All posts tagged: KPop

Why ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Deserves the ‘Criterion Treatment’

Why ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Deserves the ‘Criterion Treatment’

Published by Sam Flores

Over the past year, KPop Demon Hunters seems to have completely overtaken culture. Since premiering on Netflix in June 2025, the animated film has been watched nearly 650 million times and, according to Nielsen, accounted for some 20.5 billion viewing minutes last year. The soundtrack topped Billboard charts that fall; Spirit Halloween instantly sold out of licensed costumes. But even the most ardent fans likely did not anticipate the mega-hit’s next big merch drop: a disc release from the Criterion Collection, home to some of cinema’s most distinguished titles. By some metrics, KPop Demon Hunters may be the most popular movie ever to be added to the collection. (Other new entries include David Lynch’s Wild at Heart and a Ukrainian folk romance from 1965.) It’s almost certainly the first Criterion inclusion to have its own flavor of McFlurry. KPop Demon Hunters is an unlikely candidate for what’s come to be called “the Criterion treatment”: a painstaking transfer to disc, along with a making-of documentary and other special features, and a number printed on the box’s …

K-pop singer Samuel honors his Latino roots with flair in ‘Samuelito’

K-pop singer Samuel honors his Latino roots with flair in ‘Samuelito’

Published by Sam Flores

At only 24, Samuel Kim Arredondo, better known as Samuel, has lived through nearly every iteration possible in a K-pop idol’s career. As a child growing up in L.A.’s Koreatown, he attended Wilshire Park Elementary School — but by the fifth grade he had moved to South Korea with his mother, Kyung-ju, with dreams of K-pop stardom. There, he became a trainee under Pledis Entertainment. Now a subsidiary label of Hybe — parent company of K-pop superstars BTS — Pledis was forming what became one of the most successful “third generation” K-pop groups of all time: Seventeen. Samuel, who was in the running to debut with the group, is even captured in early footage from their “Seventeen TV” variety show. Though he didn’t make the cut, he remained close with the members and helped write lyrics for their 10-year anniversary album. Just last week, he filmed a dance challenge with singer-MC Mingyu for the reggaeton-infused pop number “Zigi Zigi Zigi” — the lead single off of his new EP, “Samuelito,” which dropped June 8. After …

Crunchyroll president on KPop Demon Hunters and the next Solo Leveling

Crunchyroll president on KPop Demon Hunters and the next Solo Leveling

Published by Daniella Wilson

In 2026, the world of anime has never been bigger – with millions of fans falling in love with the vast fantasy worlds defined by the distinct Japanese art style. With a “if you can imagine it, it can be created” attitude, anime throws viewers into a universe where imagination is unstifled and ever-expanding. You can sail the seas as part of a ragtag team of pirates in shows like One Piece, go on an epic adventure to fight back against a dystopian world in Attack on Titan, or become cursed with the soul of an ancient sorcerer in Jujutsu Kaisen. And online platform Crunchyroll has become the go-to destination for fans across the globe to delve into the medium like never before. Boasting over 50,000 episodes of anime, Crunchyroll has become the world’s largest dedicated platform for the art form, expanding to include online manga graphic novels on which many animes are based, as well as games and merchandise. Last year, Solo Leveling – a tale of supernatural monster-hunter Sung Jinwoo across his adventures …

‘KPop Shark Heroes’ Brings ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ to Shark Week

‘KPop Shark Heroes’ Brings ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ to Shark Week

Published by Daniella Wilson

Discovery Channel is getting in on the KPop Demon Hunters craze in a very unique way —  a new Shark Week special starring two of the film’s actors. The special, KPop Shark Heroes, is set to premiere during this year’s Shark Week, scheduled for late July, and is hoping to change minds after recent shark attacks off the Korean peninsula.   While the actual demon hunting gang of K-pop idols are not involved, the special finds host Ken Jeong, who plays Bobby in the animated feature, “determined to reshape the perception of sharks across East Asia and around the globe,” according to a press release. Rei Ami, the singing voice of Zoe in the Oscar-winning film, joins Jeong, as the “Golden” singer is apparently a longtime lover or sharks. In the special, Jeong makes it it his mission to launch a public awareness campaign that “educates, empowers and shifts the narrative” around sharks through the “power of K-pop.” It’s unclear exactly how K-pop plays into the show, but it’s safe to say they’ll be no …

Meet the Mexican American talent behind ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

Meet the Mexican American talent behind ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

Published by Sam Flores

The House of Pies, a Los Feliz institution, is bustling on a chilly January morning. It wouldn’t be shocking if some of the patrons here for breakfast were casually chit-chatting about the cultural behemoth that “KPop Demon Hunters” has become. After all, the 2025 animated saga about three music stars fighting otherworldly foes is now the most-watched movie ever on Netflix; “Golden,” its showstopping track, has since become the first Korean pop song to ever win a Grammy. But for Danya Jimenez, 29, who sits across from me sipping coffee, the reception to the movie she began writing on back in 2020 isn’t entirely surprising, but certainly delayed. “When we first started working on it, I was like, ‘People are going to be obsessed with this. It’s going to be the best thing ever,’” she recalls. But as several years passed, and she and her writing partner and best friend Hannah McMechan, 30, moved on to other projects. They weren’t sure if “KPop” would ever see the light of day. Production for animation takes time. …

Enhypen’s Jake on His Producing Debut, Realities of Being a K-pop Idol

Enhypen’s Jake on His Producing Debut, Realities of Being a K-pop Idol

Published by Daniella Wilson

Enhypen, the powerhouse boy group hailing from Hybe sub-label Belift Lab, is finding a new stride, according to member Jake. The 23-year-old Korean-Australian singer is exuding passion about the seven-member group’s latest album, The Sin : Vanish, when he speaks to The Hollywood Reporter shortly before its release. I’ve found Jake on a rare off day, joining the Zoom call himself instead of at his company. Enhypen is as solid as ever, and Jake’s found himself finding joy in producing for the group for the first time. The singer produced a narration track and a song on The Sin : Vanish. “Producing a song sparked something inside me that I didn’t really know that I had because being a K-pop idol, sometimes, it gets very repetitive,” he explains. “We wake up, we have a very tight and set schedule down to the minute. We have to wake up at this hour, this minute. We end our schedule at this [time]. I used to enjoy that,” he continues. “I’m a person that really likes that because …

K-Pop Demon Hunters 2 under way as Golden songwriter gives exciting update

K-Pop Demon Hunters 2 under way as Golden songwriter gives exciting update

Published by Daniella Wilson

The release of K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix last summer was one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons of 2025 – with the animated movie becoming the most streamed film in the history of the platform. It’s now in the running for two Academy Awards – best animated feature and best original song for breakout hit Golden – while a sequel was unsurprisingly confirmed towards the end of last year. There’s still a long while to wait before we actually get to see that follow-up, with a release date currently planned for 2029, but the good news is that we’ve now got a new update on its progress courtesy of the Golden songwriter. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Mark Sonnenblick explained that development on the film was “in process” – although he added that work on composing new songs for the sequel was still some way off at this point. “There’s going to be a whole development process before we get deep into writing the songs,” he explained. “The music will follow from the story and …