Huntr/x “Golden” hit #1

Golden Huntr/x

Writer(s): Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, Teddy (see lyrics here) Released: July 4, 2025 First Charted: July 2, 2025 Peak: 18 BB, 11 BA, 15 DG, 112 ST, 12 RR, 10 AC, 3 A40, 110 UK, 15 CN, 117 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.2 UK, 3.96 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1041.09 video, 1388.24 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: It was only a matter of time before someone created a movie to tap into the Kpop craze initiated by Korean pop acts like BTS and Psy that crossed over in America. 2025’s KPop Demon Hunters was “an animated musical with no big-name voice actors, based around a genre with passionate but extremely protective fans, whose stars – even some of the very biggest ones – have found difficulty crossing over to the most mainstream American spaces.” BB’25 “There were a million ways that could go wrong, and only one way that it really could go right: The songs were gonna have to be very, very, very good.” BB’25 Rolling Stone declared “the animated K-pop fantasia…was one of 2025’s pop-cultural bright spots.” RS’25 The soundtrack album’s “giddy lead single” RS’25 “only amped up the joyful frenzy surrounding it.” RS’25 The “synth-draped” RS’25 “Golden” spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and the magazine’s staff picked it as the song of the year, calling it “the best, most exciting pop song of 2025.” BB’25 The song was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year. The song was “credited to the titular stars-slash-slayers HUNTR/X and performed by Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami, and co-writer EJAE.” RS’25 “It was the perfect HUNTR/X song. It’s aspirational, in the grand tradition of Disney…songs” BB’25 and “the propulsive drums and glistening synths make the entire thing feel like an Olympic awards ceremony.” BB’25 “But the real miracle of ‘Golden’ is that you don’t need to already be a fan of KPop Demon Hunters – or really even of K-pop in general – to love it. It’s thrived…where previous Disney and movie anthems failed, because they were too inextricably tied to their source soundtracks.” BB’25 “The song is so glorious, and its ascent has taken it so high up, that it’s largely broken free of the movie’s orbit.” BB’25 Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” Related Links: First posted 1/18/2026.

Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” charted

Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) Silentó

Writer(s): Ricky Hawk, Timothy Mingo (see lyrics here) Released: May 7, 2015 First Charted: March 14, 2015 Peak: 3 US, 110 ST, 17 RR, 2 RB, 19 UK, 11 CN, 9 AU, 11 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.4 UK, 7.04 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2305.43 video, 373.35 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rapper Richard Lamar Hawk (aka “Silentó”) was born in 1998 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His only chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100 is his debut single, “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” which was released when he was just 17 years old. He released four mixtapes from 2018 to 2021 but never put out an official studio album. In 2021 he was indicted in the shooting death of his cousin. Songfacts.com called the song “the soundtrack to the biggest dance craze of 2015.” SF The song became a viral video because of the popularity of the accompanying dance – actually two dances. The Whip involved keeping one’s arms straight and swinging them in front of one’s face as if driving a car. The Nae Nae is a similar move, but involving an open hand. The latter is based on the character Sheneneh played by Martin Lawrence in his 1990s’ TV series Martin. When she got upset, she made exaggerated “talk to the hand” gestures, which the dance move replicates. SF The video shows Silentó in a high school gym dancing with cheerleaders, fans, and others. Much of the success of the video can be attributed to DanceOn, a digital media company which tapped 50 creators to make instructional videos on how to dance to “Watch Me.” The videos garnered more than a quarter million views in less than three months. WK The success of the video pushed the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the streaming chart for 10 weeks. Critics, however, weren’t complimentary. Complex.com called “Watch Me” “one of the most annoying things to ever exist.” WK RapRadar.com’s Elliott Wilson rated it the second worst single, saying “Give me silence, Silento.” RR Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Silentó RR Rapradar.com (1/8/2016). “15 Worst Singles” by Elliott Wilson SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 8/15/2023.