- EJAE became the most-streamed K-pop artist in the United States in 2025, with 2.1 billion on-demand streams, reports Luminate.
- Music from KPop Demon Hunters ruled U.S. streaming, with eight of the top ten K-pop acts connected to the soundtrack.
- According to Nielsen, the film is estimated to have 20.5 billion minutes of viewing in the United States, with Netflix separately recording 500 million global views.
KPop Demon Hunters has catapulted EJAE to the top, as Luminate data reveals her to be the most-streamed K-pop artist in the United States (U.S.) for the year 2025. Benefiting from her dual role as both a singer and songwriter for the Netflix animated success, the Korean American musician generated 2.1 billion on-demand streams across audio and video platforms. Notably, on-demand streaming also monitors how frequently listeners choose and play a particular song or video.
KPop Demon Hunters' fictitious girl group HUNTR/X came in second with 1.8B streams, accompanied by Stray Kids with 1.2B. The film's rival boy band, Saja Boys, ranked fifth with 921.1 million streams, while BTS ranked tenth with 892.3M, as they gear up for a full-member comeback later in March. This shows that EJAE, as the most streamed K-pop artist in the United States, is not a sudden occurrence but an outcome of continuous engagement.
KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack Dominates U.S. Streaming
EJAE’s US streaming milestone illustrates the enormous impact of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. Eight of the ten top-performing K-pop acts in the U.S. last year were associated with the film's music, indicating its popularity well beyond regular K-pop releases. Its lead track, Golden, was one of the highest-viewed music videos in the country in 2025. The song also topped the Billboard Hot 100 in August of last year, becoming the first No. 1 for a K-pop girl group despite being fictional in nature.
KPop Demon Hunters EJAE Popularity: Awards Run
The film’s commercial success has resulted in a dominant awards run for itself. Its lead track Golden won a Grammy, while the film swept the Annie Awards. After a high-profile performance at the BAFTAs and a historic nomination at the BRIT Awards, KPop Demon Hunters has effectively shaken U.S. pop radio, entering the ranks of global icons such as BLACKPINK, Twice, and (G)I-DLE.
Notably, the film and its music are also nominated for the Oscars in two categories, and it also won the Golden Globes 2026.
The film itself became one of the year's most popular streaming titles. KPop Demon Hunters has officially surpassed 500M total views globally on Netflix, setting a new record. Additionally, it was earlier ranked as the third most viewed English-language film on the platform. In the second half of 2025, Netflix logged a viewership of 482M for the film alone. Furthermore, Nielsen believes that KPop Demon Hunters was viewed more than 20.5B minutes in the U.S. in 2025, showcasing how film-driven music properties may boost digital consumption.
EJAE K-pop Streaming Record US Comes Amid K-pop’s Growing Global Streaming Power
Luminate said KPop Demon Hunters' breakthrough success exemplifies how the K-pop industry has changed over the last decade. Even though the film was made outside of the usual Korean idol system, both the film and its soundtrack achieved notable milestones in the wider global entertainment sector, including music.
This achievement of EJAE as the most streamed K-pop artist in the US, and the upward trend of K-pop, depict an interlinked relationship between North American streaming and global revenue. With the U.S. firmly establishing itself as an important overseas market, Luminate statistics for 2025, rank South Korean music, including K-pop, at fourth place, which is measured by global on-demand streaming volume. This position is further strengthened by increased commercial penetration of the genre in countries such as the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Canada.
