpected names making their debut: HUNTR/X, the Saja Boys, and a handful of others. That’s all thanks to the breakout Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters, which has launched its fictional stars onto the real-world charts.
The animated musical fantasy was released on June 20, and has since become a runaway hit. In the tracking week ending June 22, KPop Demon Hunters debuted at No. 6 on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the United States chart. Its soundtrack is also a hit: the album debuts at No. 8 on the latest Billboard 200 chart with 31,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S., according to Luminate, marking the highest debut for a soundtrack of 2025. The only other soundtrack to spend any time in the top 10 this year is Wicked, which peaked at No. 2 in December and hung around into January.
The film centers around HUNTR/X, a fictional K-pop girl group whose members moonlight as demon slayers. Their rivals are a fictional boy band called the Saja Boys who, of course, turn out to be demons themselves.
Two songs from the 12-track soundtrack debut on the Hot 100 this week:
“Your Idol,” credited to Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo and samUIL Lee (No. 77)
“Golden,” credited to HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami (No. 81)
The debuts mark the first-ever Hot 100 entries for all 10 credited artists, including the fictional groups HUNTR/X and Saja Boys.
More songs from the soundtrack also reach our global charts. On the Global 200, “Golden” and “Your Idol” place at Nos. 52 and 73, respectively, followed by “How It’s Done” (No. 104), “Soda Pop” (No. 119), “What It Sounds Like” (No. 151) and “Free” (No. 155).
The songs are credited not just to the fictional bands, but also to the real singers providing the characters’ singing voices. Andrew Choi is the singing voice behind Jinu (the Saja Boys’ leader), while Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo and samUIL Lee lend their voices to fellow members Abs Saja, Baby Saja, Mystery Saja and Romance Saja, respectively. Other actors provide the speaking voices of the characters.
It's the same situation for HUNTR/X and its song “Golden.” EJAE is the singer behind Rumi (the group’s leader), while Audrey Nuna sings for Mira and Rei Ami sings for Zoey.
HUNTR/X and the Saja Boys join a long lineage of fictional acts that have reached Billboard’s charts. While it may seem like a rarity, they actually have a surprisingly deep history. The Chipmunks appeared on the inaugural Hot 100 chart on Aug. 4, 1958, with “The Bird on My Head,” and even reached No. 1 later that year with “The Chipmunk Song.” The Archies, the Heights and the Partridge Family have all also hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. More recently fictional charting acts include August Moon (from The Idea of You), 4*TOWN (from the Pixar film Turning Red), Daisy Jones & The Six (from the mini-series of the same name) and, in the ‘90s, The Wonders (from That Thing You Do!). —Xander Zellner
Take a look at more fictional artists that have reached Billboard’s charts here. And for more on the charts, click here.