Mark Sonneblick on Who and What Was Needed to Write the Oscar-Winning ‘KPop Demon Hunter’ Hit, “Golden” (Exclusive)

“It’s been such a surreal journey,” says songwriter and composer Mark Sonneblick, who won his first Oscar for Best Original Song at the 98th annual Academy Awards for “Golden,” from the 2025 animated musical KPop Demon Hunters. The film picked up a second Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and “Golden” became the first K-Pop song to win an Academy Award.

Sonneblick co-wrote seven of the songs on the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, which spent two weeks at No. 1 and also became the first soundtrack to have four songs in the Top 10 simultaneously, including what became its opus, “Golden.”

Co-written by Sonneblick and South Korean-American singer-songwriter and producer Ejae—who also sings on the track with Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami—along with 24, Ido, and Teddy Park, “Golden” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, won the 2026 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and made history again winning the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media; “Golden” is the first K-pop song to win a Grammy.

Sonneblick praises KPop Demon Hunters directors and co-screenwriters Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and their vision behind the film and the story of a K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X (voiced by Ejae, Nuna, and Ami), who use their voices to fight demons, in helping him capture the essence of each scene in song, including “Golden,” which was the last song written in the batch.

Coming from a musical theater background, there was a different dynamic collaborating with more pop songwriters and producers, including Danny Chung, Vince, Kush, Jenna Andrews, Daniel Rojas, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, Dominsuk, and Marcelo Zarvos, which was also part of the “learning experience” for him.

“I was lucky enough to work with and get to know their artistry and how they are as songwriters, and how they are as producers, and as performers,” he says. “There are so many specific moments that were a learning experience for me, but it all starts with building that trust as a songwriter with the other people you’re writing with.”

In the process of writing for the film, Sonneblick also became familiar with and a fan of the K-Pop genre. “Something that I love about, not only musical theater, but the movies that I’ve been lucky to be a part of, is that you get to step into a new world, not only sonically, but with who you’re working with,” he says. “I’m always looking for a story and a world that really moves me, or is an opportunity to push myself, and maybe a style of music that hasn’t necessarily been used in musical storytelling.”

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He adds, “When you get it right, it can have a huge impact and connection; you’re also deeply connected to the characters and to the story. That’s one of the things we’re all proudest of. If you hear ‘Golden’ before the film … once you see it, you realize how every line of that song maps onto the backstory we need from these characters.”

Years before KPop Demon Hunters, Sonneblick served as a lyricist for the 2022 musical The Devil Wears Prada, in collaboration with Elton John and Shaina Taub, along with writing music for the animated film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) and comedies Spirited (2022) and Theater Camp (2023).

“If you told me that I would be nominated for an Oscar before I’d be nominated for a Tony, I never would have expected it,” he says, “because 10 years ago, theater was such a part of my world.”

In summer 2026, Sonneblick returns to his roots with the musical production of Midnight at the Never Get, the first show he’s written by himself. Starring Ben Platt, the show will premiere in London at the Menier Chocolate Factory in July and run through September. Directed by David Cromer, who worked with George Clooney on Good Night and Good Luck, Sonneblick describes the show as sounding like the “American songbook” and stepping into a cabaret in the West Village, New York City, during the 1960s with Platt as the guide and performer throughout the evening.

Sonneblick says he still feels the power of “Golden,” but nothing compares to the summer of 2025, when KPop Demon Hunters became a viral success and one of the most-watched movies of all time on Netflix.

“Nothing will feel as crazy and powerful as those few months, and the way that people continue to be fans of this film and this music,” says Sonneblick.

“You make things for people to hopefully respond to them and have it mean something to them,” he adds. “And sometimes that’s just a few people, and in this case, it’s so many more than we could have imagined, and that’s been the most amazing part of this journey for me, and for all of us.”

Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images