The hit single ‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters was performed live in full for the first time on TV during last night’s (October 7) episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami provide the singing voices for Huntr/x, the fictional K-Pop group at the centre of the Netflix animation, which recently became the most watched movie in the streamer’s history. The trio performed an excerpt of the song in a sketch with Bad Bunny on Saturday Night Live, however this is the first time the song has been performed in full live on television. You can watch the performance below.
Released August 23, the film tells the story of a group of internationally renowned singers who lead a double life as demon hunters. Although the movie debuted on Netflix, its success was bolstered by sing-along screenings held in cinemas, reportedly grossing around $20million (£14.9million) in a single weekend.
Emulating the success of Huntr/x in real life, ‘Golden’ topped the charts in over 20 countries, including the UK, United States, and South Korea. Recently, Scottish band Biffy Clyro covered the song.
With the streaming service seeing the potential for a successful franchise, plans are already in place for an animated sequel, a live action remake, and a possible stage version. The voice actor who portrayed Jinu in the film recently said that he would be open to his character returning for future films. Actor Ahn Hyo-Seop told USA Today: “As someone who loves Jinu as a fan, too, of course I would love to see him come back. But it’s not up to me.”
In a surprising reveal, the creator of the movie has recently said the story originally had nothing to do with K-Pop. “The (initial) idea of demons naturally led to demon hunters, a group of really incredible women who fight demons,” Maggie Kang said at a recent animation conference. “But the idea needed something else. It just wasn’t enough.”
