{"id":303697,"date":"2026-02-18T04:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T04:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/303697\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T04:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T04:49:10","slug":"kpop-demon-hunters-ejae-on-golden-oscars-nerves-on-awards-chatter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/303697\/","title":{"rendered":"KPop Demon Hunters’ EJAE on “Golden,” Oscars Nerves on Awards Chatter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFor EJAE<\/a>, the Korean-American singer\/songwriter who is the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Awards<\/a> Chatter podcast<\/a>, which was recorded in front of film students at Chapman University, 2026 \u2014 like 2025 before it \u2014 is shaping up to be truly, well, golden.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2025, \u201cGolden,\u201d the banger tune that she co-wrote for the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters<\/a> \u2014 for which she also provided the singing voice for the character Rumi, one third of the girl group at its center, Huntrix\u00a0\u2014 became a worldwide phenomenon, shooting to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and holding that spot for eight weeks. It marked the first time that a K-pop \u2014 or Korean popular music\u00a0\u2014 act not associated with BTS had ever topped the Hot 100, and it made Huntrix the first girl group to top it since Destiny\u2019s Child with \u201cBootylicious\u201d back in 2001. The film, meanwhile, became the most watched original title in Netflix\u2019s history, accumulating more than 500 million views.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the 34-year-old born Eun-jae Kim, things have only continued to explode in 2026. In January, \u201cGolden\u201d was awarded the best original song Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards, while KPop Demon Hunters won those shows\u2019 best animated feature prizes. On Feb. 1, \u201cGolden\u201d was recognized with the Grammy for best song written for visual media, the first Grammy ever awarded to K-pop. And on March 15,\u00a0it is widely expected that \u201cGolden\u201d will take home the best original song Oscar and KPop Demon Hunters will take home the best animated feature Oscar.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the course of this episode, which you can listen to via the player above or read via a lightly-edited transcript below, EJAE \u2014 who dropped a new single, \u201cTime After Time,\u201d on Feb. 6<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 reflects on her early pursuit of a career as a K-pop idol and the crushing way in which it failed to pan out; what led her to pivot to songwriting; how she came to be involved with KPop Demon Hunters, and\u00a0how \u201cGolden\u201d evolved from a melody she hummed into her iPhone into a global phenomenon; plus much more.<\/p>\n

\n\t* * *<\/p>\n

\n\tWelcome. Thank you for being here. We\u2019re so excited to have you.<\/p>\n

\n\tOh my God! Thank you for having me. Hello. Wow.<\/p>\n

\n\tTonight we are going to go in-depth about \u201cGolden,\u201d but first I think people would like to learn more about you. Can you share where you were born and raised, and what your folks did for a living?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s a complicated one. I lived half my life in Korea and half my life in the States. I was born in Seoul, Korea, because my mom was on vacation. When I was six months old, which was the legal age to travel back on a plane, I came back to New Jersey, which is where I lived. I stayed there \u2019til I was eight, then came back to Korea, then stayed there \u2019til high school, graduated, went to NYU, stayed in New York, and then went back to Korea.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat was your name at birth?<\/p>\n

\n\tEun-jae Kim.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen and how did \u2018EJAE\u2019 come about? Was that a childhood nickname?<\/p>\n

\n\tI would introduce my name and people couldn\u2019t really pronounce it. So I just went by EJAE.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat kind of music were you listening to as a kid? Was it kind of a mix of both cultures\u2019 music, or were you leaning towards one?<\/p>\n

\n\tDefinitely a mixture of both cultures. My first love was definitely K-pop. That\u2019s when I kind of figured out, \u201cOh, I want to be a singer.\u201d I loved the first generation like H.O.T. and g.o.d. It was before K-pop was called K-pop.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen did K-pop blow up?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s a great question. I think probably it was starting to get into the States with Psy coming in with \u201cGangnam Style.\u201d That became pretty popular. And then BTS, obviously. Blackpink got really big too. So yeah, it was really interesting to see how it got into the mainstream world.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf we tracked down your classmates from grade school, would they remember you as a very musical kid? Or was that something that only came later?<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, 100 percent. I think everyone at school knew I was, essentially, \u201cthe singer.\u201d My school was really small. I went to SFS, Seoul Foreign School, in Korea. It\u2019s a very small, missionary-based school. We had like 100 kids in our class. I would do all the theater stuff or a cappella groups. I would be the leader and figure out all the harmonies and stuff.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow early on did songwriting enter the picture? Most kids cover the songs they love. Were you also writing stuff?<\/p>\n

\n\tNot at all. No, because my goal was to be a K-pop idol, and K-pop idols didn\u2019t really write songs. So songwriting was really random for me, actually. I never thought I would ever be a songwriter. That was never in my list. My dreams were like, makeup artist, criminal lawyer and singer, that\u2019s it. Not songwriter.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2003, when you were 11, what happened in your life that really shook things up?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s when I got into SM Entertainment. Before that, I was auditioning a lot. SM was nice enough to accept me.<\/p>\n

\n\tWould you mind explaining, for people who don\u2019t know, what SM is? It was kind of the place, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. I would say that Korea had, at that time, three top record labels: SM, JYP and YG. And they would produce huge K-pop idols and artists. At that time, SM was on the top of their game. My favorite K-pop idols were at SM as well. BoA, Dong Bang Shin Gi, which is TVXQ, and H.O.T. were from SM, so that was always my dream place to go.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you signed with them, did that mean leaving your school and daily life, or was what you did with them on top of a normal kid\u2019s life?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, it depends on the person. I know a lot of the trainees were cast in the States, so they would have to come to Korea. I don\u2019t know if they went to school \u2014 some kids did, but they would have dorms for them. But for me, I lived in Korea as well, so it was convenient for me \u2014 I would just go after school. However, with SM, being a trainee is a job. So if there were showcases or anything important, I would have to skip school.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was sort of a star factory, a K-pop idol factory. How long would somebody be being developed there?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt really depends. Debuting within a year is really rare. For some people six months. But usually the average would be like three to five years.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd what would happen then?<\/p>\n

\n\tThey would either put you in a group or terminate the contract, it was quite black and white like that. What we would learn at these labels was a lot of rigorous training for dancing, singing, Chinese, acting. It\u2019s a whole program for everything, to essentially train you to become a worldwide superstar. They actually also checked our grades, because we\u2019re Asian. (Laughs.) They made sure we didn\u2019t fail class.<\/p>\n

\n\tBecause it\u2019s a big part of your story now, can you share how things with SM came to a head for you?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. So I got in when I was 11, and I learned a lot of things. I trained really hard. Around the time I went, it was a lot smaller. There were only like 20 to 30 people. Now they have like 80 people, it\u2019s quite big now. But back then I was training with Girls\u2019 Generation and Super Junior. We would have a whole schedule for the week, with dance class and all that, and usually it would end at around 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. I noticed a lot of those trainees would just go home, but I was like, \u201cYou have this whole facility, let\u2019s practice.\u201d And so I remember practicing a lot because I wanted to be the next BOL4 \u2014 essentially a Korean Beyonc\u00e9. I was first one there at 8:00 a.m. and then left at like 11:00 p.m., turning off all the lights. When I look back now, I\u2019m like, \u201cWow, that little girl really worked hard.\u201d I can\u2019t believe it even now \u2014 her work ethic at that time was just beyond even my work ethic now. But you would have to do showcases and after the showcases they would rank us. That was kind of our test, to see if we would go to the next stage of pre-debuting. And I would always fail at that, always be critiqued or rejected. As a kid, it\u2019s quite hard to hear, being critiqued. And I just always felt like no matter how hard I worked, things never really worked out for me. I stayed there for a long time. I felt very dejected.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat was the feedback that you were getting at the time?<\/p>\n

\n\tA lot about my singing, the way I sang. My singing was a little too \u201cold\u201d sounding or low. Or my dancing felt heavy. They would also talk about physical appearance and stuff. It\u2019s a business, so I understand, but it wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n

\n\tWas there actually, though, a moment where they were like, \u201cThis isn\u2019t going to work out with us,\u201d or was there just kind of a sense that it was time to focus on other things?<\/p>\n

\n\tI wanted to have a college degree. That was very important to me. So I applied to NYU. And I was supposed to actually debut at the time \u2014 a Japanese girl, a Chinese girl, and me were supposed to be this three-member girl group, like Huntrix, and be a ballad girl group, but it never happened. Then, after I graduated, I came back and trained a little more. And then they basically put me through the training again, and they had a final meeting, and I remember waiting for like a week to hear the result. And I still remember, I was at a cafe in Seoul, and basically the result was, just to be plain and simple, I wasn\u2019t a good enough singer, I wasn\u2019t a good enough dancer, I was way too old, and I was also too tall. And so the result was just, \u201cI don\u2019t think this makes sense, business-wise.\u201d And actually, right now, I completely understand, to be honest.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you feel at that time?<\/p>\n

\n\tI was really, really sad. There\u2019s these theories that when you are about to die, you have these memories that just flood you, right? That\u2019s how I felt at that moment. My dreams that I had, all the hard work that I did as a kid, from 11 \u2019til 22, just felt like a waste. I was in a cab, and it was raining that day, and just looking up, you know how raindrops on glass look like teardrops? Yeah, it was like a movie scene. I was very numb. And very plain and simple, just depressed.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow then find your way to doing something that you thought you were never going to do, which was songwriting?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was such a beautiful accident. During the time I was with SM, at the end of it all, I really got into the underground scene in New York and L.A., the SoundCloud scene. It was really big back then \u2014 like Soulection, Kaytranada, Mr. Carmack, S\u00e1ngo. Self-producing and home recordings were all really big back then, so I started studying that by myself, and me with my ex at the time were kind of into the production. So we would go to Dubstop, and I would teach myself how to produce. That\u2019s when my sound and SM also clashed. After that, I was just into making beats, to be honest. I did not know what the hell I was doing, but I just went with my gut, whatever made me feel better. And then, fast-forward to when I was like 24, this person cast me to start acting, maybe. She was like, \u201cIn order to be a singer, you should start focusing on singing OST [original soundtrack] songs for K-dramas.\u201d And I was like, \u201cOK.\u201d So I was singing a song that this producer wrote, and during break time he was like, \u201cWhat do you do? Do you write?\u201d And I was just like, \u201cI make beats.\u201d And he heard one of my beats and he was like, \u201cOh!\u201d Because at that time that SoundCloud sound was not in Korea. So it fascinated him and he was like, \u201cCome to our studio tomorrow.\u201d I came and I thought we were going to make beats together, but no. He was like, \u201cHey, here\u2019s a track, make a melody and write a song over it.\u201d And I was like, \u201cOK, let\u2019s try.\u201d He was like, \u201cOh, it\u2019s like a K-pop song.\u201d I had this love-hate relationship with K-pop at that time, right? So I was just trying to figure out what K-pop sounded like to me. He was like, \u201cWrite about anything.\u201d So I was like, \u201cOK, I\u2019m going to write about my breakup with my ex at that time.\u201d And then just wrote the song, and it was the first song I\u2019ve ever written, literally, other than class work. It was so cathartic. It was such a weird feeling. That night, the producer called me and was like, \u201cBy the way, your song\u2019s going to get cut for Hani from EXID.\u201d She was quite a big artist at that time, but I did not know what that meant. But then the song got through, and got picked for her single, and that\u2019s when I was like, \u201cYou can make money from writing about heartbreak? Cool!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWas there any kind of structured way of doing that? Like, when you want to be a singer, you go through SM. But when you want to be a songwriter, if this guy\u2019s not calling you up to come over and make beats, what happens?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat song got cut and released, and I met Andrew Choi \u2014 who\u2019s actually the singing voice of Jinu [in KPop Demon Hunters] \u2014 and he wrote a lot of SM songs. We had kind of a connection because of SM. I remember we talked for like five hours at a coffee shop just about SM and our songwriting, singing and careers. He had heard that song and was like, \u201cDo you want to write?\u201d That\u2019s when I was like 25, 26. And we just started writing. It was honestly just organic in how it happened. When he said that, I was like, \u201cYeah, I want to write. That\u2019s so cool.\u201d I was making beats. I never thought I\u2019d be able to write. But the fact that I was able to get a song cut, I was like, \u201cOh, maybe I have something.\u201d The imposter syndrome kind of went away. I was like, \u201cYou know what? If the singing\u2019s not going to work out, I like this.\u201d And I also realized then that everything happens for a reason. I don\u2019t think K-pop idol life would have fit with my personality. I mean, this might sound dark, but I don\u2019t know if I would be able to handle it, genuinely, if I went through that route. I\u2019ve lost friends from it, and I understand where they were coming from. So yeah, I think it, in a way, saved me \u2014\u00a0songwriting truly saved me in so many different ways. And that\u2019s how my career started. Andrew is the sweetest guy, and he was my mentor. He brought me into my first SM song camp when I was like 25, 26, and that\u2019s when I wrote \u201cPsycho\u201d for Red Velvet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tMany people don\u2019t realize how long a film can be in development \u2014 KPop Demon Hunters was seven years from pitch to screen. How early on did you first hear about it?<\/p>\n

\n\tI first heard about KPop Demon Hunters at the end of 2019. Daniel Rojas is a friend of mine, who actually was on the project before me, and he\u2019s the one who kind of brought it up to me. And I was very excited. It was like, hush-hush: \u201cThere\u2019s this project that\u2019s happening, and it\u2019s the first animated, big-budgeted film based in Korea.\u201d And that was just like, \u201cWhat?!\u201d And he was like, \u201cNothing official. I\u2019m not saying anything. I\u2019m just saying there is something. Maybe you can be a part of it, but who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd we should just underscore: you had never been involved with any film project before, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, no, no.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis one had two co-directors, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. When did you first hear from them? Because that made it real, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think what happened was in 2019 or 2020, \u201cPsycho\u201d came out, and that was a huge hit in Korea, and they were talking about bringing me in maybe, and then COVID happened, and that kind of shifted things. Towards the middle or end of 2020, they officially brought me in to the Zoom meetings, and basically asked me and Daniel to write some songs that they were envisioning for some scenes. And that was the intro song and the mantra [\u201cPrologue (Hunter\u2019s Mantra)\u201d].<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd that was being used almost as demos to pitch the movie, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, exactly. It wasn\u2019t like, \u201cYou\u2019re hired for the whole movie.\u201d It was just kind of like, \u201cLet\u2019s find some songwriters and producers who can maybe help translate this vision that we have into music form, while we pitch this film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTake me from that through the rest of your association with the movie.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter that, we got really good feedback. They loved it. And so they continued to work with me and Daniel for another year or two. They started pitching us, like, \u201cHow would the boy band sound for the \u201cSoda Pop\u201d scene, right? They asked us for that one, too. And, \u201cHow would the duet sound? Can you make a song for that?\u201d Or the finale song. We were kind of testing how things would sound in general. I would write these demos and while doing this, I was also starting my official K-pop songwriting career too, because of \u201cPsycho.\u201d So I was growing as a writer, while also writing for the film. I think that\u2019s kind of when they realized, \u201cOh wow, her demos are very [good].\u201d I put a lot of pride in my demos, because K-pop demos are very polished. You have to like, finish it. And then our amazing executive music producer, Ian Eisendrath, came into the picture, and then BLACKLABEL came in, and Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk and Lynn Grimm started coming in slowly, one by one. And Mark Sonnenblick came in also. They officially brought me in around that time.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you were brought in, was it also raised that you \u2014 the person who supposedly has issues with her singing voice, which we all know now is bullshit \u2014\u00a0might also provide the singing voice of Rumi in the movie?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was 2022.<\/p>\n

\n\tOK. And were you immediately sold on that idea?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo. I remember writing these songs in the very beginning and I was just having fun with, because they were all on Zoom sessions, and we were just joking and Daniel was like, \u201cHaha, wouldn\u2019t it be funny if you were Rumi?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cThat\u2019d be hilarious. Hope it never happens, because these songs are hard!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, that\u2019s right. You were writing really hard-to-sing songs.<\/p>\n

\n\tIntentionally, yeah. When they asked me, I was like, \u201cAre you sure?!\u201d Because I was, honestly, really insecure of my voice. Around that time, I did perfect vocal producing and had a great vocal chain that my fianc\u00e9 helped me make, but still, I was very insecure. When I would work with these songwriters they would be like, \u201cYou have an incredible voice,\u201d and I thought that was their way of being like, \u201cYou should sing the demo.\u201d Like, \u201cI don\u2019t have to.\u201d I thought about it and I was like, \u201cWell, it\u2019s an animated film. I\u2019m passionate about it. The first animated film based in Korea? Let\u2019s do it. I don\u2019t have to be onscreen.\u201d That was the thought. Also, it was very efficient, because as a songwriter I\u2019m singing all the demos, and these demos are very fleshed out, so I\u2019m confident I can sell the song, since I co-wrote them as well and the melodies. I wrote the melodies with some of the songs. I was just like, \u201cWhy not? I can just vocal direct myself, with Ian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the end of the day, you wrote all the Korean lyrics in the movie, except for \u201cSoda Pop.\u201d And you wrote or co-wrote five songs. Give us a quick reminder, if you would, of which those were.<\/p>\n

\n\tI co-wrote \u201cHow It\u2019s Done,\u201d \u201cYour Idol,\u201d and \u201cThe Hunter\u2019s Mantra,\u201d and I also was part of the arrangement and melody of the end of \u201cWhat It Sounds Like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd the last one that you wrote-<\/p>\n

\n\tWas \u201cGolden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy was that the last one?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was such an important song. It was what Ian would say is the \u201cI want\u201d song \u2014\u00a0like, in Frozen, \u201cLet It Go\u201d is the \u201cI want\u201d song. Because there was so much pressure with that, you really needed to get that right. Also, I think Ian told me that they were trying to figure out the story, as well. Honestly, these songs were written based on how the story was going. So if they weren\u2019t finished with that part, we were not writing about it. I think they figured out that part, and then it was interesting because we had so many different writers, and they would kind of audition for that scene, right? But the directors would say, \u201cHey, can you try it?\u201d \u201cOh, how about you try it?\u201d And hear different songs. I would actually sing the demos of songs I didn\u2019t write that were also for that scene. And Maggie and Chris were kind enough to give us [EJAE and Sonnenblick] the opportunity to write a song for that scene, and that\u2019s how \u201cGolden\u201d happened.<\/p>\n

\n\tIan Eisendrath, the executive music producer on the film, is the one that first thought that you and Mark Sonnenblick should work together. You and Mark come from pretty different backgrounds. Can you talk about what his background is, and why you think Ian felt you guys should collaborate?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere had to be pop songs that could stand alone, but also be part of the storyline. I come from a pop songwriting background, but I\u2019d never really written for a film. And having storyline is so important, and there\u2019s language and lyrics that help drive the story in a film, so I think that\u2019s where Mark came into the picture. He\u2019s in the theater, and he\u2019s very much an expert at that, so he came especially for lyrics. I come from pop-writing lyrics and he comes from theater-writing lyrics, so that was really difficult, trying to find this hybrid. But essentially it was perfect.<\/p>\n

\n\tWere you guys literally in the same place when you were writing together, or would you go back and forth?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was 2023, I\u2019m pretty sure, when he came in, and I remember meeting him on Zoom. Ian\u2019s like, \u201cHey, he\u2019s going to help with the lyric writing, to make sure that the songs within the story drive the story.\u201d We were talking and Mark was like, \u201cWhere do you live?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cNew York.\u201d He\u2019s like, \u201cI\u2019m in New York. Where?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m in Brooklyn.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m in Brooklyn.\u201d And then literally, \u201cYou want to meet right after our Zoom meeting?\u201d And I was like, \u201cWait, where do you live?\u201d And it was literally 15 minutes away. I was like, \u201cOK.\u201d Hung up, went right to his place, and we started writing immediately. We wrote the intro song together at that time, which is the \u201cHow It\u2019s Done\u201d scene.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith \u201cGolden,\u201d Chris and Maggie have said they gave you certain goalposts that you had to stay within and things you had to include. What were you told?<\/p>\n

\n\tMaggie and Chris and Ian would definitely give us a very long list of guidelines of what needed to be said, what each character had to express, what each of the characters were like, what was their \u201cI want\u201d? And also, \u201cMelodically, we want something like this. We want something catchy. We want something actually scaling up that we can use throughout the film, that kind of is a metaphor to Rumi reaching for a goal, reaching for a dream that feels so unreachable. And it has to be this impossible note that she will keep cracking throughout the film, and not able to reach, because she\u2019s singing a song that\u2019s not her real voice.\u201d And so that was all in the guidelines. And it had to be catchy. That was just kind of where we started. And Maggie was always like, \u201cDon\u2019t make it sound too musical,\u201d that was always her thing.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMusical,\u201d meaning like Broadway showtunes?<\/p>\n

\n\tLike Broadway showtunes. And I love musicals, by the way, but if you translate it into pop, it sometimes doesn\u2019t really work out. It can sound so on the nose sometimes, or too wordy. Whereas with pop music, it has to be catchy, so it has to be concise. And so I think that was always why Mark and I worked so well together \u2014 we would be each other\u2019s police for that. He would write a line and I\u2019d be like, \u201cMmm\u2026 I don\u2019t want to sing that.\u201d And then I would say something and he\u2019d be like, \u201cCool\u2026 but it has nothing to do with the story.\u201d So that was really important.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you remember the order in which the pieces came together with \u201cGolden\u201d?<\/p>\n

\n\tI was in Korea, I remember, and Ian sent the track from BLACKLABEL, Ido, 24 and Teddy. I was in the taxi on the way to the dentist, and \u2014\u00a0this rarely happens \u2014 I played the track on the way, and some tracks just inspire you really quickly and a melody comes out really fast, and that\u2019s what happened with \u201cGolden\u201d\u2018s track. It was a beautiful track, and I felt this bittersweetness in the chord progression and the sounds. The first melody I heard was, \u201cnah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah.\u201d Keeping in mind a guideline of upscale melody, and a high note, that was the first melody I thought of. And then I\u2019d just keep, like, freestyling things. And after that, I thought of, \u201cNah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah-nah, nah nah nah-nah-nah nah-nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah. Nah nah nah nah nah.\u201d That was the melody that I thought of at that time. And I was like, \u201cOh, this sounds great.\u201d I was so excited because I had a session that night with Mark \u2014 he was in New York and I was in Korea. But then I went to dentist, got my gold filling \u2014\u00a0that\u2019s a sign, guys \u2014 and then came back home and was so excited. The moment I got home, half of my face was numb, but I did not care. I put on my Ableton, and laid down the melody. And for me, when I lay something down, I have to lay everything down, meaning, if I think of a harmony, I put all the harmonies down too. Before our Zoom sessions, I organize it, like groups of different melodies. So I did melody idea one and melody idea two, so I could give Mark options to see which one he liked more, and then we would Frankenstein it together. That\u2019s how it started.<\/p>\n

\n\tI understand we might have a special opportunity tonight to actually hear a little bit about how this song came together?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. Would you guys like to hear that little thing I did in the cab? It\u2019s really funny. You can hear the taxi driver going like [grumbling]. It\u2019s so funny. Let me see. It\u2019s right here. [Plays humming audio]<\/p>\n

\n\tChris and Maggie have said that they were pretty demanding and exacting, in terms of asking for revisions and things. How many incarnations did \u201cGolden\u201d go through en route to becoming what we hear now?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think the general structure of what you hear \u2014 the verse, the pre and the chorus \u2014\u00a0were pretty set. It was more like the bridge where it was like, \u201cOh, wow, that took so long.\u201d That took months, trying to figure out, \u201cShould we have a bridge? How long is this bridge? Is it fitting the scene? Is this scene too long?\u201d There was a lot of just back and forth with that. So I think \u201cGolden\u201d had probably like eight to 10 versions.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are certain aspects of it that people now know and love, but maybe as it was coming together, were conversations. Like the fact that it has Korean lyrics in there \u2014\u00a0was that a conversation?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was always important, especially for Maggie and Sony and everyone \u2014 we had to have Korean in there. But it was also important that, because the main audience would be in the States \u2014 that\u2019s where it was debuting \u2014 you couldn\u2019t have all of it be in Korean, or they wouldn\u2019t understand the story. The songs are driving the story, so that was very important. So we were thinking strategically about where to put Korean.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd at the time you were writing \u201cGolden,\u201d had it already been determined that you were also going to sing it?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo you knew, then, that you were going to have to go really high \u2014 up, up, up?<\/p>\n

\n\tSo what happened was, I put that scratch vocal, and then I came home and laid it down. And I was like, \u201cOh my God, it\u2019s so high!\u201d And I tried so hard to change the, \u201cborn to be.\u201d And then Mark and I were just looking at each other like, \u201cOh, we have to do \u2018born to be’\u201d Because, as a songwriter, you just kind of know where you have to go. You have to go where the track tells you to go. And yeah, I was just like, \u201cOh, well, it\u2019s OK. It\u2019s an animated film. I won\u2019t have to sing it live.\u201d (Laughs.)<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, that brings up the next thing, which kind of blew my mind: When did you first meet the other ladies of Huntrix?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first time all three of us met was at the premiere. I had met them individually because I was also the songwriter, so I would come in to vocal direct sometimes. So, separately, in New York.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut you never sang the song together?!<\/p>\n

\n\tNot at all.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo how did that work?<\/p>\n

\n\tAudrey and Rei Ami? I\u2019m huge fans of their music, so I was like, \u201cWhy not?\u201d And when I saw them I was like, \u201cYes, this makes so much sense.\u201d And it was so hilarious because Audrey \u2014 I met her when she was, like, 14, when I was also a baby in songwriting, around the time I wrote \u201cPsycho,\u201d like right before it. Audrey actually knew Andrew too \u2014\u00a0Andrew\u2019s just like, the connector, and he brought her in and she was interested in songwriting. And she was like a little girl, so innocent with her white T-shirt and pink backpack, and she was like, \u201cHi!\u201d And then you\u2019re like, \u201cLet\u2019s write a gospel song.\u201d We literally wrote a gospel song together. I still have it. Someday I\u2019ll show it. But yeah, an incredible singer. And then fast-forward to when I met her at the studio, and she\u2019s like this cool girl, she grew up, she\u2019s tall, cool baggy jeans, so stylish, and she was just like, \u201cHey honey. It\u2019s so good to see you. What\u2019s up?\u201d It\u2019s so Mira! She\u2019s so cool, she looks intimidating, but she\u2019s so soft, and she\u2019s incredibly caring. But I was like, \u201cOh my God, this is Mira!\u201d And then, the next day or a couple of days later, I saw Rei Ami. Ian was just kind of watching her and Rei was just going off \u2014\u00a0I remember because Ian was vocal directing us, so he\u2019s usually talking, but he wasn\u2019t \u2014 he didn\u2019t need to because that girl was directing herself, and every time she would get something wrong, she\u2019s like, \u201cBitch, get it together! What are you doing? You sound like shit.\u201d Like, not even kidding. She screamed into the microphone, and then she came out and she was like, \u201cEJAE and me? Oh my God!\u201d So cute. And she\u2019s so small. I was like, \u201cOh my goodness, that\u2019s Zoe!\u201d It was so insane how everything just happened.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first time you sang \u201cGolden\u201d together live was on [The Tonight Show Starring] Jimmy Fallon?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. Insane.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you locked the song, having recorded it separately, what did you think you had? Did you have any appreciation or expectation of how big this could be? Or to you, could it just as easily have been one of the other four songs that you wrote that would pop?<\/p>\n

\n\tI knew it was \u201cGolden.\u201d Everyone had their own opinion, but for me and Mark? After we finished \u201cGolden,\u201d I remember Mark and I were just like, \u201cThis sounds like a smash.\u201d And I was so excited to show Maggie and Chris, because I knew they were looking for a song for so, so long. And I was like, \u201cGuys, be excited. But don\u2019t expect too much.\u201d But I was like, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty good.\u201d I loved \u201cGolden\u201d from the very beginning. It is literally my favorite song in the soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn June 20, 2025, the film dropped on Netflix and became, pretty quickly, the most watched original film in the history of the streaming service. But I want to know, for you, on that date, when it dropped in just about every country in the world, except for two or three, how quickly did did you realize that it was blowing up?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was honestly quite fast. It was crazy, because on June 1st I got engaged and we were like, \u201cOK, now let\u2019s just get through the premiere, and then we\u2019re going to do our thing. Get ready for the wedding, and move to LA, and focus on my songwriting career. And you do your career, babe.\u201d There were no expectations. Literally, when I met Rei Ami and Audrey in the premiere, and after the movie was done, we were like, \u201cI mean, bye. I hope I run into you sometime!\u201d We always joke about that. And I remember we were in the plane going back to New York on the 20th, and I think I felt it right when we landed. My fianc\u00e9 was like, \u201cBabe, this is like blowing up. It\u2019s all over Reddit. The comments are really good.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat?\u201d And I go on TikTok, and you know how in the film you see the \u201cSoda Pop\u201d dance going viral? It was literally happening in real life. I was like, \u201cWhat?\u201d These ajummas, these old maids, with their curly hair, were actually doing this! And kids! That was such a weird feeling, it broke the fourth wall. And that was just so cool. I think that\u2019s when I was like, \u201cOK, this is kind of different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd you can\u2019t argue with the actual numbers. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for eight weeks. Do you remember how you learned that it was number one?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think my manager told me, or Republic. I forget \u2014\u00a0I don\u2019t remember exactly because it was such an insane moment \u2014\u00a0but I remember when I heard that news waking up, I just started bawling. Cried so much, on the couch in my apartment in New York. And it was, for the first time, happy tears, because I was so used to like, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on in my life?!\u201d kind of tears. But I\u2019d never felt that.<\/p>\n

\n\tDid you send a screengrab of the news to SM?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo. (Laughs.) SM and I are chill. They congratulated me.<\/p>\n

\n\tThree of the other songs also cracked the top 10, making this the first film soundtrack ever to have four songs simultaneously in the top 10.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, it was crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd the soundtrack itself went to number one on the Billboard 200, which measures albums. If you could step outside of it for a minute, just as a songwriter and music expert, what do you think it is about this song that connects with people so much?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, I think the songs and the movie is truly a synergy, right? I think it\u2019s the timing. The story was a beautiful story, the film was incredible, and I think the lyrics are just something that the world kind of needs to hear right now. Before \u201cGolden\u201d and the soundtrack, if you looked at the Hot 100, it was all about love or drinking; you\u2019d rarely see songs about hope. So maybe it was something that people wanted to hear, especially right now. And it\u2019s also a film that\u2019s about a different culture. A friend of mine was talking to his friends, and he has kids, and he said, \u201cYou know what I realized about this film and the songs? Right now, the world is kind of on fire, and it gave light to a very dark time.\u201d And so I think that\u2019s kind of why people are grabbing onto it.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think that all makes a lot of sense and sounds correct. I also have another theory that I\u2019ve heard, which is: people like songs that are hard to sing.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s another one, I think, absolutely. As a songwriter, that was another thing. Again, I was looking at the Hot 100s before KPop Demon Hunters \u2014 because I\u2019m a songwriter, I would look at it all the time \u2014 and the songs on it would always be very easy songs, kind of in the same range. Rarely did you have a pop song, especially during that time, that was very melodic, and that had such a big range, become a hit. Maybe it\u2019s just coming back. In the past, like with Whitney Houston songs and all that, it was very melodic. Maybe that\u2019s kind of what it was, hearing something familiar and refreshing.<\/p>\n

\n\tTo that point, Netflix doesn\u2019t always put its films in theaters, but in the case of KPop Demon Hunters, it not only put it in theaters, but it put it in theaters months after the movie had already been on the streaming service, and it went to number one at the box office with the sing-along version!<\/p>\n

\n\tCrazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs we saw tonight when we played the sing-along version, people can\u2019t stop singing it. In only the best sense, for a lot of us, even if we wanted to, which I don\u2019t think we do, eI don\u2019t think we could get it out of our head. Is it just kind of on a loop in your head too?<\/p>\n

\n\tAlways. When I hear [the word] \u201cup\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cup, up, up, dah dah.\u201d Yeah, like all the time, like everyone. I mean, I hope it stays in your head!<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat was Halloween of 2025 like for you?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was so emotional for me. Growing up as a Korean-American in the States, Halloween costumes were always not Asian. They were, like, Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. You rarely see Asian princesses, really \u2014 I mean, there was Mulan, but not many \u2014 or superheroes. So seeing these girls who are not Asian, from all races, dressed up as Korean women, as Korean superheroes, in these cool outfits, with the sword and all? It was so emotional. I never thought I would be able to see that.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow about the Grammys? Never before had K-pop been as embraced by the Recording Academy as it was this year \u2014\u00a0and it was not just KPop Demon Hunters and Huntr\/x, it was multiple artists this year \u2014\u00a0but you guys had nominations in the four biggest categories, a first for Korean artists. And then you won best song written for visual media, the first Grammy ever for K-pop. How are you processing the Grammys? Have you processed it?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo. It\u2019s definitely going to take a while to process it all. Audrey would keep repeating, like, \u201cYou are the first K-pop song to be\u2026\u201d This award means so much because of representation \u2014 that\u2019s why I keep going and working hard, because I want more representation of my culture. You don\u2019t see many Korean-American women in the industry, especially in pop and in songwriting. It\u2019s really lonely. So when you see someone familiar that\u2019s getting that award, it helps with your imposter syndrome. I wanted that, too. So kids watching who have that dream to be a songwriter in this industry? \u201cIt\u2019s OK, you could do it too!\u201d That\u2019s why it means a lot that we were also on the NFL football. I had stage fright, but I still did it with the girls, and that meant a lot \u2014 I would get these DMs from other Korean-American women like, \u201cIt\u2019s so cool to see girls who look like me on such an American TV show!\u201d And even with Macy\u2019s, too.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhere are you keeping the Grammy these days?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt comes in a month.<\/p>\n

\n\tLike the Grammy, the Oscar statuette is golden, so \u201cGolden\u201d seems like an appropriate song to be featured on the Oscars telecast. Is that something you\u2019re excited about? We haven\u2019t seen Huntr\/x perform together live very often. So is some of that already in the works?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, nothing\u2019s official official yet. We\u2019re so honored to even be considered to be performing for the Oscars. Excuse me? Who can say that?! I\u2019m very nervous. I don\u2019t know what to say. I\u2019m so speechless for that. I just need to work hard to make sure my vocal cords are on point. It\u2019s a hard song, so I have to make sure these vocal cords are good. They\u2019re swollen right now.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat are the biggest things that you\u2019ve taken away from this whole journey with KPop Demon Hunters? The journey\u2019s still going on here, obviously. But I mean, it seems like you\u2019ve gotten a bit of a different or new perspective on things already. What\u2019s your head space at the moment?<\/p>\n

\n\tI truly believe \u2014\u00a0and this is such a corny line \u2014 \u201ceverything happens for a reason.\u201d Success is great and all, but I think you learn the most when you fail. I grew the most from failure, so I\u2019m not afraid of it anymore. I actually embrace it. Every decision I made in my life, whether it looked like it was bad at that moment, truly helped me get this skillset. If I didn\u2019t go to SM, I wouldn\u2019t have learned how to perform. If I didn\u2019t do production on SoundCloud, I wouldn\u2019t know how to work Ableton and know how to arrange songs in a producer\u2019s mindset. So even if you feel like you\u2019re failing right now, I think it\u2019s important to step aside, look behind you, and see how far you\u2019ve gone. People always forget about that. They\u2019re always looking on top like, \u201cI\u2019m not there yet.\u201d But it\u2019s so important to just take a moment, breathe, look behind, and be like, \u201cDamn. I came a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For EJAE, the Korean-American singer\/songwriter who is the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Awards Chatter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[3621,6971,99017,72583,55645,93,61,60,57437,3622,278,5596,541,143347],"class_list":{"0":"post-303697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-animation","9":"tag-awards","10":"tag-awards-chatter","11":"tag-awards-chatter-podcast","12":"tag-ejae","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-k-pop-news","17":"tag-kpop-demon-hunters","18":"tag-music","19":"tag-podcast","20":"tag-south-korea","21":"tag-thrs-original-podcasts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}