The Recording Academy announced the full list of nominees for the 86th annual Grammy Awards on Friday, and “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters received four nominations—including the highly-coveted Song of the Year. The overall soundtrack is also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Written by EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick, “Golden” became the breakout hit of the Sony Animated film after it debuted on Netflix earlier this year, spending months on the Billboard charts and going platinum in addition to earning a nomination for Song of the Summer at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Now, it’s up for four categories at the 2026 Grammys: Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Song Written for Visual Media, with the the David Guetta remix receiving a nomination for Best Remixed Recording.
Following the news, “Golden” singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their reactions.
“There have [been] a lot of different emotions. Obviously, there is pure ecstasy, it’s somewhere deep in there, but I think there’s also shock,” Nuna said. “There’s just a lot of emotions surrounding how long this journey has been for all of us and in some way feeling connected to the pain of the journey and the rollercoaster of that journey. All in one moment.”
“I blacked out,” Ami joked about the nomination news. “I’m still blacked out. I’m probably not going to remember any of this morning in a few hours.”
EJAE added, “One is enough. It’s more than enough. It’s so hard to achieve, but damn, getting multiple is just crazy. That’s when I stopped crying. I’m just like, what am I dreaming?”
“Golden” is the second HUNTR/X song performed in KPop Demon Hunters and acts as an anthem for the girl group. The song directly references making the protective Honmoon golden, locking it into place, and reveals each girl’s insecurities before bringing them together to lift each other up in the chorus.
KPop Demon Hunters follows Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) as HUNTR/X, a girl group tasked with protecting the mortal realm from demons. They face a new challenge when the demon Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) forms a boy group to try to sway the girls’ fans toward the demon realm. The fate of the world literally hinges upon their rivalry.
Source: Grammy Awards, The Hollywood Reporter
