Last week, EJAE was posing on the carpet for the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. The week before, after surviving bouts of bronchitis, then COVID, then a cold, she’d performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in New York, alongside Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. In between her bicoastal appearances, she flew to Korea and said on a radio show that she’s been so busy that she’s only had time to sleep for three to four hours a night. All because she’s one of three singing voices behind the fictional girl group Huntr/x, the protagonists of Netflix’s most watched film of all time, KPop Demon Hunters — as well as a main songwriter for the soundtrack that has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 twice.
By the time we spoke, the 33-year-old Brooklyn-based artist, born Eunjae Kim in Seoul, was back at home in Prospect Heights, fresh off 15 hours of sleep. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” she said. “I’m fine for now, but I feel just … numb.” The mania is far from over. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is currently only behind Taylor Swift on the “Billboard” albums chart, and the film is expected to vie for nominations at both the Grammys and the Oscars. As of Wednesday, EJAE is officially signed to talent agency WME, and the singing voices of Huntr/x are booked for their first live concert appearance.
Her stardom feels sudden, but it’s the result of a process decades in the making. In 2003, at age 11, EJAE began training to be a K-pop idol at juggernaut label SM Entertainment. After a dozen years in the business and zero debuts as a solo idol or group, SM dropped her in 2015. She pivoted to music production — she graduated from New York University, where she studied music and psychology — and ended up finding herself back at SM in 2017 for a songwriting camp where she wrote the melody for Red Velvet’s hit song “Psycho” in 30 minutes. She went on to write, vocal direct, and contribute background vocals for several other K-pop groups. Her success as a behind-the-scenes artist garnered the attention of the KPop Demon Hunters producers, who, after listening to her demos, asked her to not only write for the movie but provide the vocals for its star. When she was a K-pop trainee, her voice was considered too dark and not feminine enough, but as Rumi, she hits a jaw-dropping A5 note that’s helped “Golden” top charts in more than 25 countries.
The success has rightfully motivated EJAE to rethink her decision to operate primarily in the background of other K-pop artists’ careers. This week, she released her first single, a piano-heavy ballad titled “In Another World,” relieving fans who will no longer have to turn to old K-pop demos or clips of her covering Whitney Houston as a teenager in order to hear her isolated singing voice. As she waits to hear more about a KPDH sequel and potential performances as Huntr/x at the Grammys or Oscars, she says she’ll be focused on continuing to write for herself and others. “My life has literally flipped 180,” she says. “There’s a lot of people who have reached out.”
You’ve said that as a solo artist, you want to explore a lot of different genres, including R&B, rap, jazz, rock. What made you decide to kick this era off with a ballad?
I think beyond the genre, it was more about the message. This song is about a time when my fiancé and I had a break. For me, it was about acknowledging that we have baggage, that I have jealousy and insecurity issues that caused a lot of resentment. So maybe in another world where that was gone, we would have been perfect. That weirdly gave me relief.
How long have you two been together?
Eight years. He was a producer — he still is, technically, but now he’s switched to coding. But he was basically my songwriting buddy, and we met during a session in 2017. We truly grew up together.
You previously wrote “Psycho” about fighting with him while you were long-distance. He’s kind of your muse. What was his reaction to hearing this song?
He truly is. Gosh, there’s another song about him that’s a love song. I should release that. I will! But when you’re in pain, you’re more vulnerable. Maybe that’s why I write songs during that time. When he heard “In Another World” and saw the video, he cried with me. He knows it’s not about us being bad people and that it’s not just about our relationship. The song evolved into applying to my relationship with myself. Because when I was a kid, I could have gone to a different world of me being a singer. But the path I’d taken at the time was not to that dream.
What helped me was thinking, It’s not that I’m not talented or I’m a bad singer. In this lifetime, I have a lot of insecurities that interfered with me debuting or choosing to be an artist. In another lifetime, I would probably go a different route — and that’s beautiful. The idea that there are different lifetimes that I am living or will live or can live takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.
And acceptance is part of the movie, too. I’ve noticed that a lot of people resonated not only with the movie and my singing, but with my story. And this song is a great summary of that.
You’ve said repeatedly on the KPDH press tour that everything happens for a reason. I imagine you didn’t feel like that when you got dropped as a K-pop trainee after more than a decade of training. How long did it take to reach that mind-set?
It was in my 30s, when my frontal lobe was fully developed. Girl, if my fame came in my 20s, I don’t know who I would be right now. In my 20s, I had time to be a person and have relationships and learn and kill my ego. It was truly an ego-death period. Because of that and also my experience in the K-pop world on the other side, I was able to see fame in a different way. Now that it has somewhat come to me, I feel like I know how to deal with it. It might look shiny, but it’s sharp as hell, you know? You’ve gotta be careful with it.
Your grandfather is the veteran actor Shin Young-kyun. Has he given you any advice about how to handle this exposure?
Well, veteran means he’s really old. He gives very caveman advice. He keeps saying, “Just work hard.”
You’re definitely doing that.
Yeah, I’m like, “Grandpa, I’ve been!” But he’s right. I do need to keep working hard.
What’s a song that pushed you out of your comfort zone the most as a songwriter?
“Drama” by aespa? “Drama” and “Armageddon” have a similar energy of being very rap-focused. I really had to put myself out there and focus on what my rap sounds like. Oftentimes when I’m writing, especially when it’s not coming naturally to me, I listen to other rap artists that I love and sing their songs over and over again. Then I go into my toplining with that tone. That’s how I felt with those songs. I listened to a lot of Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock.
You’ve said that you often think about choreography when you’re writing songs. Do you think you’ll be dancing in your solo career moving forward?
I can’t say no, but … hell no. I don’t want to be dancing. Girl, I want to get pregnant! I need babies, not dancing! Do you know how hard it is to dance and sing? Mm-mm, let’s take it one step at a time. I’m freaking singing this crazy vocal gymnastics of a song called “Golden,” and I have to write for the movie, and I have to write as a songwriter and also as an artist. So like, dancing will be when I – if I feel it.
What was the closest that you got to debuting as a K-pop idol?
I was in the lineup for a ballad group when I was 18. It was a trio, which is ironic, because Huntr/x is one. But I decided to continue with my studies, and I think that was a smart choice. I wanted to have a kind of normal life. We all know that idol life is not a normal life. And not only that, but I knew that idol life isn’t long. It’s very temporary. So I was thinking about EJAE in the future. After idol life, what do I want to do? I want a job. I want to be a music therapist. So that’s why I got a degree.
Have you reconnected with any of the idols you trained with after KPop Demon Hunters?
A couple of them reached out. Girls’ Generation people … I won’t say who, but yes. You know, naturally in life we go separate ways, but I think this kind of brought it full circle.
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What was it like for you to watch the people you trained with debut?
I just naturally have FOMO in my blood; I get sad when I’m not at a party. Seeing them debut made me want to work harder, and I also felt really happy for them. I was like, “Damn! Taemin, wow, your singing got real good.” “Wow, Minho’s dancing got real good.”
Fans see parallels between you and Rumi — not just in your life story and experience in the K-pop industry, but also with your personality and even your appearance. You’ve said that you and her are 85 percent similar. In what ways are you different?
I think Rumi is more similar to me in the past. I’m quite expressive. When I go through a hard time, I let people know. I lean on people. I used to not, so that’s why I was able to relate to Rumi. Maybe toward the end of the film she got there, but I think that’s where we differ. And I wouldn’t fall for a demon.
People really want you, Rei, and Audrey to perform together again, whether it’s the Grammys or the Oscars or even a Huntr/x concert. Have you started planning for that?
We’ll definitely be performing together. For a tour and all that stuff, we don’t know. That’s not up to us. But I want to perform with these ladies more.
Is there anything the three of you want to try in your next performance that’s different from what you did on Fallon?
Maybe different versions of “Golden”? Because we did an a capella version, and it sounded really good. And we definitely want to do “How It’s Done.” They love that song, although it’s also really hard.
I thought the Fallon performance was great.
Thank you. We tried, girl. The difference between performing live and recording is so … it’s literally a different muscle. I wish people were a little more soft about that. I don’t like performing. I have the worst stage fright. I’m trying to get better.
The film has been so many people’s introduction to K-pop, which has changed so much since the first-gen groups you grew up listening to. What do you think of the current state of the K-pop industry?
I want to see more K-pop idols writing themselves or being in the room with songwriters. One thing I love about K-pop is that it mixes so many different genres, whether deliberately or not. I think keeping that has always been great. And I would love to hear more vocal tones. I think the reason why Huntr/x was different is because Rei and Audrey don’t really have what you’re used to hearing for K- pop singers’ vocals, and same with me.
Rei Ami, EJAE, and Audrey Nuna performing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Photo: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Would you ever put out a K-pop song for yourself?
I don’t really see myself as K-pop or pop. If I release a song and there’s some Korean in it too, then absolutely. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself in a specific view. If I can express my feeling better in Korean, hell yeah, I’ll do that. As a bilingual person, there are certain words that I could only express in Korean that I can’t express in English.
You recently said that you think it’s important for K-pop songs to have Korean lyrics. Have you seen the online response to that?
I think a lot of people have been feeling that K-pop is going very West — which I don’t think is a bad thing. They’re trying to globalize K-pop, so you can’t just speak Korean. There’s more English so it’s more digestible. But I think the balance of the fusion is very important. What’s so interesting is that people are like, “Oh, EJAE said that, but ‘Golden’ has barely any Korean in it.” First of all, that’s not up to me. Second of all, the movie is meant for the States, so it has to have English because it’s about the story line. If I used Korean on the parts of the song that are really important to the story line, then the story line would not move.
Have you started writing any songs for a potential KPop Demon Hunters sequel? I know nothing’s been confirmed yet, but you did work on demos for the first film before there was even a script.
Well, that was because they had the idea and we needed to have it greenlit. So that’s why it started so early. Right now, everyone’s so busy with press and everything. I don’t have time. We all don’t. The process just takes a long time. I want to know too, to be honest. I genuinely don’t know.
Looking ahead, what is the ideal balance for you between writing songs for more films or other artists or yourself?
My priority forever will be songwriting. I never have the intention of, “Okay, today’s sessions are going to be about me.” My artistry has never been about myself. I kind of wish that EJAE is just another platform for my songs to be delivered. The songs I write all have the potential to be for myself or for someone else. It’s just a different messenger.
“In Another World” was a song that my beautiful co-writers helped me write. I want it to be very clear that it’s not about me; it’s about the message. I’m not perfect, but the songs have every intention of wanting to be. Because every lyric and every melody was very intentional from all our collaborators. So let’s idolize the song, not me, you know what I mean?
How much of an uptick in songwriting or collab offers have you had since KPop Demon Hunters?
My life has literally flipped 180. There’s a lot of people who have reached out, and heroes that I love that I’m so excited to collaborate with.
So there’s already stuff in the works?
The thing is it’s hard right now because I’m trying to balance everything. I’m the singer for Huntr/x and also a songwriter for that, and also a songwriter in general, and also an artist. And I have my personal life. [Pause.] Do I? I don’t know where that went.
Oh, yeah … your wedding!
Exactly. “Oh, yeah …” it’s like the secondary thing.
Are there any artists or songwriters you would like to manifest a collab with?
There’s a lot. It’s just hard to pinpoint who, because I feel like there’s like … [puts on dramatic voice] “EJAE wants to collab with … !”
I did see when JTBC News asked you to record that video message for Jung Kook. You looked shy.
I just feel bad. I don’t want to pressure anybody. If you’re going to write about this, can you please write that EJAE said, “No pressure, truly”? I genuinely respect him as a singer. And it’s not about just being a really good singer, it’s about delivering the lines. Even though English isn’t his first language, he killed it with “Seven” and everything. I look up to him.
Dua Lipa is definitely another one. I would love to write for her. Lady Gaga, would love to write for her. Dean, Ariana Grande … and obviously with Blackpink. I love Rosie and I love writing with her. Again, no pressure!
After topping the Billboard Hot 100, you’ve said that your next goal was to win a Grammy. “Golden” has been submitted for consideration in multiple categories. Is there a category that would be most meaningful for you to win?
I would love to — and this is just a wish — get an award as a songwriter. That would mean a lot because I know that it’s bigger than me. As an Asian American woman, I really, really want to shed light and show that it’s possible, because I feel imposter syndrome even now. There are so many songwriters, but none that really look like me. I don’t really see many Asian American women in the industry. So I want to help that grow and be a mentor to some of them.
Do you remember the last time you got to write with another Asian American woman in the room?
No, girl. It’s so rare. Once? A year or two ago — that’s it.
Some people are placing Oscar bets and saying that they think “Golden” is a front-runner. How does that make you feel?
It feels so far. I don’t know, I don’t want to jinx it. I just feel honored to even be considered.
Have you thought about what your next achievement would be?
Getting an EGOT! I’m kidding.
I mean, hey, you could for songwriting. Or do you want to act?
No, definitely not. For now, I just really want to get better at writing. I mean, I don’t want to say “no” to anything, because you never know.
