Your Idol

"Your Idol"
Song by Saja Boys
from the album KPop Demon Hunters
ReleasedJune 20, 2025 (2025-06-20)
Length3:12
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
  • Ejae
  • Kush
  • Mark Sonnenblick
  • Vince
Producer(s)
  • 24
  • Ido
  • Ian Eisendrath

"Your Idol" is a song performed by Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo and samUIL Lee as the fictional K-pop boy group Saja Boys in the 2025 animated musical fantasy film, KPop Demon Hunters. It was released on June 20, 2025, through Republic Records, as the seventh track from the film's soundtrack album. The song was written by Ejae, Kush, Mark Sonnenblick and Vince and produced by 24, Ido and Ian Eisendrath.

Synopsis

The song is used as the penultimate musical number in the film, where the Saja Boys perform it at the city stadium on the summit of Namsan to summon the main antagonist, Gwi-Ma, and feed him the souls of the magically entranced audience, before being interrupted by the arrival of the film's protagonist Rumi.

Background and theme

Ejae received the instrumental track of the song from The Black Label and executive music producer Ian Eisendrath with Exo references.[1] She worked on the lyrics with The Black Label songwriters Kush and Vince. Ejae took inspiration from Christian hymns in writing the song,[2] as well as Exo's songs "Mama" and "Obsession". The choir portion, in particular, was inspired by the choral arrangement in the former song. For the chorus intro to "Your Idol", she reversed the audio for the song "Hunter's Mantra" and harmonized it on the demo. Ejae added harmonies and sounds to evoke a cathedral and create a "creepier" atmosphere with "a kind of old Latin vibe".[1] Ian Eisendrath brought in a Broadway vocalist to create the full choir for the track.[1] The song's opening includes "Dies irae", a Latin sequence.[3]

The song's use in the film marks a pivotal moment in the storyline, a "dramatic" shift to "sleek, jet-black silhouettes" as the boy band reveals their true form in full demon-like, all-black attire.[4] "Your Idol" is a direct contrast to the Saja Boys' film introduction song "Soda Pop" which was described as a "super bubblegum-y K-pop boy band songs" similar to BTS' "Butter".[5] The lyrics find them appealing to their fans' obsession to them, in an effort to tempt them into allowing the band to steal their souls.[1][5][6] Debashree Dutta of Rolling Stone India highlighted "a jarring contrast" between the two Saja Boys songs, noting that "Your Idol" reveals "the Saja Boys' true nature while cleverly critiquing the darker side of fame and obsessive fan culture".[7]

Baek Byung-yeul of The Korea Times stated the styling of the two fictional K-pop groups in the film connects to "the past and the present of Korea". In the film, the Saja Boys perform "Your Idol" in black hanbok and traditional horsehair hats, evoking "the image of the jeoseung saja, the Korean equivalent of the grim reaper".[8] According to co-director Maggie Kang, the idea of portraying the group as "jeoseung saja" was one of the film's earliest concepts. Kang described it as "a very iconic image" that had never been explored in animation before. The scene aimed to give the film's secondary antagonist, Jinu, a "more traditional look" during the performance while drawing the audience into the dark underworld through striking color effects.[9]

Commercial performance

For the chart dated July 3, 2025, "Your Idol" reached number one on the US Spotify chart, marking the highest placement ever for a K-pop boy band and surpassing BTS's 2020 song "Dynamite".[10] It became only the fourth K-pop track to top the chart, following Jung Kook's "Seven" (2023), Jimin's "Who" (2024) and Rosé's "Apt." (2024).[11]

Charts

Chart performance for "Your Idol"
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 12
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 57
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 34
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[15] 52
Germany (GfK)[16] 57
Global 200 (Billboard)[17] 10
Greece International (IFPI)[18] 41
Hungary (Single Top 40)[19] 38
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 60
Malaysia (IFPI)[21] 4
Malaysia International (RIM)[22] 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 7
Norway (IFPI Norge)[24] 100
Philippines (Philippines Hot 100)[25] 58
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[26] 45
Portugal (AFP)[27][28] 134
Singapore (RIAS)[29] 5
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[30] 56
South Korea (Circle)[31] 37
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 4
Taiwan (Billboard)[33] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[34] 34
US Billboard Hot 100[35] 31

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kim, Eun-jae (July 1, 2025). "'KPop Demon Hunters' Songwriter Reveals Music And Song Inspirations" (Interview). Interviewed by Laura Sirikul. Forbes. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  2. ^ Jung, Jowoen (July 1, 2025). "When I was young, I dreamed of Beyonce in Korea. However, I never imagined that I would debut as an .. - MK". 매일경제. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "KPop Demon Hunters Your Idol Lyrics Meaning". Stay Free Radio. June 25, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  4. ^ "How K‑pop Demon Hunters made Saja Boys' soul‑stealing 'Your Idol' performance". The Star. July 5, 2025. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Hatchett, Keisha (June 20, 2025). "KPop Demon Hunters: Inside the Animated Film's Electrifying Original Songs". Tudum (Press release). Netflix. Archived from the original on June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (June 29, 2025). ""Keeping you obsessed": Netflix's demons vs. hunters movie captures the mystical allure of K-pop". Salon.com. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  7. ^ Dutta, Debashree (July 7, 2025). "Hit Songs From 'KPop Demon Hunters' Soundtrack Ranked". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  8. ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (June 23, 2025). "'KPop Demon Hunters' takes world by storm, combining K-pop energy with Korean heritage". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  9. ^ Dong-hee, Hwang (July 4, 2025). "Director breaks down Saja Boys' soul-stealing performance of 'Your Idol'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  10. ^ Yasmin, Shahana (July 4, 2025). "Fictional K‑pop group Saja Boys dethrones BTS on Spotify charts". The Independent. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  11. ^ Park, Ga-young (July 5, 2025). "Saja Boys top Spotify US chart with 'Your Idol'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  12. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  13. ^ "Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee & KPop Demon Hunters Cast – Your Idol" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  14. ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of July 12, 2025". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  15. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  16. ^ "Saja Boys – Your Idol" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  17. ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of July 12, 2025". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  18. ^ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 27/2025" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  19. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  20. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts (Week 27, 2025)". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  21. ^ "The Official Southeast Asia Charts – This Week's Official Malaysia Chart Top 20 from 06/27/2025 to 07/03/2025". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 8, 2025. [Select 2025 Week 27]
  22. ^ "TOP 20 Most Streamed International Singles In Malaysia Week 26 (20/6/2025-26/6/2025)". RIM. July 6, 2025. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via Facebook.
  23. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  24. ^ "Singel 2025 uke 27". IFPI Norge. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  25. ^ "Philippines Hot 100: Week of July 5, 2025". Billboard Philippines. Archived from the original on July 3, 2025. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  26. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 27.06.2025–03.07.2025.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  27. ^ Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee & KPop Demon Hunters Cast — Your Idol, AFP Top 100 Singles, retrieved July 9, 2025
  28. ^ "Top 200 Singles Semana 27 de 2025" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 8. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  29. ^ "The Official Singapore Charts Week 27 (27 Jun - 3 Jul 2025)". RIAS. Archived from the original on July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  30. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  31. ^ "Digital Chart: 2025 Weeks 27". Circle Chart. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  32. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 27, 2025" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  33. ^ "Taiwan Songs: Week of July 12, 2025". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  34. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  35. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of July 12, 2025". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2025.