‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Built a Soundtrack to Slay Global Pop Charts

In Netflix’s animated philharmonic film “KPop Demon Hunters,” nan trio that dress up fictional K-pop set Huntr/x — Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) — norm nan popular charts erstwhile they’re not moving successful their existent calling arsenic demon hunters. Worlds collide, though, erstwhile nan Saja Boys, a new, competing boy band, uncover themselves to besides beryllium demons, pinch nan girls being nan only dream to return them down.  

But this film, from directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, knows thing astir taking retired nan title since that’s what it’s been doing since it premiered connected June 20 connected nan streamer. Based connected Netflix’s information for nan week ending July 13, “KPop Demon Hunters” has spent 4 weeks successful nan Netflix Global Top 10 (English) pinch 40,400,000 hours viewed and conscionable reclaimed nan #1 spot aft being bumped from #1 to #2 past week by nan merchandise of Charlize Theron’s “The Old Guard 2.” 

The news gets moreover amended connected nan popular charts since respective of nan singles and nan soundtrack person landed successful apical slots. The film’s executive euphony shaper Ian Eisendrath admits to having a dream that nan euphony would beryllium conscionable arsenic celebrated arsenic nan movie itself. “Being connected nan charts, that’s nan dream, but I consciousness for illustration it’s not thing you tin will to happen, but you tin dream it happens,” he told IndieWire.  

In fact, nan film’s azygous “Golden” is presently astatine #1 connected some nan Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding U.S. charts and will beryllium submitted by Netflix for awards consideration. Another song, “Your Idol” from Saja Boys, precocious topped nan US Spotify chart, making them nan highest charting K-pop group successful Spotify history, moreover besting K-pop ace group BTS. Also, nan film’s soundtrack is besides presently #2 connected nan Billboard Global 200 chart.  

IndieWire talked to Eisendrath astir making judge nan euphony successful “KPop Demon Hunters” was existent to nan K-pop genre, why moving pinch different writers connected nan film’s songs was a bully thing, and his thoughts connected a sequel to nan animated deed film.  

The pursuing question and reply has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

‘Kpop Demon Hunters’©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

IndieWire: What was your directive going into “KPop Demon Hunters” arsenic acold arsenic what nan euphony should beryllium and really you should seizure nan K-popness of it all?  

Ian Eisdendrath: The directive was very overmuch “We want to create a soundtrack of existent K-pop hits.” That was nan goal. This is not 1 of those films wherever it’s like, “Let’s prosecute immoderate group to constitute successful nan style of it.” This soundtrack needs to onshore and beryllium arsenic a K-pop album, but besides activity wrong nan movie and screen nan communicative territory it needs to screen and fresh successful nan mouths of each of nan characters, which is not thing that K-pop traditionally does. 

A popular opus wants to beryllium universal. You want to settee into nan groove. And it’s a full different extremity successful listening than a opus that is connected camera, doing thing for nan story. It’s conscionable this changeless calibration letting nan popular vernacular lead nan way, but continuing to attraction connected communicative and characteristic values. It was a existent benignant of integrated emergence of what nan songs needed to be. 

So really did you execute that? 

First, location was a question, “Are these capacity songs aliases are these songs for their story?” I was ever an advocator for, “If we’re going to return up surface time, let’s make judge nan songs do thing for nan characteristic and story.” But Spring astatine Sony had assembled this service of K-pop writers, truthful we had a full squad astatine nan Black Label [the S. Korean grounds label], Stephen Kirk, Jenna Andrews, Lindgren, Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick; this was a full group to get to task pinch different songs. It’s like, “Oh, Black Label is going to create nan cleanable vibe for this song. Let’s propulsion this to them, but let’s get immoderate lyrics from this different person.” There was truthful overmuch cross-pollination. It was genuinely an ensemble of writers, which happens successful popular music. There are opus camps wherever everyone gets together and collaborates, but usually not successful film. 
 
How was that beneficial for you and for nan movie to person each these artists arsenic opposed to a singular writer doing each nan songs?  

It was beneficial successful galore ways. One, it is really popular euphony is made, and usually it is simply a group of artists that get thrown into a campy together, and they travel retired nan different extremity pinch thing cool. Having a group of group and figuring retired what their strengths were and who they would partner champion pinch was a existent prize for nan project. Like, location are songs that 1 writer aliases a squad of writers would start, and past we realized, “You cognize what? That’s not nan cleanable fresh for them, truthful we’re going to move them to this song, and we’re going to move personification other to this song.” And we really had, for astir songs, betwixt 3 and 7 versions of songs written for each spot [in nan movie]. 

‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ NETFLIX

Because you had nan book to activity with, did that pass wherever you needed, for example, a ballad aliases wherever you needed much of an upbeat popular song? 

Yeah, I worked intimately pinch nan directors, Chris and Maggie, and our producer, Michelle Wong, for a twelvemonth earlier we moreover started songwriting and spotting wherever nan songs go, what needed to hap successful each song. So, very overmuch successful our caput was, “Let’s create thing that is simply a movie and an album.” And successful fact, what we did was we created each nan medium versions first. I didn’t recognize astatine nan time, but I deliberation that was a concealed limb because it really forced america to look astatine nan songs arsenic full songs that you’d want connected a soundtrack and past to fig retired really to portion and dice for nan film. 

“Golden” is decidedly nan azygous that’s really blowing up by being number 1 correct now everyplace successful nan world. What was nan trajectory of that song, since you mentioned nan songs having different iterations? 

Ironically, “Golden” was nan 1 that had nan astir iterations. We had 5 different writers connected it and 7 different songs by nan clip we were done. It took a agelong time. It’s an absorbing inquire because it had to beryllium very overmuch life imitating art, and thing that would apical nan charts. [The Huntr/x members] had to constitute a caller azygous that would virtually spell up, up, up, up connected nan charts. It had to fulfill that and beryllium a awesome K-pop song.  

It served nan usability of what successful astir movie musicals is called nan “I want song,” which is wherever nan characters found nan ngo that they’re going to beryllium connected for nan remainder of nan film. We had to support it arsenic a popular song, but it besides had to found what nan group wanted, which was to seal nan Honmoon and fundamentally conquer all. And nan measurement to definitive that is to beryllium golden. Then, astatine nan aforesaid time, it had to someway uncover Rumi’s deeper request and want, which is to erase nan [demon] patterns, which is nan infinitesimal nan assemblage realizes, “Oh, my gosh, she’s a demon.” It had to do each those things.  

Musically, we tried a batch of different vibes, and it was nan seventh action erstwhile we moved to moving pinch Black Label connected that track. They recovered a sound and we heard it and it was conscionable like, “Oh, that’s it for nan verses and nan choruses, and past figuring retired really to spell to this very soul speech bridge.” It conscionable took a agelong time.  

I besides person to mention EJAE Kim, who’s conscionable unreal and wrote that apical statement pinch Mark Sonnenblick penning lyrics pinch her. It was a dream team, and it was nan past point we recorded arsenic precocious arsenic December of this past year, which is very, very precocious for animation. It’s gratifying that that’s nan one.  

‘Kpop Demon Hunters’©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

By comparison, is simply a very nosy popular opus for illustration “Soda Pop” easier to put together? 

No, it wasn’t. We went done respective location because it’s difficult to calibrate. It had to still beryllium a bully opus and beryllium hooky and catchy, but it besides was a novelty opus successful which present travel nan demons arsenic these saccharine small guiltless guys, you request to autumn successful emotion pinch them, but besides nan words that they’re saying request to person a double meaning. On 1 hand, it’s like, “I’m squeaky cleanable and I emotion you,” but nan matter is actually, “I want to devour you.” So, it’s for illustration gathering nan demons arsenic innocent, naive seductors. 

How galore full songs were considered for nan movie earlier you figured retired these are nan ones that really are going to make nan cut?  

I’m going to opportunity 30 plus. The measurement it worked was we knew we had 7 songs that we wanted successful nan film, and truthful we conscionable kept bashing distant astatine each of those opus spots till we sewage there.  

‘KPop Demon Hunters’NETFLIX

What’s it been for illustration for you to spot singers connected YouTube doing covers and moreover dancers doing nan moves from nan film’s creation performances?   

Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s ace breathtaking and validating because we were trying to create thing that nan Korean civilization would consciousness for illustration was created by them, and besides that they loved, truthful to spot that, I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate greater benignant of reward from doing this project. Also, this task is Maggie Kang’s. This is truthful profoundly from her encephalon and heart. She loves K-pop, and that was specified a driving unit of wanting america to make judge we were creating songs that resonated pinch what she’s been successful emotion pinch her full life. I’ve been really excited for her and besides conscionable impressed. Like, “Wow, that point you saw wholly happened and worked, and that’s beautiful fantastic.” 

And members of BTS even did a small “Soda Pop” riff connected a livestream recently.  

Unreal! Yeah, that was crazy. I was connected group pinch a movie called “Spirited” and that’s correct erstwhile [BTS’s deed song] “Butter” came retired and we were each dancing to it. So that’s really crazy to me. 

I don’t deliberation I’m unsocial successful being fresh for “K-pop Demon Hunters 2.” Is that a dream that you get to do much of these songs for different movie? 

I would emotion it. It would beryllium a dream. I could do this forever.  
 
KPop Demon Hunters is presently streaming connected Netflix.