Does HUNTR/X — the beloved fictional trio at the center of Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters — count as a real band? Technically, yes: though the members of this girl group aren’t actually real, their music is written and performed by some of the biggest names in the K-pop industry. Flesh-and-blood writers, singers, and rappers crafted the kind of hits that have been dominating the charts for decades, pushing artists like BLACKPINK and TWICE into the stratosphere. Those hits just so happen to provide the soundtrack for an animated film.
But the popularity of said film has allowed a fictional group to go further than those beloved K-pop acts ever have. Just a few short months after its debut, Kpop Demon Hunters is now a worldwide phenomenon, with its top track, “Golden,” conquering the charts IRL.
