MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Last week, a song from the Netflix animated movie "KPop Demon Hunters" made it to the top of the pop charts. Well, there is more where that came from because this week, that film's soundtrack has done something no soundtrack has accomplished in nearly 30 years. NPR's Stephen Thompson has our update.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: "KPop Demon Hunters" has generated one of the hottest soundtracks in years, led by "Golden," the track by the fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, that made it to No. 1 last week.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLDEN")
EJAE, AUDREY NUNA AND REI AMI: (As HUNTR/X, singing) We're going up, up, up. It's our moment. You know together we're glowing. Going to be, going to be goldеn. Oh...
THOMPSON: "Golden" dips to No. 2 this week, but "KPop Demon Hunters" has reached a rare milestone at the same time. It's just the third soundtrack in history to land three Top 10 hits in the same week. The other soundtracks to do that? "Waiting To Exhale" from the '90s...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXHALE (SHOOP SHOOP)")
WHITNEY HOUSTON: (Singing) All you got to do is say shoop be doop. Shoop, shoop.
THOMPSON: ...And "Saturday Night Fever" from the '70s.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STAYIN' ALIVE")
BEE GEES: (Singing) Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother you're staying alive, staying alive. Feel the city breaking...
THOMPSON: For "KPop Demon Hunters," the Top 10 hits are by two fictional K-pop groups, HUNTR/X and their rivals in the Saja Boys, whose members possess a truly demonic ability to craft boy-band earworms. This week, "Your Idol" lands at No. 4...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOUR IDOL")
ANDREW CHOI, NECKWAV, KEVIN WOO, SAMUIL LEE AND DANNY CHUNG: (As Saja Boys, singing) Now we're running wild. You're down on your knees. I'ma be your idol.
THOMPSON: ...While "Soda Pop" jumps to No. 10.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SODA POP")
CHOI, NECKWAV, WOO, LEE AND CHUNG: (As Saja Boys, singing) You're my soda pop, my little soda pop.
THOMPSON: Of course, the streaming era has made it easier for a single album to land multiple singles in the Top 10 simultaneously. But for soundtracks, it's a different story. Even recent blockbusters like "Barbie," "Encanto" and "Wicked" haven't done what "KPop Demon Hunters" does this week. And it might not even be done hitting milestones. "How It's Done" by HUNTR/X is sitting at No. 14, ready to make its move.
Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOW IT'S DONE")
EJAE, NUNA AND AMI: (As HUNTR/X, singing) HUNTR/X don't quit. How it's done, done, done. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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