Talkative Tuesday 🤓 ➡️ ~ K-Pop Demon Hunters

 People who know me well enough know that one of the few things that can rival my love for movies is my passion for music—and when you mix both to get a decent musical like K-Pop Demon Hunters, you can expect me to go absolutely crazy.

K-Pop Demon Hunters earns second place 🥈on my top-tier list of best musicals in recent times, and that’s not just because it has exceptionally good songs. The attention to detail in the musical composition is genius. While many of these subtle techniques have been used in other successful musicals (and I’ve picked up on quite a few), there’s one tiny detail in K-Pop Demon Hunters so unbelievably brilliant that it blew my mind. It's the only musical where I’ve ever noticed something like this—and of course, that’s what I’ll be talking about today.

Spoiler Alert!!!

I'm assuming you've watched the movie—if you haven’t, I don’t know what the heck you're waiting for.

“Golden,” perhaps the most iconic song from the musical, dives into the painful past of the three main protagonists and how it led to their rise as K-pop stars. Rumi, one of the three, is very clearly an alto singer.

For those who may not know, singers typically fall into one of six vocal ranges: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass—with soprano being the highest. Alto lies in the lowest register for female singers, while soprano is the highest. With enough training, an alto can typically hit up to D5, whereas a soprano can reach A6—a difference of seven notes.

Now here’s where things get wild:

Rumi, being an alto, should max out around D5, but in “Golden,” she hits A6! That’s a pitch even sopranos can struggle with. If you listen closely to the official version of the song—where Rumi is supposedly at her healthiest—you can actually hear her straining to hit those high notes. While the movie suggests her voice is failing due to her demon side flaring up, I believe there's another layer: she’s pushing her voice beyond its healthy limits.

There’s a common stereotype in music that sopranos are “superior” to altos. The songwriter (who also voices Rumi and wrote most, if not all, of the other tracks) seems to acknowledge this and uses it brilliantly. Rumi's attempt to hit soprano notes symbolizes her trying too hard to make “Golden” perfect—believing it would banish her demon side and bring out her ideal self. Ironically, in striving for perfection, she’s only harming herself further.

Contrast that with the song “What It Sounds Like”—the piece that ultimately helps her heal. Rumi sings entirely within her natural lower register, symbolizing her acceptance of herself and her refusal to pretend anymore. She doesn’t need to struggle—she’s finally singing in her healthiest, most authentic range. That’s her real victory.

Even in the song “Free,” you’ll notice only a few parts of the song stretch beyond her range, showing she’s becoming more comfortable and confident, even if she hasn’t fully overcome her insecurities yet. It also hints at her hope and belief in a brighter future.

I’ve watched plenty of musicals in my life, but I’ve never seen one where the actual vocal limits of the voice actors were woven into the character development and storytelling so intentionally. This musical is pure genius—and it absolutely deserves that second-place spot. 😁