Director says Kpop Demon Hunters' Golden was influenced by Drake's Forever

Collider reports that Kpop Demon Hunters director Chris Appelhans said in a 2025 Reddit AMA that the film's hit song "Golden" drew influence from Drake's 2009 track "Forever."

Since the movie's June 20, 2025 release, "Golden" has won Best Original Song - Motion Picture at the Golden Globes, received five Grammy nominations, and is currently shortlisted at the Oscars for Best Original Song. The song has generated over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify, its official lyric video has more than 1 billion views on YouTube, and the fictional group's music was showcased in live performances during the Thanksgiving parade and on late-night talk shows. One singer, EJAE, said in her Golden Globes acceptance speech that she was rejected from becoming a K-pop idol and that the rejection redirected her career.

According to Appelhans, the team looked to "Forever" because they wanted a song that could serve as a biography about starting as a nobody and reveal the girls' struggles and vulnerabilities before fame. Both songs, the director noted, share themes about artists' rises to fame and the hardships they face; Appelhans said "Forever" fit that goal due to its structure and message, and "Golden" became more of an "I Want" song and a storytelling device disguised as a song.

Kpop Demon Hunters is available to stream on Netflix, and the song's awards season run continues as its Oscar nomination remains pending.

Key Topics

Culture, Kpop Demon Hunters, Golden, Drake, Forever, Chris Appelhans