00:00Your new single is on fire. Everyone's listening to it.
00:04Yay!
00:05So let's go promo!
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:09Huntrix and Saja Boys may be battling it out for hearts and minds,
00:12but for fans of K-pop demon hunters, there are no losers.
00:16This movie's soundtrack is a zero-skips masterpiece,
00:19and today we're counting down its songs from great to greatest.
00:23A mild spoiler warning is in effect.
00:25K-pop demon hunters' fiercely talented trio, Huntrix,
00:46never met a chart they couldn't top or a demon they couldn't vanquish.
00:50So when they have to combine their musical prowess with their martial might
00:54to defeat the diabolical boy group Saja Boys, their first instinct is to slay in every possible sense.
01:00So sweet, so easy on the eyes, but hideous on the inside.
01:03Whole light spreading lies, but you can't hide, baby, nice track.
01:07Takedown is more than just a savage diss track.
01:10It's a fiery vow of retribution, and it never fails to get us amped up.
01:14Bookended by galloping beats, the meat of the song has the propulsive quality of a predator chasing down its prey.
01:20But then in comes a stirring bridge, adding a taste of emotional depth to this hard-charging banger.
01:33Given that it reflects Rumi's own internal conflict, it's a shame it's not included in the film version of the song.
01:38But it appears in full on the soundtrack, both by Huntrix and covered by real-life K-pop superstars,
01:45Junghyun, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of Twice.
01:49Must get up and take ya down.
01:56Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
01:59Number 6, Free.
02:01Here with you, I can finally breathe.
02:03You say you're no good, but you're good for me.
02:06I've been hoping to change, now I know we can change, but I won't if you're not by my side.
02:14For Hallyu fans, one of the fun aspects of KDH is seeing some tried-and-true K-drama tropes turned on their heads
02:21to add even more antagonism to the natural divide between Hunter Rumi and Demon Jinu.
02:26But the two are uniquely bonded almost from the start,
02:29and we all knew it was just a matter of time before these two enemies became something more.
02:44After gradually making little cracks in each other's armor,
02:50Free is the moment when the walls between Rumi and Jinu start to crumble.
02:54They finally give voice to the confusing emotions they've been fighting against,
02:58and imagine a future where they can move beyond their shames and secrets.
03:08The ethereal vocals, combined with the emotional weight of the lyrics,
03:12gives us a dreamy duet that goes beyond romance.
03:15Free shows us these two characters finding a hopeful connection
03:18that gets us as deep in the feels as any K-drama ever has.
03:29Number 5. Soda Pop
03:42If there's one thing in KDH that's 100% believable,
03:48it's that a group could rise from obscurity to instant fame with a debut like Soda Pop.
03:53Inspired by real-world mega-hits like BTS' Butter,
03:56Saja Boys introduced themselves to the world with a summery bubblegum bop,
04:01engineered to earworm its way right to your brainstem and get those shoulders going.
04:05That opening whistle draws you in,
04:17the hooky patter of the verse has your head nodding,
04:20then those smooth ooh-ahs of the pre-chorus get you anticipating the moment
04:23it all releases in the joyful catharsis of the chorus proper.
04:27It's a very effective snare, isn't it?
04:29The real genius of Soda Pop is that it kind of tells you up front
04:32exactly what Saja Boys are really after.
04:43Yep, we were warned, but we're having too much fun to notice.
04:46Like a real soda on a hot day,
04:48this song goes down sweet and cool and leaves us thirsty for more.
04:52You're my Soda Pop
04:53My little Soda Pop
04:55You're my Soda Pop
05:01Gotta drink every drop
05:03Number 4, How It's Done
05:05You wanna get wild?
05:07Okay, I'll show you wild
05:08Better come ride, better not try and get into a level
05:11Cause we're dying every time
05:13Trying to start a butter
05:14Bleeding is into my blood
05:16Beating you is what I do, do, do, yeah
05:20Yes, first impressions are important.
05:23And Huntrix had us seated from the opening riff of the film's first song,
05:27How It's Done.
05:28Well, seated and then standing and jamming along.
05:30It's impossible to resist the relentlessly pounding pulse of this beat.
05:43But How It's Done levels up with unexpected touches,
05:46like the panpipe through line on the verses.
05:49Then it knocks us out with the virtuosity displayed in the vocals
05:52and machine gun syncopation of the lyrics.
05:54Melt it to us
05:55Run up, you're done up
05:55We come up from sun up to sun up
05:57So come out to play
05:57Wanted away
05:58We wanted a million
05:59We kill it
05:59But really you want it okay
06:00It's confident, addictive, peak Girl Crush K-pop.
06:05That's no accident.
06:06One of the song's producers is Teddy Park,
06:08the man who made an unbroken string of hits for Girl Crush Icon's Blackpink.
06:12And it's hard to miss his touch here.
06:14It's the effects, you know that's how it's done, done, done.
06:17Okay, like I know I ramble
06:18But when shoot my words, I go ramble
06:20To bust with him, just look natural
06:21It's how it's done, done, done.
06:23By the end of How It's Done,
06:25not only do we understand why Huntrix runs the town,
06:28but we've become full-on stans.
06:30We're locked in
06:31and hyped to follow them through the movie for more high-octane action,
06:34whether it be on or off the stage.
06:37Turn it up, it's going down
06:40Huntrix, show it
06:41It's how it's done, done, done.
06:43No song from the K-pop Demon Hunter soundtrack
06:54has been shining on the real-world charts like Golden.
06:57An anthemic victory lap celebrating the strengths and skills of Huntrix.
07:02This is the song the trio were convinced
07:03would finally seal the Hanmoon barrier between the human and demon realms.
07:07And based on its success, we see their point.
07:09We're going up, up, up, it's our moment
07:13You know together we're going
07:15Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be
07:17The sweeping number is certainly the most vocally impressive on the soundtrack,
07:21with both evocative low notes and truly astonishing high ones.
07:25It feels grand in scope and scale,
07:27representing the moment when the Hunters
07:29finally ascend to a place that's all but completely out of reach.
07:32The really brilliant dimension of the song is that Golden is out of reach.
07:44Not only does Rumi physically struggle to sing it throughout the movie,
07:47but thematically it represents Huntrix's denial more than their success.
07:51Golden is what they all desperately want to be.
07:54Meanwhile, the struggles they sing about overcoming are ones that,
07:57in actuality, they are still grappling with.
08:00We get it though, we all wish we could be only our best, most perfect selves.
08:05Which is part of the reason why Golden has struck such a strong chord with fans.
08:18Number 2. Your Idol
08:20Soda Pop gave away Saja Boyz's true goal in a subtle, flirty way.
08:35By Your Idol, they're ready to say it out loud, and no one is safe.
08:39This number is chilling, make no mistake, but it's also unquestionably seductive.
08:56It's hard to tell if the shivers it induces are from fright or delight.
09:00The spooky siren song gets in our brains every bit as deep as soda pop,
09:04hitting those pleasure centers dedicated to risk-taking behavior.
09:07Behavior like, say, giving a group of attractive strangers your unreserved devotion?
09:12Listen, cause I'm preaching to the choir
09:15Can I get the mic a little higher?
09:19Give me your desire
09:20I can be the star, you're a liar
09:23You're a liar
09:23Your Idol speaks to the dark side of any fandom.
09:27The same beat that has us grooving along
09:29has an ominous undercurrent of impending disaster
09:31that we just can't find it in ourselves to be concerned about.
09:34When Saja Boys sing their promises to take away all our faults and fears,
09:38One Little Soul doesn't seem like such a big trade.
09:41Considering it became the fourth-ever K-pop song to top US Spotify charts,
09:45Your Idol proves that we truly would be cooked if Saja Boys ever manifested for real.
09:50Now we're on the train, yeah, you can't look away
09:53No one is coming to say, no
09:56Now we're running wild
09:58You're down on your knees, I'ma be your idol
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10:17Number 1. What It Sounds Like
10:20The song that brings Huntrix back together and ultimately saves the world
10:33never fails to give us goosebumps.
10:35Golden showed us a gleaming, aspirational facade.
10:38But in What It Sounds Like, the members finally accept themselves,
10:42imperfections and all, and discover that's where their true strength lies.
10:46So we were cowards, so we were liars
10:50So we're not heroes, we're still survivors
10:53The dreamers, the fighters
10:55No lying, I'm tired
10:58But dive in the fire
11:00And I'll be right here by your side
11:03This number marks the only song on the soundtrack that Rumi sings fully in her chest voice.
11:09There's no vocal tricks to hide behind,
11:11no suggestion of some superhuman perfection.
11:14What It Sounds Like drives forward on the force of her heart
11:17and the harmonies of the three Huntrix members together.
11:20Show me what's underneath
11:21How about your harmony
11:23If you listen up to find
11:26This is what it sounds like
11:28As if the song couldn't go any harder,
11:30the climax has the fans joining in as an epic, swelling choral accompaniment,
11:35lending their voices to help the hunters defeat the demon king, Gima.
11:38The implication is that everyone on screen is going through the same journey of self-acceptance,
11:43turning their flawed humanity into the power to save each other.
11:46It's a beautiful, poignant idea that sends us out of the movie feeling as invigorated as the newly reforged Hanmoon.
11:53Just after all this time
11:55Our voices all combine
11:57When darkness meets the light
11:59This is what it sounds like
12:02Which K-pop Demon Hunter song would make your Hanmoon the happiest?
12:07Or is the entire soundtrack golden as far as you're concerned?
12:11Let us know in the comments.
12:12It was truly an honor to share the stage with you.
12:15So hot!
12:16And respectful!
12:18Oh no, the honor is ours.
12:20No, it was ours.
12:21No, it's ours.
12:22Ours.
12:22Ours.
12:23Ours.
12:23Ours.
12:24Ours.
12:24Ours.
12:24Ours.
12:24Ours.
