This article contains major character or plot details.
In KPop Demon Hunters, music isn’t just an experience — it’s a force for good.
The film, which is now streaming on Netflix, follows K-pop superstars Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) who use their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans from the ever-present supernatural danger. Their biggest threat comes in the form of rival group The Saja Boys, who are actually demons in disguise.
The story is told through dazzling visuals from Sony Pictures Animation (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines), as well as a heart-racing soundtrack featuring an original score by composer Marcelo Zarvos (The Diplomat, Fences).
Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans also enlisted an array of top-level music producers to deliver chart-worthy K-pop tracks, including THEBLACKLABEL co-founder Teddy Park, who’s worked with artists such as Taeyang and the K-pop group Blackpink; Grammy winner Lindgren, who worked with renowned K-pop groups BTS and TWICE as well as solo artists Dua Lipa and John Legend; Grammy-nominated Stephen Kirk, who’s teamed with BTS and fellow K-pop band Tomorrow X Together; Jenna Andrews, who’s worked with BTS, Drake, and Jennifer Lopez; and executive music producer Ian Eisendrath, whose credits include the hit Broadway musical Come from Away and the series Only Murders in the Building.
With K-pop at the heart of the film, Eisendrath tells Tudum, “I’ve always thought of K-pop as the most theatrical genre of pop, and so I was just instantly excited by the possibilities of what could happen in a narrative context with the K-pop songs [and] incorporating actual, hit-making K-pop artists. I just felt like everything was really set up to be a special musical and narrative experience.”
So, how did those original songs come together? Below, Eisendrath walks us through the film’s original tracks and how they fit into the film’s overall narrative. Plus, you can sing along to several of these memorable tracks in the lyric videos embedded below.
“How It’s Done”
Written by: EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, and Danny Chung
Produced by: 24, IDO, TEDDY, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI
The film opens with fist-pumping splendor as Rumi, Mira, and Zoey battle a group of demons posing as members of their private jet’s flight crew. The sequence finds our titular heroes singing the anthem “How It’s Done” to their supernatural opponents before seamlessly dropping into a packed stadium of adoring fans to finish out the song as the K-pop group HUNTR/X.
“It was so important that we had something that felt like a K-pop hit [and] felt like when you first heard Blackpink,” Eisendrath says. “It had to have that energy, it had to set up a unique sonic world for these three girls and how they sing together, and it also had to be a banging opening number that everyone just was drawn into. We went through several different iterations, trying to find a beat and a tempo.”
Producers took inspiration from West Side Story’s “Jet Song,” a rousing mantra for the acclaimed musical’s teen street gang the Jets, to set the stage for HUNTR/X’s introductions.
“We want to know that Zoey is this explosive rapper. Even though she looks so adorable and cute, she’s like fire. And Mira is the Dennis Rodman of the girl group, just equally explosive, but you never know what’s going to come out of her. She’s the dancer,” Eisendrath explains. “And then that really introduced Rumi as like, ‘This is our diva. This is the person you’re going to follow.’”
He adds, “You’ll notice Mira and Zoey have eight bars of rapid-fire rap, and then Rumi sings the bridge. That’s where you realize, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s going to be a voice that is spectacular, that’s ultimately going to be taken away from her.’ So it’s so important with that song, we fall in love with her voice and that we’re already rooting for her sound.”
“Golden”
Written by: EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick
Produced by: IDO, 24, TEDDY, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI
With “Golden,” the film introduces the idea of the Golden Honmoon. Rumi, Zoey, and Mira work to protect the world from demons and hope to accomplish that by sealing their universe off from the supernatural beings. “When they do that, the Honmoon — which is sort of the power that watches over us and symbolized as a big circular moon — will turn gold,” says Eisendrath. “When that happens, their job is done.”
“In a traditional film musical structure, this is the ‘I want’ song,” he adds. “The whole point is, ‘It’s all going to be golden. We want to fulfill our destiny.’”
The song also explores Rumi’s inner thoughts about feeling like an outsider. “In the middle of the song is this bridge, [with] Rumi alone in her dressing room,” Eisendrath says. “Suddenly the song goes from being this inspirational pop to totally sotto voce … a little bit darker” as she’s seeing the demon patterns on her arms and hearing Zoey and Mira’s laughter through the walls.
“She’s just looking at herself and realizing how completely isolated she is. She’s frightened, but then she girds herself back up,” Eisendrath says. “So where ‘Golden’ is the ‘I want’ song for all three girls, this bridge is a quick opportunity to check in on what Rumi wants, which is to seal the Honmoon, so the scars go away and all the demon in her is gone.”
“Soda Pop”
Written by: Vince, KUSH, and Danny Chung
Produced by: 24, DOMINSUK, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, and samUIL Lee
The Saja Boys are introduced with this upbeat track that leaves HUNTR/X — and the audience watching — swooning over their smooth vocals and undeniable swagger. The goal with the song, Eisendrath says, was to “create one of those super bubblegum-y K-pop boy band songs in the style of a song like ‘Butter’ [by BTS].”
“It’s the demons who are evil, but they decide to masquerade as a K-pop boy group, and just be the most appealing, innocent, charming people that have ever been seen performing a K-pop song,” Eisendrath explains.
They first appear in an outdoor marketplace, already being swarmed by adoring fans. “All of a sudden, everybody is transfixed by them,” Eisendrath says.
While the song sets up members Romance, Abs, Baby, Mystery, and lead singer Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) as unassuming heartthrobs, the lyrics hint at their sinister intent.
“If you really look at them, the underpinning is like, ‘We’re going to devour you. We’re going to eat you up. We are going to drink you up’ because that’s what the demons do,” Eisendrath explains. “They feed on souls. So it was like, ‘How do we say that in a way that appears [like an] innocent, fun, K-pop bop, but actually it’s expressing who these people really are and what they’re really after?’”
Danny Chung, who is part of THEBLACKLABEL and serves as a songwriter on the track, voices Baby Saja in the film. “He does the rap in the middle of the song,” Eisendrath shares. “It was really fun to work with him on something he’d written.”
“Takedown”
Written by: Lindgren
Produced by: Lindgren and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI
With Rumi, Mira, and Zoey growing increasingly frustrated over their rivalry with The Saja Boys, “Takedown” becomes their warrior anthem.
“They’re writing a song that is going to express their rage, their vengeance, and what they’re going to do to these demons that are not only threatening the world, but also their careers,” Eisendrath says. “It’s got to be hard, as an artist, to watch this other group come in [and] steal all their fans. The idea of ‘Takedown’ is this diss track that is going to scare away, intimidate, and drive away the demons.”
With venomous lyrics that serve as a battle cry against all demons, Rumi — who’s half demon — struggles to sing the song. “What this reveals is how much Mira and Zoey would hate her and want to destroy her if they knew that she had the demon patterns,” Eisendrath explains. “As she’s losing her voice and starting to deal with what can no longer be hidden, you see her in a studio trying to rewrite the lyrics and make them softer.”
However, demons disguised as Mira and Zoey reject Rumi’s alternate version and decide to perform the musical takedown. On stage, she lives her worst nightmare as the whole arena becomes demonic and “Takedown” is sung to her.
The song, as well as the film’s other original tracks, were written and recorded before being structured into the film. “We were always writing for the narrative of the film, but we wanted to make sure that they could be stand-alone records,” Eisendrath notes.
“Free”
Written by: Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, and Mark Sonnenblick
Produced by: Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: EJAE and Andrew Choi
Jinu and Rumi share their deepest secrets and wants in an emotional ballad that explores the potential of what they could be together.
“There are great walls between them and the whole thing is, ‘What would it be like if we could be together and free? Because right now, we’re not,’” Ian Eisendrath says. “They even hatch the plan that they’re going to work together to eliminate the demon within them. At this moment, their idea of how to do this is wrong, but we’re rooting for the fact that they both want to do this. And it’s the moment that you really believe these two are going to end up together.”
The song is “two people singing to each other, and sharing things they’ve probably never shared with another human in the world,” he adds. “It’s like this musical picture of what they want to be in their life, and that they see each other … You believe that they’re a team, and that they’re going to go do this together, so we end that song with hope and being totally convinced of this couple.”
“Your Idol”
Written by: EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Vince, and KUSH
Produced by: 24, IDO, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, and samUIL Lee
The Saja Boys set their fans up for the villainous Gwi-Ma (Byung Hun Lee) to feast upon with this hypnotic track, performed in black hats and paranormal spectacle.
“They knew the story, and what they were going to wear, and so it just kept being called the ‘Black Hats’ song,” Eisendrath says. “We just kept seeing these pictures, which were so demonic [and] chic.”
Eisendrath knew the song needed to be dark and otherworldly. “We went through a few different options but finally landed at [the final version], which just feels heavy and dark and brooding — but also sort of thrilling.”
Whereas “Soda Pop” was subtle and understated, “Your Idol” drops the veil and reveals the demon boy band in all their supernatural glory.
The song hits at the point in the film where the stakes are high, and it’s a battle for the world. “By now, they have so much power over [their fans] that they come out and say it. ‘I’m going to be your idol. I’m going to be in charge of you. I’m going to rule you. You are no longer powerful. You are powerless,’” Eisendrath explains.
“Your Idol” also features a “big choir from Hell because it was like the mouths of Hell opened up for this song, and is about to swallow everyone until Rumi intervenes,” he adds.
“What It Sounds Like”
Written by: Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, and Mark Sonnenblick
Produced by: Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI
The film draws to an epic conclusion with an energetic finale track that is both a “hit inspirational pop song, but also delivers on Rumi’s journey, realizing that this whole plan to seal the Honmoon and get rid of all the demons is evil,” Eisendrath says.
Rumi, finally figuring out what her mission actually is, decides to destroy the Honmoon along with the notion of demons versus humans. “And acknowledge the fact that we’re all unique, that we’re all individuals, and get to be individuals,” Eisendrath notes. “That is what creates harmony.”
With the hook, “This is what it sounds like,” Rumi is “singing in her most authentic, rich, not squeaky-clean K-pop sound,” he explains. “What she says is, ‘This is my voice without the lies. This is who I really am. This is what I look like. These are my patterns. This is what it sounds like.’ And we wanted it to be like a battle cry.”
As Rumi spreads this message through song, she’s also calling back souls from the demonic world. “You see them completely lost. They’re powerless and through this song, through her showing up [and] being herself, people awaken, and they start to make music together,” the music producer adds. “What it sounds like is this incredible roar from all the people in the stadium, all the people in Seoul, all the people in the world. It really cements that idea of the film that music brings us together; connection is what we all need to survive, and connection can only be as real and authentic as people are.”
“Takedown” (TWICE version)
Written by: Lindgren
Produced by: Lindgren and Ian Eisendrath
Performed by: Members of TWICE (TWICE appears courtesy of JYP Entertainment Corporation)
Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of the popular K-pop group TWICE lent their voices to this original song, which appears in the film’s credits sequences and is the centerpiece of the group’s TikTok dance challenge.
Chaeyoung told Netflix, “When I first heard the song, it was so intense that I wondered, ‘Can we really pull this off?’ But as we recorded it, working on a style we hadn’t tried before turned out to be really fun. It feels great to be part of a movie that is about K-pop.”
Jeongyeon added, “[KPop Demon Hunters] was the first time just the three of us from TWICE recorded a song together. It was such a special experience. I’m so happy that the voices of the three of us will be heard all around the world, and this song will last forever.”
KPop Demon Hunters is now streaming on Netflix.
With reporting from Stephan Lee.
