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EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — the three artists responsible for bringing viral song “Golden” to life in Netflix’s hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters — are taking PEOPLE behind the scenes of their success.
“It literally changed the world, and it also changed mine,” says Rei Ami of the movie, which smashed records when it premiered last summer.
“The day it came out, June 20th, I remember getting off a plane and my phone was just blowing up,” says EJAE. “And my fiancé loves Reddit, and his Reddit posts were all about KPop Demon Hunters. He was like ‘Babe, I think this is getting pretty viral right now.'”
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“I thought this was pretty niche,” admits Audrey Nuna. “I know that K-pop groups and K-pop has had such global support for a long time now… but I just didn’t think that it was going to become so mainstream the way that it has.”
And, when asked to describe the recording process for Kpop Demon Hunters, each of the three women had different answers.
“Challenging,” says Audrey Nuna.
“Weirdly invigorating,” added EJAE.
“And emotional,” says Rei.
Netflix
In the film, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami sing for the roles of Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), respectively.
“Golden” scored three nominations at this year’s Grammys: Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media, while the entire soundtrack for KPop Demon Hunters was nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media.
At Sunday’s awards, it won for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
After learning of their Grammy nominations in November, the HUNTR/X girl group told PEOPLE that they were ecstatic.
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“We all screamed,” Audrey Nuna said of how the trio, who was on zoom together for the news, reacted.
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For EJAE, who is one of the cowriters for “Golden” (alongside Mark Sonnenblick), the recognition speaks to a broader conversation around representation.
“I’m just so proud to be Korean because growing up in America, too, I felt ashamed being Korean at one point. I felt ostracized, and so I’m just happy to be a part of this incredible cultural phenomenon to be able to show off our country,” she previously told PEOPLE.
KPop Demon Hunters quickly became the most-watched animated movie on Netflix after its debut in June 2025. It’s also the platform’s most popular film of all time with over 236 million views and counting.
The film’s soundtrack made just as big a wave when it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart and No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200. It also became the first soundtrack with four simultaneous Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
KPop Demon Hunters is available now to stream on Netflix.
