A hugely popular K-pop musical animation has seen songs by its fictional bands top US music charts, beating real-life K-pop groups.
KPop Demon Hunters is currently the most streamed movie on Netflix globally, clocking up more than 33 million views in just two weeks.
On Friday the song Your Idol by a boy band in the film, Saja Boys, topped the US Spotify chart. This makes them the highest charting male K-pop group in US Spotify history – surpassing kings of K-pop BTS.
Golden, a track by the film’s fictional girl group Huntr/x, hit number two on the chart, surpassing Blackpink as the highest-charting female K-pop group.
The film’s soundtrack shot into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 in the US, making it the highest debut for a soundtrack so far this year.
Golden is being released as an official single by Republic Records, and Netflix is submitting it for awards consideration, according to Variety.
KPop Demon Hunters follows the adventures of superstar band Huntr/x.
The three members of the all-female group – Rumi, Mira, and Zoey – are secretly “badass demon hunters” who protect their legions of fans from supernatural dangers.
During Huntr/x concerts, their music is used to protect the human world from the forces of darkness.
But rival band the Saja Boys, who are demons in disguise, are their arch enemies.
Jinu, Abbs, Romance, Baby, and Mystery have been sent by demon king Gwi-ma to steal the souls of Huntr/x’s fans.
KPop Demon Hunters, which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, was directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and was based on a story by Ms Kang.
Its success should perhaps not be too surprising as top producers including Teddy Park, who has worked with Blackpink, and BTS collaborator Lindgren were part of the team that created the album.
The popularity of KPop Demon Hunters comes as South Korean mega-stars BTS are set to make their highly-anticipated comeback.
The seven-strong group announced this week that it will head to the US this month to start working on new music.
The band is due to release a new album and go on tour next year after all of its members completed their mandatory military service.
Meanwhile, Blackpink is set to start its first all-stadium world tour on 5 July.
The band, which has not released an album together since 2022’s Born Pink, is due to reveal a new song at the start of the Deadline World Tour.