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KPop Demon Hunters Controversy Explained: Was “Soda Pop” Written With ChatGPT?

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There is no reliable evidence that ChatGPT wrote or produced “Soda Pop.” The claim appears to have grown from an ambiguous or mistranslated account of AI use connected to songwriter Vince, then spread through headlines and social-media posts. Netflix’s official credits identify five human writers and three human producers for the Saja Boys song, while creator interviews describe a collaborative development process involving the film and music teams.

What the controversy actually claims

The online allegation has appeared in several different forms: that ChatGPT “helped write” “Soda Pop,” that Vince admitted using ChatGPT during production, that the song was AI-assisted, or even that the entire KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack was made with artificial intelligence.

Those claims are not equivalent. Using a chatbot for brainstorming, translating a phrase, generating rhymes, drafting lyrics, creating a melody, or producing a finished recording would involve very different degrees of AI participation. The available evidence does not establish that ChatGPT generated the song’s lyrics, melody, vocals, or production.

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How the rumor appears to have started

The controversy circulated in 2025 after English-language coverage connected comments about ChatGPT use with “Soda Pop.” Secondary reports from The Mary Sue and Kotaku said the original Korean-language material did not clearly identify “Soda Pop” in the same way as the English-language account.

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The translation chain matters. Reports indicated that the English version was produced with assistance from generative-AI tools. That does not prove that AI invented the claim, nor does it prove that every sentence was mistranslated. It does mean that an ambiguous statement may have been presented more definitively in English than it appeared in the original context.

A deleted social-media post was also treated by some readers as confirmation that ChatGPT helped create “Soda Pop.” A deleted post can be evidence that someone made a claim, but without its full context it cannot establish whether the statement was accurate, joking, paraphrased, mistaken, or affected by translation. It should be treated as part of the rumor’s chain—not conclusive proof of AI authorship.

What the official credits say

Netflix’s official soundtrack credits list the following creators for “Soda Pop”:

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  • Writers: Vince, KUSH, Danny Chung, 24, and DOMINSUK
  • Producers: 24, DOMINSUK, and Ian Eisendrath
  • Performers: Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo, and samUIL Lee

These credits do not mention ChatGPT or another AI system. Credits cannot provide forensic proof that no uncredited tool was used privately, but they do establish the people formally credited with writing and producing the track. They are inconsistent with the simplified claim that ChatGPT was the song’s author.

A songwriting credit also does not mean every credited writer contributed equally to every lyric or musical element. Similarly, a producer credit can include beat-making, arranging, recording, vocal direction, editing, and other work on the finished recording. None of that changes the central point: the published attribution is to human creators.

What the creators said about making “Soda Pop”

In a Netflix Tudum interview published December 22, 2025, Danny Chung described “Soda Pop” as a collaborative project involving 24, Dominsuk, Kush, and Vince. He explained that the music team worked with the directors and broader film team through meetings, feedback, and revisions.

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The brief was unusually specific. The song needed to feel like a retro, classic boy-band track: bright, catchy, deliberately cheesy, and almost irritatingly addictive. At the same time, its lyrics and imagery had to conceal the Saja Boys’ sinister, demonic purpose beneath the sugary surface.

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That contrast is central to the song’s design. Its polished and formulaic sound may lead some listeners to describe it as “algorithmic,” but an aesthetic reaction is not evidence of AI generation. Netflix’s account instead describes a song shaped by character, plot, genre, performance, and repeated creative decisions.

Vince later reportedly described the track as developing from an old guitar demo in an interview with Korea JoongAng Daily. That is Vince’s account rather than an independently audited production history, but it is further evidence against the idea that the finished song simply originated from a chatbot prompt.

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“Used ChatGPT for inspiration” is not the same as “ChatGPT wrote the song”

AI involvement exists on a spectrum:

Possible use What it would establish
Brainstorming themes or word associations AI was used as an ideation aid, not necessarily as an author
Generating possible rhymes or phrasing A limited drafting or brainstorming role
Translation or rephrasing Language assistance, not songwriting authorship
Drafting lyrics later rewritten by people More substantial AI assistance, but not automatically the final author
Generating a complete lyric, melody, vocal, or instrumental A much stronger claim requiring direct evidence

If a songwriter privately asked ChatGPT for ideas, that would not necessarily mean the model wrote the final lyrics, created the melody, received a credit, or generated the recording. It could still be relevant to debates about creative labor and disclosure, especially for readers who object to any generative-AI assistance. But it is not the same factual claim as saying that ChatGPT wrote “Soda Pop.”

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Did Netflix say that no AI was used?

The available Netflix material provides human credits and describes a human-led, collaborative process. It does not amount to a clearly attributable blanket statement that no AI tool was used at any stage.

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That distinction matters. The responsible conclusion is not “Netflix proved that AI was never involved.” It is that no official source reviewed here confirms ChatGPT-generated lyrics or production, while the official credits and creator accounts document human writers, producers, performers, and creative direction.

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Does this affect the rest of the soundtrack?

No. A claim about “Soda Pop” cannot automatically be generalized to every song in KPop Demon Hunters, the 2025 Netflix animated musical. “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol” are Saja Boys songs with overlapping creative personnel, while “Golden” belongs to HUNTR/X and has a different credited writing team. The official soundtrack page lists credits separately.

Even if private AI brainstorming had occurred during the development of one track, that would not establish AI involvement in “Golden,” “How It’s Done,” “Your Idol,” or the rest of the soundtrack.

What is known—and what is not

Supported by the available evidence

  • “Soda Pop” has named human writers and producers in Netflix’s official credits.
  • Danny Chung described a collaborative songwriting and production process involving the music and film teams.
  • Vince reportedly connected the song’s development to an older guitar demo.
  • An English-language controversy linked broader comments about AI use to “Soda Pop.”
  • Secondary coverage raised questions about translation and the difference between the Korean and English accounts.

Not established

  • That ChatGPT wrote the final lyrics.
  • That ChatGPT composed the melody.
  • That ChatGPT produced the instrumental or finished recording.
  • That the entire KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack used AI.
  • That no AI tool was used privately at any point during songwriting.

The verdict

The claim that ChatGPT wrote “Soda Pop” is not substantiated by the available evidence. The controversy appears to have been amplified by an unclear translation and by social-media summaries that collapsed different kinds of AI use into one much stronger allegation.

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The best-supported account is that “Soda Pop” was written and produced by the human creators named in Netflix’s credits, through a collaborative process shaped by the film’s story and visual world. The precise scope of any private brainstorming or other uncredited tool use cannot be determined from the published material—but that uncertainty is not evidence that ChatGPT authored the song.

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AI musicChatGPTfact checkKPop Demon HuntersNetflixSoda Pop

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