BTS is back. “SWIM” became one of the biggest K-pop songs of 2026.
And yet, on the latest Circle Global K-pop Chart, there is still one song sitting above it.
HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters.
For the week of September 6–12, “Golden” held No. 1 while BTS’s “SWIM” remained at No. 2.
That immediately raises an interesting question:
How is a fictional K-pop group still competing with BTS months after the movie’s release?
BTS Actually Beat “Golden” Before
The current ranking becomes more interesting when you look back.
“SWIM,” the title track from BTS’s fifth studio album ARIRANG, debuted at No. 2 on Circle’s Global K-pop Chart in March.
It didn’t stay there.
The song eventually climbed to No. 1 and went on a remarkable run. By early July, Circle Chart reported that “SWIM” had spent 14 consecutive weeks at No. 1.
For one week in June, the Top 2 looked like this:
No. 1 — BTS, “SWIM”
No. 2 — HUNTR/X, “Golden”
Now the order has flipped.
“Golden” is No. 1 again.
“SWIM” is No. 2.
That makes this less like a normal weekly chart story and more like a long-running battle between two very different kinds of K-pop hits.
One Is BTS. The Other Group Doesn’t Even Exist.
That’s the strange part.
BTS needs almost no introduction. “SWIM” arrived with the group’s long-awaited fifth studio album and became a global hit in its own right.
HUNTR/X is different.
The group comes from Netflix’s animated film KPop Demon Hunters, with the singing voices behind “Golden” performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI.
Yet “Golden” escaped the boundaries of a movie soundtrack.
People didn’t just watch the film.
They kept listening to the song.
And months later, that distinction matters.
A soundtrack usually gets its biggest boost when a movie is new. “Golden” has shown unusual staying power instead.
“SWIM” Isn’t Exactly Fading Either
Being No. 2 here does not mean BTS has suddenly lost momentum.
Far from it.
“SWIM” was selected for Billboard’s 2026 Global Songs of the Summer, ranking No. 2 on the Global Excl. U.S. summer chart and No. 6 on the Global 200 summer ranking.
During that summer tracking period, the song reached No. 1 multiple times on both global charts.
And in September, months after its March release, “SWIM” was still appearing high on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global chart.
So this isn’t a case of one old hit replacing another song that disappeared.
Both songs have survived.
That is what makes the chart so unusual.
Maybe This Is Bigger Than BTS vs. HUNTR/X
There’s another way to look at it.
For years, K-pop’s biggest global moments were usually built around real groups, fandoms, albums, tours and performances.
KPop Demon Hunters introduced something different:
a fictional group capable of producing a very real global hit.
Now one of the biggest real K-pop groups in history and the biggest fictional K-pop group of the moment are sitting side by side on the same chart.
BTS had the advantage.
Then HUNTR/X did.
And months later, neither song has gone away.
So perhaps the most surprising question isn’t:
“How is ‘Golden’ still beating BTS?”
It’s this:
Did anyone expect a fictional K-pop group to still be battling BTS this long after the movie ended?