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Netflix mega-hit KPop Demon Hunters has won a Golden Globe for best animated feature, while its breakout anthem Golden was named best original song.
The animated film, which centres on a girl band Huntr/x that uses music to save the world from evil forces, has scored many chart-topping achievements since it premiered in June.
“Through this film we really wanted to depict female characters the way that we know women, which is really strong and bold,” director Maggie Kang said.
Fellow director Chris Appelhans, who accepted the best animated feature award with Kang, called the film a “love letter to music”. “To the power it has to connect us, to make us see some kind of shared humanity,” he said.
Fans have spoken of how the film’s empowering themes of self-acceptance, community, and fighting against inner “demons” resonated with them.
Singer-songwriter Ejae, who co-wrote and performed Golden, accepted the award for best original song along with Mark Sonnenblick and Lee Hee-joon.
In a tearful speech, she recalled her “tireless” pursuit early in her career to become a K-pop idol had ended with rejection and disappointment.
She dedicated the award to “people who have [had] their doors closed at them”. “It’s never too late to shine like you were born to be”, she said, quoting the song’s lyrics.
“I’m so part of a song that is helping other girls, other queens and everyone all get through their hardship to accept themselves,” she said.
KPop Demon Hunters quickly became an animated sensation since its release in June.
It became Netflix’s most-watched film of all time within two months, with Golden clinching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 just weeks after it dropped. Another track, Your Idol, made it to number eight on the Hot 100.
Sunday’s Golden Globe accolades come after the film was named best animated feature and Golden named best song at the Critics Choice Award early this month.
Ejae earlier told the BBC that the film’s success “feels like a dream”.
“It’s like I’m surfing for the first time and a big wave just came through,” she told BBC Newsbeat. “I’m trying my best to get through it.
Korean-American actress Arden Cho, who voiced the main character Rumi, said her life mirrored Rumi’s journey.
“I can honestly say that at different points in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else,” she told BBC Global Women.
“I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn’t have blue eyes and blonde hair, because that’s what was beautiful at the time.”
Cho said the film was a tribute to people in underrepresented communities – it’s a film that brings “hope and joy and love to all these different communities”.
The film’s success at the Golden Globes – often seen as a prelude to the Academy Awards – will likely stoke Oscar buzz.
KPop Demon Hunters is one of 35 film features eligible for the animated feature category at this year’s Oscars. However the films shortlisted for this category has not yet been announced.
