When K-Pop Goes Hollywood
Photo: Bighit Entertainment
Soundtracks are a major part of the movie experience for many cinemagoers; they set the mood, influence emotions, and contribute to the movie being memorable for years to come. In Korea, these are called OSTs, where K-Pop artists tend to dominate the music heard across K-Dramas and Korean movies with no Western artist in sight. But as K-Pop continues to grow across the globe, many K-Pop artists have now made their way to Hollywood by being featured on the soundtracks of many big-name movies, from live-action to animation. Whether you want to watch the movie or just listen to the song, the following tracks are Hollywood OSTs performed by K-Pop artists that deserve a listen today.
“Mention Me” - CORTIS
Earlier this year, Sony Pictures released a new animated movie called GOAT, whose soundtrack began my love for CORTIS and their music. What started as casual listening when their debut EP, COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES, dropped in 2025, turned into me listening to CORTIS on repeat after discovering the track “Mention Me” from the movie. From the get-go, “Mention Me” had me hooked on its sound with its aggressive fusion of trap and rock. Here, CORTIS take on a more rebellious sound while maintaining the high energy that fans love from their discography. Lyrically, “Mention Me” sways towards more of a simplistic nature, particularly in the chorus with the repeated line of “they gon’ mention me,”; however, the delivery of this line, together with the overall production, creates an unforgettable song that won’t leave my mind or my on-repeat playlist.
“SLASH” - Stray Kids
For those who don’t know, or aren’t as updated with the Stray Kids hot megaverse as STAY (their loyal fandom), Stray Kids and Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds have a friendship that dates back to 2021 after Stray Kids performed a Deadpool-themed performance of BLACKPINK’s “DDU-DU DDU-DU” mixed with “神메뉴 (God's Menu)” on the Mnet television competition, Kingdom: Legendary War. Three years later, Stray Kids appeared on the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack with the hard-hitting single “SLASH.” Feeling authentically Stray Kids throughout, the sword and slashing sound effects in the chorus stand out behind the members’ strong rap flows and vocal deliveries, adding an intricate detail to the song, one that perfectly connects to its title. Regardless of whether you enjoy superhero movies or not, “SLASH” is a Stray Kids song not to miss out on with “SLASH” also performed predominantly in Korean despite Deadpool & Wolverine being an English-language movie showing a significant milestone for K-Pop in Hollywood.
“Hold On Tight” - AESPA
In 2023, aespa appeared on the soundtrack for Tetris, a biographical-thriller movie based on the discovery of the popular game, with the single “Hold On Tight.” Despite being created for a movie, “Hold On Tight” serves as one of aespa’s best tracks with its atmospheric, electropop, EDM production that ingeniously interpolates the Tetris theme song into its arrangement - a song that could easily have been an aespa track unrelated to the movie. With strong vocals throughout, the chorus carries a haunting nursery rhyme feel with the vocal flow and the production sound excellently contradicting each other. Simultaneously, this vibe creates a powerful and addictive sound that pulls listeners in, being an underrated aespa track that deserves more listens within and beyond the MY fandom.