Could Kpop Demon Hunters and Wicked end up being the musical showcases at the Oscars?

Dear Gossips,

Sorry to keep repeating myself but we are in week six of Kpop Demon Hunters and it still has not peaked. In its fifth week of release last week it set an all-time high viewing record as people are either watching for the first time or the 50th time. And then there’s the soundtrack with several songs charting, as “Golden” leads the way, returning to the #1 spot on the global streaming charts and rising to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyric video has now also surpassed 100 million views on YouTube. And it’s only just picking up some radio play in North America now.

I listen to “Golden” at least three times a day, already once this morning, and that was before the David Guetta remix that came out a few days ago in an attempt to push the track to #1 and make it the Song of the Summer. Not that it needs that crown for the Oscar campaign but it can’t hurt.

Netflix is definitely pushing, not just for nominations on the music side but for Best Animated Feature, a category that looks wide open right now. The possibilities are there, though we shouldn’t assume that Kpop Demon Hunters, even with its runaway popularity, is a favourite. Not when the Oscar Academy is still made up of so many old and dusty voters who might be turned off by the title of the movie and wave it away as unserious.

The success of the movie and the soundtrack, though, is undeniable. Kpop Demon Hunters has surprised the industry, no other animated film has had this much hype and no other songs from any other movies, so far, have had this much impact. Until, of course, Wicked: For Good this fall.

But wouldn’t that be so great for the Oscars? If Kpop Demon Hunters and Wicked were the musical showcases?!