Huge moment for Brooklyn and K-pop stans everywhere — Kim Eun-jae, aka EJAE, just won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Golden” from the animated feature K-Pop Demon Hunters. EJAE, a Prospect Heights resident, posted the perfect humble-flex on Instagram: “From my bedroom in Brooklyn to performing at the Oscars to end this beautiful journey with an Oscar in our hands… Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel.”
“Golden” was co-written by EJAE with Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park. The track’s run of awards is wild — it also won at the Golden Globes, the Grammys and the Critics’ Choice Awards — and it spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first K-pop song to top that chart.
EJAE also co-wrote several other songs on the film’s acclaimed soundtrack, including “Your Idol,” “This is What it Sounds Like,” “Takedown,” and “How It’s Done.” She’s performed “Golden” live with Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami on major stages like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, and at the Academy Awards themselves.
One line from her Oscar speech that hit home for a lot of us: “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop. But now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud.” That pride feels well-earned — the movie also won Best Animated Feature Film and Netflix says it’s the most-watched movie in the service’s history.
- EJAE’s real name is Kim Eun-jae and she lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
- “Golden” was the first K-pop song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for eight weeks.
- The K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack has been a major part of the film’s cultural impact; EJAE co-wrote several tracks featured in the movie.
- The film won Best Animated Feature and became Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time.
As a fan, I’m just so proud to see Korean-language music and K-pop creators getting this mainstream recognition — and to have one of our own from Brooklyn standing on that stage. Congratulations, EJAE! We stan a legendary moment.
Source: The Brooklyn Home Reporter