LOS ANGELES: From K-pop trainee to songwriter and now a leading singer in “KPop Demon Hunters,” South Korean artist EJAE poured everything she knew about popular Korean music into the Netflix project.
The animated film that has become a cultural phenomenon includes the chart-topping hit “Golden,” which EJAE performs.
“I just love how ‘Golden’ is a very hopeful song, so not just America, but globally, everyone’s resonating with it,” the singer told Reuters.
“It feels like we’re all like connecting together,” she added.
The 33-year-old was signed by South Korea’s SM Entertainment when she was in her teens as a trainee, learning singing, dancing and performing in anticipation of launching a career as a K-pop artist.
Instead of singing, she initially became a songwriter and producer who worked with popular groups such as Aespa, Twice, Red Velvet, Nmixx and others to capture the authentic sound of the genre.
“KPop Demon Hunters” debuted on the streaming platform on June 20, quickly garnering global praise from critics and audiences.
The story follows a trio of demon hunters that perform K-pop music to both impress fans and combat demons.
A sing-along version of “KPop Demon Hunters” topped the domestic box office over the weekend, in what appears to be a historic first for streaming giant Netflix.
The movie brought in an estimated $18 million from U.S. and Canada box offices, according to IMDb’s Box Office Mojo, surpassing the $15.6 million for horror movie “Weapons.”
“KPop Demon Hunters” centers on Rumi, the lead singer of the group, with musical vocals provided by EJAE and a speaking voice from Arden Cho.
Rumi struggles with her identity and fears that her two best friends, Mira, voiced by May Hong, and Zoey, voiced by Ji-young Yoo, won’t accept her for who she really is.
The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation.
While the fictional K-pop girl group called HUNTR/X has achieved enormous real-life success, Cho has been surprised by some of the audience reactions to the movie’s music.
“Someone was saying that HUNTR/X voices were A.I. (artificial intelligence) because it’s so good,” Cho said.
“It’s so good that they were like, ‘Oh, those singers must be AI. ’‘No, we’re real. We’re here,’ she added.
The movie’s soundtrack has dominated the charts this summer, boasting over 3 billion global streams to date, with breakout hit “Golden” hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Netflix reports.
The action-packed movie is also the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025 so far with songs “How It’s Done”, “What It Sounds Like” and “Free” also ranking with “Golden” in the top 10 most streamed songs for the week ending on August 14, according to Luminate.
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To create “Golden,” which is getting Grammy Award buzz, EJAE had to hit some high notes.
“Whenever Rumi sings, you know, they (the directors) really wanted her to belt, show off her vocals because that’s her role, right?” EJAE said.
“So, yes, I put as many high notes as possible. And like, I honestly found my range while singing ‘Golden,’” she added.
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