^{Credit: KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation)}

KPop Demon Hunters, or KPong Demon Hunters, as host Nikki Glaser said it in a Marty Supreme mash-up, was golden at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans' film was nominated for three Globes. It ultimately won two of its bids for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. This makes KPop Demon Hunters the first animated film since Pixar's Soul to win multiple Golden Globes, as well as the first to win in both of these particular categories. Kang is the first woman of Asian descent to win in the Best Animated Feature category. "Golden" is also the first K-pop tune to take home Best Original Song. 

On the heels of wins at the Critics' Choice Awards and Astra Awards, not to mention a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year, "Golden" was widely predicted to win here. However, the Golden Globes hadn't awarded a song from an animated film since Prince was up for "The Song of the Heart" from Happy Feet in 2007. Of course, that was when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was running the show. The new voting body ended an almost twenty-year dry spell for animation by awarding "Golden," which Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, and Teddy wrote. If "Golden" can win the Oscar on the heels of winning the Globe, it'll be the first song from an animated film to do so since "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan.

"Golden" beat "I Lied to You" from Sinners for Best Original Song. KPop Demon Hunters and Sinners also squared off in Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which the latter ultimately won. Zootopia 2 was nominated in the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category as well. KPop Demon Hunters and Zootopia were nominated for Best Animated Feature against Arco, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, Elio, and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. After Flow's win last year, all eyes were on Best Animated Feature for another potential surprise. KPop Demon Hunters maintained its frontrunner status, however. 

With Best Animated Feature wins at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice, KPop Demon Hunters is expected to win big at the Annies and PGA Awards next. The film isn't eligible at the BAFTAs, which will give us an idea of what its strongest competition will be heading into the Oscars. That said, KPop Demon Hunters has all the momentum it needs to go all the way at the 98th Academy Awards, the nominations of which will be announced on January 22. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!