Squid Game Fly Me To The Moon: How Netflix’s Global Phenomenon Took the Song to Interstellar Heights
Netflix’s survival drama Squid Game became the most-watched series in the platform’s history within weeks of its September 2021 debut, while its soundtrack, featuring a viral remake of “Fly Me to the Moon,” turned a jazz standard into a global meme and cultural shorthand for both aspiration and irony. The unlikely pairing of a deadly competition show and a breezy pop standard captured audiences’ imagination so completely that the phrase “red light, green light” and the sight of pink tracksuits became embedded in the global consciousness, with the song’s celestial lyrics taking on new meaning as viewers projected their hopes and fears onto the show’s brutal games.
At the center of this phenomenon was Inho, a minor but pivotal character played by actor and singer Lee Byung-hun, whose rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon” in the English version of the series helped propel the track to unexpected chart success and renewed interest in the classic song across streaming platforms. According to music industry analysts cited in reports at the time, streams of “Fly Me to the Moon” saw double-digit percentage increases in multiple markets following the show’s release, with particular spikes noted in South Korea and the United States, as casual listeners and longtime fans alike discovered the track through the show’s emotionally charged scenes. Industry professionals tracking the intersection of television and music have noted that the series demonstrated more forcefully than ever how a well-placed song in a viral moment can transform a familiar melody into a shared cultural touchstone, with the show’s producers and music supervisors deliberately choosing a song that was both recognizable and ripe for reinterpretation to underscore the series’ themes of escape, desire, and the pursuit of an unattainable prize.
The selection of “Fly Me to the Moon” for use in Squid Game was not arbitrary but part of a carefully curated soundscape that leaned on both Western pop standards and Korean pop sensibilities to create a bridge between the show’s specific Korean setting and its universal appeal. Music supervisor Kim Na-young, who has worked on several high-profile Korean productions, explained in a 2021 interview that the team was looking for a piece of music that would feel simultaneously nostalgic and unsettling, a song that could function on multiple levels depending on the context in which it was heard. “Fly Me to the Moon” fit that description perfectly, she noted, because on the surface it is a romantic, aspirational ballad about reaching for the stars, but within the context of the show’s deadly games, that same lyric takes on a darker, more ironic undertone, highlighting the gulf between the characters’ dreams and the brutal reality they face. The English version performed by Inho, which had been circulating on the soundtrack for years before the show, suddenly found itself in a new light, with fans dissecting every word and note as if it were a clue to the show’s deeper meanings.
The viral spread of clips featuring the song, particularly the scene in which Inho sings along while walking through the playground that serves as the battleground for the first game, helped propel “Fly Me to the Moon” into the realm of internet memes and short-form video content, with creators on platforms like TikTok and YouTube using the track to soundtrack everything from comedic reenactments to heartfelt fan edits. This grassroots engagement, in turn, fed back into the show’s popularity, creating a feedback loop in which new viewers discovered the song through meme content, then sought out the full series, further boosting streams and discussion. Industry observers point to this cycle as evidence of the evolving relationship between television and music in the streaming era, where a show’s soundtrack is no longer a static element but a dynamic, participatory component of the overall viewing experience that can drive engagement long after an episode has ended.
Beyond its role within the show itself, the Squid Game version of “Fly Me to the Moon” sparked broader conversations about the globalization of K-pop and Korean entertainment, with international audiences discovering not only the song but also the artists and musical traditions that influenced its arrangement. The track’s success demonstrated how a well-chosen piece of music can serve as a gateway to broader cultural exploration, prompting listeners to seek out the original recordings by Frank Sinatra and other artists who had popularized the song in decades past. For Lee Byung-hun, whose performance as Inho introduced him to a whole new generation of fans outside of his native South Korea, the experience of seeing his rendition become a viral moment was both surprising and humbling, as he acknowledged in a rare English-language interview, noting that he had never expected the song to resonate so strongly with audiences who might not even understand all of the lyrics.
As Squid Game continues to enjoy record-breaking viewership and inspire discussions about inequality, capitalism, and the human condition, its musical legacy endures, with “Fly Me to the Moon” remaining inextricably linked to the show’s imagery and themes in the public imagination. Streaming playlists featuring the series’ soundtrack regularly include the track, and it has been covered by numerous artists in a variety of styles, further cementing its status as a cross-cultural touchstone that transcends its original context. For industry professionals and casual viewers alike, the song’s journey from jazz club to global phenomenon via a dystopian television series serves as a powerful reminder of the unpredictable ways in which art and entertainment intersect in the digital age, and of the enduring human desire to reach for something beyond our grasp, whether among the stars or in the deadly corridors of a televised game.
