Viewers React to Huntr/X’s Oscars Performance of ‘Golden’
Netflix's most-watched film in the streamer's history took to the stage at this year's 98th Academy Awards — and its audience had plenty of thoughts about the musical performance by HUNTR/X.
"Golden", the signature song from Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters, won Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature at this year's Oscars. The song topped the charts in over 30 countries, and by December 2025, just six months after the release of the animated family film, had sold over 20.5 million units worldwide.
The song, along with the film it originated from won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 31st Critics' Choice Awards and 83rd Golden Globe Awards. "Golden" also won Best Song Written for Visual Media at this year's Grammy Awards, making it the first K-pop song to win a Grammy.
The real-life musical voices behind the group — singers Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami — took to the stage to celebrate the song's success, delivering a powerhouse performance that will have K-pop fans and kids across the globe jumping up and down. Here's what commentators online had to say about the performance.
Social Media Users React to ‘Golden’ From Kpop Demon Hunters at the Oscars
here's the full Oscars performance of Golden from KPop Demon Hunters pic.twitter.com/CorVkHqpRF
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 16, 2026
During the performance, the audience were all gifted lightsticks — a common feature at K-Pop concerts — to replicate a real-life concert. The celebrities involved in this stunt provided some praise, as well as some giggles, online.
"Not the audience getting their lightstick. Iconic!!" @zona_ngeluh said in reply to a video of the performance.
"Imagining Stellan Skarsgård holding a kpop light stick," @Framesofnick posted. Similarly, @autmelody_ said "never thought i would ever see Leonardo DiCaprio with a light stick in his hand. guess there’s a first time for everything #oscars."
As for the performance, fans of the original film loved seeing the real-life counterparts at Hollywood's biggest night. "Me watching the HUNTR/X Girls perform Golden at the Oscars
????❤️????," @TheGodzillaDude said, with a gif from the movie, captioned "I love my girls!"
"F**king goosebumps when she hit that falsetto before they started doing the lyrics in the intro song," @thenigelleuno said in a glowing review.
In one sweet personal anecdote, @SailorSwift18 said, "Me and my toddler screaming while watching this on TV omg ❤️."
Some, however, were less thrilled with the quality of the song, especially compared to the other performance of the night, "I Lied To You," from Sinners.
"how do you genuinely look at sinner’s “i lied to you” and give it to kpop demon hunters [sic]," @evenstqrs said.
Others praised the evening overall for HUNTR/X and the Netflix team behind the movie. "K-Pop Demon Hunters earned it by being a genuine technical and cultural landmark," @efeokor said. It’s a rare case where the massive commercial machine actually produced something with real soul.
"From viral sensation to golden statuette: HUNTR/X and the crew just made K-pop animation official legends. Congrats to the team! ????????," user @solokroos wrote.