Soundtracks from Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters saw significant streaming and sales increases following their Academy Awards victories on March 15. Ryan Coogler's Sinners won four Oscars, including best original score, while 'Golden' from KPop Demon Hunters claimed best original song. Live performances at the ceremony contributed to the post-event surge.
On Sunday, March 15, Ryan Coogler’s horror film Sinners secured four Academy Awards, including Ludwig Göransson’s third Oscar for best original score. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack’s lead single “Golden,” a former Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, won best original song, becoming the first K-pop track to achieve this honor. Both films featured live music performances during the Oscars telecast at the Dolby Theatre. For KPop Demon Hunters, EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna—vocalists for the group HUNTR/X—performed with light sticks. Sinners star Miles Caton led a medley of “I Lied to You,” joined by castmates Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Jack O’Connell, and guests including Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Alice Smith, Shaboozey, Raphael Saadiq, Eric Gales, Bobby Rush, and Misty Copeland. This performance reimagined the film’s iconic juke joint scene; “I Lied to You” was nominated for best original song but lost to “Golden.” Early Luminate data shows the Sinners soundtrack earned 756,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on March 16, a 150% increase from 301,000 the prior week (March 9). The nominated track “I Lied to You” drew 154,000 streams that day, up 240% from 45,000. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack amassed 5.1 million streams on March 16 and sold over 2,000 U.S. digital downloads, a 282% sales rise. “Golden,” also a recent Grammy winner, hit 1.68 million streams and over 1,600 digital downloads, boosting sales by 608%. These gains reflect the lasting impact of the Oscars wins, as noted in Billboard’s Trending Up newsletter published March 18.
