At the 2025 Out100 Celebration on Friday, the audience was treated to a performance of the chart-topping hit "Golden" from the smash-hit Netflix series KPop Demon Hunters by husbands Sam Tsui and Casey Breves. The couple was joined onstage by the song's co-writer and Out100 honoree, Mark Sonnenblick.
The couple filled in for the original singers EJAE, REI AMI, and Audrey Nuna, who helped take the song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, knocking Alex Warren's "Ordinary" off a nine-week reign at the top spot. KPop Demon Hunters quickly grew in popularity on Netflix and became the most-watched original title in Netflix history, racking up over 325 million views. The movie's success also led the streaming service to announce that a sequel is in the works and is due in 2029.
"When this first dropped on Netflix, there wasn't a lot of fanfare around it," Sonnenblick told Out in an exclusive interview earlier this month. "Part of what was so powerful was how it was embraced by the fans." He also said that while he and EJAE were writing the song, the film's directors gave him a note to make it "a little bit more about wanting to be honest and wanting to be who you truly are."
After the team hit that nail on the head, the song became an LGBTQ+ anthem embraced by the community. At the Out100 event, presented by Lexus, the crowd felt the power and sang along to the undeniable smash hit.
