My KPop Demon Hunters Fan Of A Daughter Is Fired Up About The Oscars, But Now I Need To Know If HUNTR/X Is Performing
My daughter is obsessed with KPop Demon Hunters. Of all the movies I watched with my kids last year, this eye-popping and record-breaking Netflix animated film, full of great lessons, layered characters, and some of the catchiest songs in recent memory, was the one we rewatched the most (I’ve lost count). It’s become my 6-year-old’s favorite movie, HUNTR/X (pronounced Huntrix) has become her favorite band, and “Golden” has become the anthem of her morning routine.
I recently told my daughter that she’ll probably get to see HUNTR/X perform her favorite song of 2025, as KPop Demon Hunters will most likely receive multiple Academy Award nominations, including one for “Golden.” To say that she was excited (after I explained the Oscars to her) would be an understatement. Now, I just need to know if my daughter and I will be goin’ up, up, up in March and if this will be her moment!
Watching KPop Demon Hunters Win Best Original Song At The Golden Globes With My Daughter Was Magical
This all started when I kept my daughter up to watch the 2026 Golden Globe Awards so she could see KPop Demon Hunters win (was there ever any doubt) both Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song. Though I was still paying for my decision to keep her up past her bedtime as the week went on, letting her stay up to watch led to one of the most exciting moments ever.
My daughter’s face when “Golden” was named the Best Song is one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. That exhausted look on her face was immediately replaced with one of pure joy and excitement; her demeanor changed, and she started singing “Gonna be, gonna be golden” on the couch. It was one of those “I’m glad my kids love movies” moments that make life so much fun. For lack of a better term, it was golden.
She Lost Her Mind When She Found Out There’s A Chance HUNTR/X Could Perform At The Oscars
When I told her HUNTR/X would probably be performing at the upcoming Academy Awards, her first question was, “What are the Academy Awards?” Once I explained that KPop Demon Hunters was a shoo-in for several awards and there was a good chance HUNTR/X would perform “Golden,” she lost her mind. I’m talking, jumping on the couch, looking for her Rumi costume, and singing that dang song again, levels of excitement. Now I need to know if they’ll actually be performing.
I kid you not, “Golden” can be heard flowing through the various smart speakers in my house in the morning before school, in the afternoons after school, and pretty much whenever I drive her somewhere. If Huntrix ends up performing at the Oscars and it’s as epic as I’m hoping, my daughter is going to lose her mind. I can’t wait to be there.
Oscar Nominations Aren’t Out Yet, But KPop Demon Hunters’ Chances Are Golden
At the time of this writing, the nominations for the 98th Academy Awards have not been announced. That being said, I don’t think there’s any possible way that KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t get named when those are announced on January 22, 2026. It won the Golden Globe, the song has over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify, and it’s been performed everywhere from Saturday Night Live to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and countless other places over the past six months.
Basically, the only way this track doesn’t get nominated is if the Academy decides to eliminate the category entirely, which we know isn’t happening. Looking back, the last time I remember a movie song being this huge was “Let It Go” from Frozen more than a decade ago. For those who don’t remember, or don’t want to look it up, the Disney animated juggernaut took home Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song, something I think will happen in March.
The Academy Awards Eliminated Performances In 2025, But I Need Them To Bring Them Back
The Academy Awards ceremony is changing all the time, but one of the biggest shifts came last year when it was announced that the 97th Oscars wouldn’t have musical performances for the Best Original Song category. Though there was a Wicked medley at the start of the show that was magical to watch, none of the other nominated songs got time to shine.
Hopefully, that’s not the case when the 98th Academy Awards kick off in March, as my daughter and I will be extremely bummed if Oscar hopefuls HUNTR/X, Nine Inch Nails, and Miley Cyrus don’t get to perform their songs from KPop Demon Hunters, Tron: Ares, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, respectively. We would settle for a Wicked situation where the K-pop singers perform a compilation of “Golden,” “How It’s Done,” and “Takedown,” but I think all the nominees need a chance to showcase their big songs.
A Colleague Pointed Out This Could Be A ‘Let It Go’ Moment, And They’re Not Wrong
When I was discussing my daughter’s KPop Demon Hunters obsession with some colleagues and how excited I was about the possibility of HUNTR/X performing at the Oscars, one colleague compared this to “Let It Go” being performed at the 2014 Academy Awards. You know, I can totally see this as a moment on that level. Nothing against the Wicked cast last year with “Defying Gravity,” but this seems bigger in a way.
I didn’t have any kids when Idina Menzel performed the hit song from Frozen at the Oscars back in 2014, but I remember my nieces and nephews, as well as friends’ children, losing their minds about the song and performance. It was already a massive hit, but reached new levels after. Though “Golden” is legit one of the most popular tracks of the past year, having it performed on one of the biggest stages in the world of entertainment could make it even bigger, if I’m being honest.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens when it comes to HUNTR/X performing “Golden” at the 98th Academy Awards. One thing I know for sure is that I’ll be watching (along with my daughter) the ceremony live with my Hulu subscription when it all goes down on March 15!
