K-POP DEMON HUNTERS: WHAT SONG IS THE BEST?

What a year it's been in the movie industry this 2025! So many things happened. It was a series of unexpected events. Top of that list is the iconic, the undefeated, the so-good-you-watch-it-on-repeat!

K-Pop Demon Hunters

Source: Savoy

Before we continue, I want to answer your question. Yes, this review is pretty tardy for an animation that came out five months ago. However, fans don't seem to have gotten over it. The world is still talking about it. So I like to think that I'm just on time.

For anyone yet to watch this tasty slice of gimbap, which is very unlikely if you have little siblings, K-Pop Demon Hunters is a musical and action animation. It was released as a Sony Spectacular on Netflix in June 20, 2025. That glorious day saw the birth of a new era for Kpop, the Golden Era.

Produced by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, K-Pop Demon Hunters stars a Kpop girl band with singers Rumi, Mira and Zoey who have another life behind the stage. Not Power Rangers. They are demon hunters, protecting the world with the power of their song and their shimmery fight outfits. It's a battle against demons, and it doesn't get groovier than this.

The animation runs for 1 hour 36 minutes and unfortunately does not have a really long series with multiple seasons. It's been recognizing as Netflix's best performing movie, rating 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.6 on IMDb. It's songs also featured on the Billboard Hot 100, taking prominent spots and maintaining them for weeks on end.

Besides being a global success, K-Pop Demon Hunters has other cultural and social influences. It introduced the very much stereotyped Kpop entertainment culture into mainstream media. It is safe to say that 2025 was the year Kpop dominated the world entertainment industry. That is a massive breakthrough considering the infamous history South Korean entertainment has with the world.

K-Pop Demon Hunters also singlehandedly opened Korean culture and fandom to the world. It's like a shiny colourful museum where fans can learn about Korean culture, enjoy their rhythm and learn catchy Korean phrases. The animation placed a special focus on the fandom which kind of is the heartbeat of Kpop. Besides being a display of crazed obsession, aren't we all fans of something? Aside, I love the reciprocation of that love for Kpop idols. You see the fans didn't just adore their stars. Huntr/x loved them too.

Source: Tagesschau

Did I love K-Pop Demon Hunters? The graphics? Yes! The music? Of course! The storyline? Not so much. I think we all have the same opinion when I say that the animation was a lot of things, a whole new world, but in keeping the reel time short, they denied us so many pleasures and left us with more questions. It wasn't a happily ever after at the end. It was, "What's gonna happen next? There's gotta be more!" Seeing the movie end was disappointing and heartbreaking in so many ways.

The graphics and music were consoling though. The drawings were the conventional anime with some advanced animation techniques. The colours were beautifully used, giving your eyes the aesthetic and glittery experience characteristic to the Kpop world. The music is off the charts! Every sound was well chosen and carefully tuned to give KPDH the perfect vibe. Their efforts are being rewarded; fans are still listening. Special numbers are being covered by other singers and at least a million people are listening to Golden or Your Idol every hour.

That brings me to the focus of my review. You guessed it. Rate each song on the movie's playlist from meh to yeah! Sure, all their songs are great. KPDH has been on repeat for months now. Their playlist might be the best thing we'll hear in 2025, but there will always be favourites. Am I right?

Source: Reddit

#7. FREE

I guess I'm following the crowd when I say that Free is the least liked song in K-Pop Demon Hunters. From my first impression of it, I found it an unnecessary addition, something shoved in to help build the romantic tension between Rumi and Jinu.

It helped. It did a great job in patching up the story line and making fans drag the producers for denying them a kissing scene at the end. Its lyrics are great and catchy. The rap by Jinu is iconic. It's something you'd love to listen to over and over. The very intoning of the words free make you lift off the ground yourself!

Free is wonderful in its own way, being the only duet in the animation and countering the action beats of all the other songs. It literally says, "Chill a little." I was happy to see that it actually made it as some fans' best song. It's my fabulous number, and least favourite when stacked together with the entire playlist.

# 6. YOUR IDOL

I loved this number! The very start was pure genius. The Dies Irae prayer that was intoned like a protective incantation against demons and the chants of "Pray for Me" showed that whoever wrote that song did his homework so well. Maybe too well.

Even though the number was adjusted in the animation, it still gives that Gothic air and makes the demons more dangerous than the cute and shimmery oopas we see in the beginning. They were stepping in to the real deal with a huge bang and I loved it. I'd listen to this over and over, feeling guilty each time I sang along because of course the meaning of the song was stark in my face. My friend showed me that it can be a romance too. Just listen to those lyrics and replace Jinu the Grim Reaper with Justin Timberlake. Smooth!

Source: The Korea Herald

# 5. TAKEDOWN 

This was the only song we got to see Huntr/x write together. The piecing of the lyrics was so cool and it made song writing look so fun and lively. It's easily my number five because I have a partiality for songs with cool beats and dancehall vibes. Takedown gave me just that.

As a diss track, the number was spot on! How violent can these girls be? Rip out your heart? Ugly as sin? Those were the same guys they were popping popcorn over, right? It was perfect actually, considering they're demons and remembering that "Demons are never nice!"

# 4. WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE

Source: ComingSoon.it

From the music video to the lyrics, this hits a soft spot. Might I add that the shiny new costume and the floating scene in the end really gave it a boost? You could literally cry as the last chords of the song played and our girls stood triumphant. Don't ask why no one questioned their sudden and unnatural levitation.

For me, this song is on repeat. This song outlives its purpose, from being the perfect number for a plot dénoûment, to being something magical to listen to when you open up to your scars, accept yourself for who you are and reconcile with friends.

This is what Kpop sounds like; inspiring, beautiful, uplifting! It assures you that anything can be possible if we keep going. It tells the story of friendship, forgiveness, love! And the defeat of evil by goodness.

Bonus track. Strategy by Twice is another great song in the animation. 

# 3. GOLDEN

There. I said it.

Don't get mad that this wasn't my number one. It's very much one of my best songs, but for me, it wasn't the best. Yes, it was inspiring, beautiful, had a great music video, awesome choreography and was the main song performed by the cast of Huntr/x (EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami) on the Tonight Show. Still.

Source: Netflix

I love Golden. It's easily one of my best songs because the lyrics are so relatable, a beautiful message I'd like to tell myself as the year ends and at every point of my life. It was written to shine, born to be the best track in the entire movie. It's "The Song!" It tingles your nerves each time it reaches Rumi's crazy pitch. Golden is great, inside out.

It's still number three. That's not so bad. Three is like...my favourite number.

# 2. SODA POP

"You're all I can think of. Every song I sing of... I like soda pop. 'Really like Soda Pop."

What more can I say? It's catchy, creative and to me, it reflected Korean Pop Culture better than any other song. It was the song that lifted the Saja Boys to instant fandom. It had to be that good. It was that good.

My favourite thing about this song is that it metaphorically refers to a love interest as a can of soda. Genius. Soda here isn't just a drink. It represents the setting and era the film was produced, and makes it very modern and relatable. It doesn't say that outright but you'll catch it if you're not too blown away by the puns and metaphors.

In summary, it's "annoyingly catchy" and "infectious." Yeah, it's a little fizzy. Okay, a lot. Try not to think too much of the lyrics or it'll rot your teeth. Just enjoy the beat and the cool dance moves. So help me, I'm gonna bust some Saja Boys Choreography this Christmas. Any volunteers to teach me?

Source: ScreenRant

# 1. HOW IT'S DONE

You can drop your "What!" and "I saw it coming" now. I have no regrets.

This number was classic. It was Huntr/x's first chance to show the world how it's done. It was my first contact with the movie. The mad notes, awesome choreography and cliche Kpop graphics took my breath away, in the best way possible!

The rap! Oh, the rap! Try holding a spoon for a microphone and going all hard on Zoey's rap. Do you feel that? That's Korean power right there. Making you feel invincible and giving you earworms at once.

For the choreography, I loved! Slicing demons in a plane? Taking a 200 ft dive right before getting on stage? Slurping ramen noodles so fast and not getting heart burns? I have questions as much as you. I'm still wondering where the rest of the plane fell. But hey, they did it and it worked.

Another great thing about this song is the infusion of Korean language in the lyrics. Nearly all the songs did same but this, I felt. I'd listen to this song any day, any time. It's effortlessly my best song in the entire animation. It gives energy, thrill, all while keeping it cool and confident.

First impressions are never forgotten. How It's Done is my first impression of KPDH, and it was a darn good job.

Source: Gallery Nucleus

BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART TODAY

NUMBER 2. GOLDEN

NUMBER 21. SODA POP

NUMBER 24. YOUR IDOL

NUMBER 36. HOW IT'S DONE

NUMBER 42. WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE

Apparently, Takedown seems to have been taken down and Free is AWOL. Golden sure is holding strong in that second place spot and even though the charts are changing thanks to the season, people are saying that they want to have a golden Christmas.

Source: BuzzFeed

K-pop Demon Hunters is the stuff of classics! Animations that stay golden and seem to get catchier with age. It's just that good. It is definitely in my Classic Collection.

Special thanks to Kang and Appelhans for this masterpiece. To all the hands that went into making this the most successful animation in the year 2025, you reap the benefits each time someone punches a KPDH number on Spotify. And that's going to keep happening for a really long time.

Thanks so much for reading my review. I'm happy to cross this off my list. Which was your favourite song? Do you prefer to pop it out with the Saja Boys or are you a hardcore Huntr/x fan? I'd love to have a comment from you. Till another classic.