“Keduton rewrites Grammy history”
“Expansion of K-pop’s cultural and commercial influence”
The soundtrack “Golden” from “K-pop Demon Hunters” won an award at the Grammy Awards, prompting major foreign media outlets to report the news eagerly. This marks the first time a K-pop composer or music producer has won a Grammy Award.
On the evening of the 1st (local time), “Golden” was announced as the winner in the “Best Song Written For Visual Media” category at a preliminary event for the 68th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles (LA), USA. This category is awarded to the songwriters of the track, and EJAE, Teddy, 24, and IDIO (Yoo-han Lee, Jung-kyu Kwak, Hee-dong Nam) who participated in the work on “Golden” were honored with a Grammy win.
The British BBC reported, “With the Grammy Awards unveiling their winners, K-pop Demon Hunters has rewritten history,” noting that the uniquely hit song “Golden” has become the first K-pop track to win a Grammy Award. The BBC continued, “The soundtrack of K-pop Demon Hunters, filled with ear-catching earworms, is the first soundtrack to top the Billboard album chart since Disney’s ‘Encanto’ caused a sensation in 2022,” adding that the success of this song at the Grammy Awards suggests that the cultural and commercial impact of K-pop is increasingly expanding.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong noted, “K-pop Demon Hunters’ ‘Golden’ set a record for K-pop artists by winning in the Best Song for Visual Media category,” and highlighted that the songwriters delivered their acceptance speeches in both English and Korean, underscoring the bilingual appeal of the track.
India’s Times of India reported, “There is no stopping the momentum of K-pop Demon Hunters at this awards ceremony,” noting that “‘Golden’ has swept all major awards, including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice, and has now added the Grammy Award to its achievements.”
The New York Times (NYT) in the U.S. commented, “The hit song by K-pop Demon Hunters won in the Best Song for Visual Media category, finally quenching the longstanding thirst of a powerful global genre like K-pop.” It added, “K-pop Demon Hunters was the most powerful global cultural content last year and recorded the highest viewership on Netflix, and now it has set the record of winning the first Grammy in K-pop history.”
The NYT also noted, “In the past, K-pop’s presence at the Grammys was minimal. BTS has been nominated five times but has never won,” pointing out that “‘Golden’ is still a contender for the ‘Song of the Year’ award, and if it wins, it would be the first time a K-pop track takes one of the ceremony’s top honors.”
The winners of major Grammy categories such as “Song of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” and “Record of the Year” will be announced at the main ceremony, several hours later.