‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters gives Christian parents a way to talk about real hope

AI, deep-fakes, fake-news, bare-faced lying politicians telling us that what we heard and saw wasn’t what we heard and saw. We live in a culture rife with inauthenticity. Can we believe anything anymore?

We deeply desire genuine authenticity. We want to be able to believe what we see and hear and not have to live the exhausting life of second-guessing and factchecking everything. This can have serious implications as we try to show our children the authentic Jesus. It’s only natural for them to wonder if his very existence is just a deep-fake too.

‘Golden’ is a declaration of hope that there is authenticity to be enjoyed

It’s not a surprise, then, that in this cultural moment the Grammy-award winning hit song from K-Pop Demon Hunters addresses this issue head on. ‘Golden’ is a declaration of hope that there is authenticity to be enjoyed, but it’s not discovered in trying to fit in (‘I lived two lives, tried to play both sides’) but rather in embracing one’s true self (‘I’m done hiding, now I’m shining’). It’s a song about unity rather than individuality (‘It’s our moment // You know together we’re glowing’). A new life of truth (‘no fears, no lies’) and purpose (‘That’s who we’re born to be’).

In many ways it chimes with the gospel message. Jesus calls us to put aside the old self that was in slavery to sin and the patterns of this world (see my previous article for more on ‘patterns’ in the film). Jesus came to make us free.

But… there’s actually something profoundly inauthentic about this song that’s seeking to proclaim the authentic life.

I’m currently deep into producing and mixing an album for a young singer from the USA. I’ve got all the tools and tricks of the trade at my disposal. I’m making decisions about when to tune vocals, shift guitar parts that aren’t quite in time. I’m pondering what happens to the emotional impact when we increase thumping bass, or give extra sheen to the vocals.

So when I came to listen again to ‘Golden’ for this article, that’s what my ear was tuned to. Most people won’t think much about the production of a song - they hear it as a whole. But the decisions made about all those things really matter to the experience and impact of the song. And in the case of ‘Golden’ I think they tell us some very interesting things.

Jesus calls us to genuine authenticity, but not by our own efforts - by his guiding, loving hand

Simplicity

First of all ‘Golden’ is lyrically an incredibly simple song. There’s only one verse (or maybe 2 if you split the start), a pre-chorus, chorus and a breakdown/bridge. They get to the emotional hook (‘I’m done hiding, now I’m shining’) within 50 seconds. It’s like a short galvanising speech by a politician that is designed to make you feel immediately pumped. The promises sound so great - you want what they’re offering!

But after a while you start wondering… ‘yes… but how?!’

And there the song gives you little by way of an answer. The utopian dream of freedom from fear and an authentic life is presented in sparkling simplicity, but there’s no road map of how to get there. Perhaps it’s not just simple, but simplistic.

The song is also very simple in terms of the production. There’s next to no bass in the mix - there’s literally little depth. It’s very shiny and ‘toppy’ (raised high-frequencies) which gives you a musical sugar-high from the off. And just when you don’t think they can get any higher, the singer, Ejae, literally hits an A5. If you’ve no idea what note that is… it’s insanely high.

And this is where the biggest mark of inauthenticity comes…

Most of what you hear on spotify has been musically airbrushed

Auto-tune

Auto-tune (or tuning vocals - there is a technical difference), is used throughout the music business. Most of what you hear on spotify has been musically airbrushed. I use it in my production. Sometimes it’s a matter of expediency - before auto-tune existed you would have to sing the parts over and over until you got them right. But that’s expensive studio time. Now we can get a good enough vocal take and then fine tune it. I try to use this sparingly, because I want as much of the authentic singer to come across as possible, even when that means there are human-mistakes. But sometimes you use it to serve something bigger in terms of the listener’s experience. There are legitimate reasons to use auto-tune!

For a song about authenticity it’s a phenomenally musically airbrushed production

‘Golden’ is tuned within an inch of its life. It’s not possible to get that pure a note at that pitch (if you can do it - let me know… I want to work with you!) Now, the production team are not hiding that fact. It’s part of the sheen of K-Pop as a genre. And on one level, there’s nothing wrong with that. Incidentally, it’s also very common in the Christian world. Most ‘live’ worship albums that you hear are not very live at all. The vocals will be redone later, with the benefit of different takes and… auto-tune. Some big churches even use auto-tune for their broadcast services (which can result in some very funny auto-tune fails - go YouTube it).

But if the listener doesn’t know that it’s tuned, they may believe that what they’re hearing is real - that a human has the capability to sing that purely. They’re being presented with an impossible perfection. For a song about authenticity it’s a phenomenally musically airbrushed production. We hear about no longer hiding, and yet the small imperfections that are natural to the human voice are totally hidden from our ears. It’s no better than the pictures we see on social media. Sadly, yet another thing that we can’t quite believe.

we need help to be our authentic selves

But what of the message itself? Maybe the pure vocals can’t be believed, but can the hope the song brings?

Yes… and no.

Let’s go for the ‘no’ first.

As I said, ’Golden’ presents the utopia that we all want - one of truth and genuine connection with purpose. But it offers no way to get there. Just that ‘this is our moment’. But our moment to do what? Try harder? Can we get there on feel good vibes? Singing the song together and putting on a concert?

Of course not. Just as Ejae needed the help of a computer and a production team to hit those perfect high notes, so we need help to be our authentic selves.

Be honest about the inauthenticity in the world. It’s nothing new

And that’s where the ‘yes’ comes in. There is a producer at work in our lives too. The one who is tuning our song to be in harmony with his. One who demonstrated the most authentic life possible - Jesus, the one living out who he was born (in human form) to be. The one who knows us, our patterns, our brokenness and calls us out of the shadows, to stop hiding and to be transformed by his loving, artistic hand.

A day is coming when we will be changed ‘in the twinkling of an eye’, when the old order of things will be gone, and we will be our true selves.

Read more:

Christian parents can use KPop Demon Hunters to explore the gospel

Christian parents can usefully use KPop Demon Hunters to explore themes of idolatry and the Kingdom of God with their family

And that day will be golden.

This is where we can help our children. Be honest about the inauthenticity in the world. It’s nothing new - ever since the first lie was spoken, we have led inauthentic lives, running for who we are ‘made to be’. And Jesus calls us to genuine authenticity, but not by our own efforts - by his guiding, loving hand.

Talking points for parents and kids:

• Be honest about the inauthenticity of this world. It’s nothing new - ever since the first lie was spoken, we have led inauthentic lives, running from who we are ‘made to be’. Being open about it doesn’t need to lead to jaded cynicism. Talk about disappointments that you’ve found when discovering something wasn’t what you thought it was.
• Observe together the help everyone needs - even celebrities. Make-up, edits, take after take, script writers, producers, auto-tune… Even the most accomplished musicians and actors need other people’s help to look good! This shows us that none of us can do it alone.
• Talk about the authentic Jesus. Jesus always lived how he spoke. And he’s given us his Spirit to be changing us to help us be who we were born (again) to be…

If you want to delve deeper into the idea of God being an artist caring for us, take a listen to ‘Love Doesn’t Count (The Days or Years)’ from my most recent album. It’ll be out on streaming platforms on 10th April 2026, but is available now to download here.