A decade ago, Korean-American singer-songwriter Kim Eun-jae — professionally known as Ejae — thought her K-pop career was over.
On Sunday night, her song “Golden” from the Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters” won Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards. The song — which is also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards — was No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list for eight weeks from mid-August to mid-October.
“When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fill one dream — to become a K-pop idol — and I was rejected,” said Ejae, 34, while accepting the Golden Globe with her co-writer and producers. “Now I’m here, as a singer and a songwriter.”
“I can confidently say, rejection is redirection, so never give up,” added Ejae, who also provided the singing voice for the character Rumi in the movie. She quoted “Golden” in her speech: “It’s never to late to shine like you were born to be.”
Ejae’s “redirection” involved chasing a new dream: After failing to land a record deal as a performer, she pursued professional songwriting.
DON’T MISS: How to build custom GPTs and use AI agents
The switch came after roughly a decade of chasing her previous goal. She’d signed with SM Entertainment Group, a Korean media company that trains K-pop stars, at age 11 in 2003, she told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in an interview that aired Sept. 3.
Ejae put “blood, sweat and tears” into her music career, training before and after school and on summer breaks, she said on a Dec. 18 episode of the “Behind the Wall podcast.” She was ultimately never picked to debut as an individual or group performer, a step that leads some aspiring K-pop performers to publicly perform and release music, she said.
Her contract with SM Entertainment ended in 2015 when she was in her early 20s, leaving her “drenched in this whirlwind of self-doubt, impostor syndrome,” she told “Good Morning America.” “I felt like I let down 11-year-old me.”
While training with SM Entertainment, she was told she didn’t have a strong enough singing voice to debut as a individual or group singer, she said on a Nov. 14 podcast episode of the “Zach Sang Show.” After leaving SM Entertainment, she refocused on trying to build a career a professional songwriter, and taught herself how to produce songs, she told “Good Morning America.”
She eventually was mentored by Andrew Choi — a South Korean singer, composer and producer who also sang in “KPop Demon Hunters” — who brought her back to SM Entertainment Group to attend songwriting camps, she said.
Ejae went on to write songs for popular K-pop groups, including Red Velvet’s “Psycho” and Aespa’s “Drama.” Many of her songs had negative themes, and the inspiration for “Golden” came from advice her mother gave her about speaking positivity into existence, she she said on “Behind the Wall.”
“My mom has always told me, ‘What you say out loud is very important … Whatever you say out loud will become a story,'” Ejae said. “‘Golden’ was kind of a moment I was able to try and write something that’s hopeful.”
Perhaps ironically, refocusing away from pursuing a record deal eventually put her on a path to co-writing and performing one of the biggest K-pop songs of 2025.
“I honestly got to my singing level [that I’m at] now because of songwriting,” Ejae told the “Zach Sang Show.”
Want to get ahead at work with AI? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, Beyond the Basics: How to Use AI to Supercharge Your Work. Learn advanced AI skills like building custom GPTs and using AI agents to boost your productivity today. Use coupon code EARLYBIRD for 25% off. Offer valid from Jan. 5 to Jan. 19, 2026. Terms apply.