"K-pop Demon Hunters" OST "Golden (골든)" cover history now seems likely to be divided into before and after BABYMONSTER.
BABYMONSTER(Luca, Parita, Asa, Ahyun, Rami, Lola, Chikita) showcased their skills and made their presence felt on the stages of the 2025 MAMA Awards held at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium on the 28th and 29th of last month.
After warming up with performances of WE GO UP and DRIP in chapter 1 of the MAMA Awards, BABYMONSTER performed Golden in chapter 2 the next day, and it is being evaluated as a performance that will go down in history. Since Golden was released there have been countless covers by artists, but why was BABYMONSTER's stage considered the standout?
Golden is a song whose extremely high vocal range boasts brutal difficulty, and even the original creators predicted, "It will not be easy to find a singer who can perform the original live." Because of that, among music fans Golden has long been called an "impossible to perform live" song.
But BABYMONSTER did not compromise. To fully deliver the song's narrative and message of hope, they boldly chose to perform live in the same key as the original. Starting with lyrical, delicate vocals, the song developed into an explosive vocal display that painted the stage golden. In particular, Ahyun's final ultra-high ad-lib delivered a thrilling sensation that seemed to test human limits.
Not only the vocals but also the stage manners and styling were perfect. BABYMONSTER took the stage with visuals as if ripped from an animation. From costumes to hair and makeup they faithfully reproduced the original, and on stage they were warriors, not mere singers. The staging integrated the narrative of hunters who suffered in darkness breaking through walls and emerging into the world into the choreography, and their resolute eye acting drew viewers into the work's universe.
BABYMONSTER's performance sparked an enormous reaction. On social media and online communities praises poured in such as "It's impossible to sing in the original key but they did it live, unbelievable," "astonishing vocal ability," and "skill does not lie." Overseas reaction was also explosive. Because of the original's high difficulty, the Golden challenge has been popular among fans worldwide, and it was inevitable that people were amazed that a Korean girl group perfectly performed it live on their first major stage. On YouTube and TikTok, reaction videos and secondary creations of BABYMONSTER's stage have flooded out, hinting at that fervor.
Through 2025 MAMA, BABYMONSTER proved their name value. More powerful than flashy modifiers is ultimately skill on stage, and they proved that through the Golden performance. Having fired a golden signal flare and once again engraved the name BABYMONSTER, the world is watching how far they will reach.
[OSEN]