Who would have thought that a bunch of fictional characters from an animated film would win the first Grammy in K-Pop history? At the recently held 2026 Grammy Awards, HUNTR/X — the K-Pop group consisting of fictional characters Zoey, Rumi, and Mira — bagged Best Song Written for Visual Media with “Golden,” the smash hit from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
“Golden” feels like the musical thesis of K-Pop Demon Hunters. It distills the film’s core idea — that music is both vulnerability and strength — into a single, radiant track with shimmering synths and layered vocals. The song’s structure mirrors a classic K-Pop emotional build: a restrained, almost intimate opening that gradually expands into a soaring, confidence-filled chorus.
The virtual trio — voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI — beat other formidable contenders in the category, such as industrial rock veteran Nine Inch Nails; British pop luminary Elton John and American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile; and emerging R&B/soul artist Miles Caton, American rapper Rod Wave, and actress-singer Jayme Lawson, who were nominated for their contributions to the Sinners soundtrack.
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HUNTR/X, however, wasn’t the first fictional group to win in this category, or in general, as the record was previously held for 66 years by Alvin and the Chipmunks.
An inaugural gold for K-Pop
“This is a crazy moment, this is a historical moment, it’s a glorious moment. We’re very excited, we’re just very honored,” EJAE said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“It’s perfect timing and it’s also long overdue at the same time, and we’re just so proud to be a part of the team and we’re here to represent our culture, represent people who are from different places, and just anyone who has been outcasted,” Audrey told Good Morning America.
K-Pop has been around for more than three decades, but it was only in 2021 that the genre earned its first nominations, given to BTS. While the group has been nominated five times in total, it has yet to secure a win.
For this year’s awards show, Rosé, a member of the hit girl group BLACKPINK, also made history as the first-ever K-Pop soloist to be nominated for a Grammy.
In a year defined by artifice, the victory of HUNTR/X proves that a creative genius’ digital silhouette can leave a cultural imprint just as powerfully as flesh and blood. It shows that K-Pop’s chart-topping potential and relevance goes beyond the appeal of popular icons – finally earning recognition for artistic, technical, and production excellence.
See the full list of the 68th Grammy Awards winners below:
The big four
Song of the year
- Winner: Billie Eilish – Wildflower
- Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
- Doechii – Anxiety
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT
- Bad Bunny – DtMF
- Hunter/x – Golden
- Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther
- Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
Record of the year
- Winner: Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther
- Bad Bunny – DtMF
- Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
- Doechii – Anxiety
- Billie Eilish – Wildflower
- Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
- Chappell Roan – The Subway
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT
Album of the year
- Winner: Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
- Justin Bieber – Swag
- Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
- Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
- Lady Gaga – Mayhem
- Kendrick Lamar – GNX
- Leon Thomas – Mutt
- Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia
Best new artist
- Winner: Olivia Dean
- Katseye
- The Marias
- Addison Rae
- Sombr
- Leon Thomas
- Alex Warren
- Lola Young
Pop and dance
Best pop vocal album
- Winner: Lady Gaga – Mayhem
- Justin Bieber – Swag
- Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
- Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
- Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Pt 2
Best pop solo performance
- Winner: Lola Young – Messy
- Justin Bieber – Daisies
- Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
- Lady Gaga – Disease
- Chappell Roan – The Subway
Best pop duo/group performance
- Winner: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
- Huntr/x – Golden
- Katseye – Gabriela
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT
- SZA With Kendrick Lamar – 30 For 30
Best dance/electronic recording
- Winner: Tame Impala – End Of Summer
- Disclosure & Anderson .Paak – No Cap
- Fred again.., Skepta, & PlaqueBoyMax – Victory Lap
- Kaytranada – Space Invader
- Skrillex – Voltage
Best dance/electronic album
- Winner: FKA Twigs – Eusexua
- Fred again.. – Ten Days
- PinkPantheress – Fancy That
- Rüfüs Du Sol – Inhale / Exhale
- Skrillex – F*** U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!! <3
Best dance/pop recording
- Winner: Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
- Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – Bluest Flame
- Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun
- Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching
- PinkPantheress – Illegal
Best traditional pop vocal album
- Winner: Laufey – A Matter Of Time
- Laila Biali – Wintersongs
- Jennifer Hudson – The Gift Of Love
- Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?
- Lady Gaga – Harlequin
- Barbra Streisand – The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2
Latin
Best Latin pop album
- Winner: Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera
- Rauw Alejandro – Cosa Nuestra
- Andrés Cepeda – Bogotá (Deluxe)
- Karol G – Tropicoqueta
- Alejandro Sanz – ¿Y ahora qué?
Best música urbana album
- Winner: Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
- J Balvin – Mixteip
- Feid – Ferxxo Vol X: Sagrado
- Nicki Nicole – Naiki
- Trueno – Eub Deluxe
- Yandel – Sinfónico (En Vivo)
Rock and metal
Best rock performance
- Winner: Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning
- Amyl and The Sniffers – U Should Not Be Doing That
- Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine
- Turnstile – Never Enough
- Hayley Williams – Mirtazapine
Best rock song
- Winner: Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be
- Sleep Token – Caramel
- Hayley Williams – Glum
- Turnstile – Never Enough
- Yungblud – Zombie
Best rock album
- Winner: Turnstile – Never Enough
- Deftones – Private Music
- Haim – I Quit
- Linkin Park – From Zero
- Yungblud – Idols
Best alternative music album
- Winner: The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
- Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
- Tyler, The Creator – Don’t Tap the Glass
- Wet Leg – Moisturizer
- Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Best alternative music performance
- Winner: The Cure – Alone
- Bon Iver – Everything Is Peaceful Love
- Turnstile – Seein’ Stars
- Wet Leg – Mangetout
- Hayley Williams – Parachute
Best metal performance
- Winner: Turnstile – Birds
- Dream Theater – Night Terror
- Ghost – Lachryma
- Sleep Token – Emergence
- Spiritbox – Soft Spine
Rap
Best rap performance
- Winner: Clipse, Pusha T & Malice feat Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams – Chains & Whips
- Cardi B – Outside
- Doechii – Anxiety
- Kendrick Lamar feat Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
- Tyler, The Creator feat Teezo Touchdown – Darling, I
Best melodic rap performance
- Winner: Kendrick Lamar with SZA – Luther
- Fridayy feat Meek Mill – Proud Of Me
- JID feat Ty Dolla $ign & 6Lack – Wholeheartedly
- Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon feat Rapsody – WeMaj
- Partynextdoor & Drake – Somebody Loves Me
Best rap song
- Winner: Kendrick Lamar feat Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
- Doechii – Anxiety
- Clipse, Pusha T & Malice feat John Legend & Voices of Fire – The Birds Don’t Sing
- Tyler, The Creator feat GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne – Sticky
- GloRilla – TGIF
Best rap album
- Winner: Kendrick Lamar – GNX
- Clipse, Pusha T & Malice – Let God Sort Em Out
- GloRilla – Glorious
- JID – God Does Like Ugly
- Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia
Country
Best country solo performance
- Winner: Chris Stapleton – Bad As I Used To Be
- Tyler Childers – Nose On The Grindstone
- Shaboozey – Good News
- Zach Top – I Never Lie
- Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo
Best country duo/group performance
- Shaboozey & Jelly Roll – Amen
- Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing
- Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson – Trailblazer
- Margo Price & Tyler Childers – Love Me Like You Used To Do
- George Strait & Chris Stapleton – Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame
Best country song
- Winner: Tyler Childers – Bitin’ List
- Shaboozey – Good News
- Zach Top – I Never Lie
- Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo
- Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing
Best contemporary country album
- Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken
- Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns
- Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter
- Eric Church – Evangeline vs The Machine
- Miranda Lambert – Postcards From Texas
R&B and Afrobeats
Best R&B performance
- Winner: Kehlani – Folded
- Justin Bieber – Yukon
- Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends
- Leon Thomas – Mutt (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk)
- Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman
Best R&B song
- Winner: Kehlani – Folded
- Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman
- Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends
- Durand Bernarr – Overqualified
- Leon Thomas – Yes It Is
Best R&B album
- Winner: Leon Thomas – Mutt
- Giveon – Beloved
- Coco Jones – Why Not More?
- Ledisi – The Crown
- Teyana Taylor – Escape Room
Best African music performance
- Winner: Tyla – Push 2 Start
- Burna Boy – Love
- Davido feat Omah Lay – With You
- Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin – Hope & Love
- Ayra Starr feat Wizkid – Gimme Dat
Production and songwriting
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
- Winner: Cirkut (Lady Gaga, Rosé, Jade)
- Dan Auerbach
- Dijon
- Blake Mills
- Sounwave
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
- Winner: Amy Allen (Rosé, Jennie, Sabrina Carpenter)
- Edgar Barrera
- Jessie Jo Dillon
- Tobias Jesso Jr
- Laura Veltz
Film and television
Best comedy album
- Winner: Nate Bargatze – Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
- Bill Burr – Drop Dead Years
- Sarah Silverman – PostMortem
- Ali Wong – Single Lady
- Jamie Foxx – What Had Happened Was
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
- Winner: Sinners – Various artists
- A Complete Unknown – Timothée Chalamet
- F1 The Album – Various artists
- K-Pop Demon Hunters – Various artists
- Wicked – Various artists
Best score soundtrack for visual media (includes film and televison)
- Winner: Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
- John Powell – How To Train Your Dragon
- Theodore Shapiro – Severance: Season 2
- John Powell & Stephen Schwartz – Wicked
- Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media
- Winner: Austin Wintory – Sword of the Sea
- Pinar Toprak – Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires
- Wilbert Roget II – Helldivers 2
- Gordy Haab – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget II – Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune
Best song written for visual media
- Winner: Huntr/x – Golden (From K-Pop Demon Hunters)
- Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be (From Tron: Ares)
- Miles Caton – I Lied To You (From Sinners)
- Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Never Too Late (From Elton John: Never Too Late)
- Jayme Lawson – Pale Pale Moon (From Sinners)
- Rod Wave – Sinners (From Sinners)
Best audiobook narration
- Winner: Dalai Lama – Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
- Kathy Garver – Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story
- Trevor Noah – Into The Uncut Grass
- Ketanji Brown Jackson – Lovely One: A Memoir
- Fab Morvan – You Know It’s True: The Real Story Of Milli Vanilli
Best music video
- Winner: Doechii – Anxiety
- Sade – Young Lion
- Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
- Clipse – So Be It
- OK Go – Love
Best music film
- Winner: John Williams – Music by John Williams
- Devo – Devo
- Raye – Live at the Albert Hall
- Diane Warren – Relentless
- Pharrell Williams – Piece By Piece
Jazz and classical
Best jazz vocal album
- Winner: Samara Joy – Portrait
- Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap – Elemental
- Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell – We Insist 2025!
- Michael Mayo – Fly
- Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth – Live at Vic’s Las Vegas
Best jazz instrumental album
- Winner: Sullivan Fortner feat Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore – Southern Nights
- Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Trilogy 3 (Live)
- Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging
- John Patitucci feat Chris Potter & Brian Blade – Spirit Fall
- Yellowjackets – Fasten Up
Best alternative jazz album
- Winner: Nate Smith – Live-Action
- Ambrose Akinmusire – Honey from a Winter Stone
- Robert Glasper – Keys To The City Volume One
- Brad Mehldau – Ride Into The Sun
- Immanuel Wilkins – Blues Blood
Best jazz performance
- Winner: Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Windows (Live)
- Lakecia Benjamin feat Immanuel Wilkins & Mark Whitfield – Noble Rise
- Samara Joy – Peace Of Mind/Dreams Come True
- Michael Mayo – Four
- Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth – All Stars Lead To You (Live)
Best musical theatre album
- Winner: Buena Vista Social Club
- Death Becomes Her
- Gypsy
- Just In Time
- Maybe Happy Ending
Best opera recording
- Winner: Heggie: Intelligence – Kwamé Ryan, conductor (Houston Grand Opera; Gene Scheer)
- Huang Ruo: An American Soldier – Carolyn Kuan, conductor (American Composers Orchestra; David Henry Hwang)
- Kouyoumdjian – Adoration Alan Pierson, conductor (Silvana Quartet; The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)
- O’Halloran: Trade & Mary Motorhead – Elaine Kelly (Irish National Opera Orchestra; Mark O’Halloran)
- Tesori: Grounded – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus; George Brant)
Best orchestral performance
- Winner: Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie – Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
- Coleridge-Taylor: Toussaint L’Ouverture; Ballade Op. 4; Suites From ’24 Negro Melodies’ – Michael Repper, conductor (National Philharmonic)
- Ravel: Boléro – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra Of Venezuela)
- Still & Bonds – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
- Stravinsky: Symphony In Three Movements – Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
