KPop Demon Hunters Is Coming to Theaters
Image courtesy of Netflix
Grab a "Soda Pop" and get ready to sing along. The small screen hit is heading to theaters for one weekend only.
KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix on June 20, and it's already the streamer's fourth most popular English movie of all time, according to Variety. It's spent seven weeks on Netflix's top-10 list, and has been streamed over 158 million times. Now the hit is coming to select Regal Theaters as a sing-a-long release on August 23 and 24.
The soundtrack is having its own success, with over 45 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with many folks discovering the music before watching the film.
"Friends and contacts in the [music] industry and academia who don't usually follow K-pop are reaching out to talk about it," Claire Marie Lim, assistant professor of electronic production and design, told South Korea's Arirang News. "The songs were able to connect to a wide audience really well."
The songs work in the plot of the movie and help move the story forward, just like in other movie musicals such as Wicked, she says, "But the songs are also fantastic as standalone pieces. They speak to universal themes like self-esteem, personal growth, breaking free, and forgiveness, which are very relatable." They're also produced in a way that fits in with other K-pop right now, with "hard, crunchy tracks that are delivered really confidently" mixed with softer, introspective moments like R&B and cheerful, fun pop dance tracks.
But is the soundtrack "real" K-pop? The producers and songwriters behind the film's soundtrack have been working with K-pop stars like EXID, TWICE, and Red Velvet for years, which brought the authenticity, Kim shared. "A song like 'Takedown' with a halftime breakdown groove with influences from trap and bass music, that has a really similar sonic palette to BLACKPINK or NCT 127 or BABYMONSTER. A song like 'Soda Pop' which has a four on the floor groove with influence from house music, dance music, and bubblegum pop are similar to tracks that have been released by BTS and TWICE." She also mentioned that the structure of the songs is truthful to K-pop, with band members getting lines that fit their roles as lead vocalist or main rapper, just like in "real" groups.
Watch the full Arirang News interview below:
The film has a Berklee connection as well; the score was composed by Marcelo Zarvos ’88, who is also known for composing for film and TV projects such as Wonder, Ray Donovan, 30 For 30, Fences, and more.