Singer-songwriter EJAE admitted that she became emotional after her song "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters landed the No. 1 spot on Billboard.
"Hitting No. 1 is absolutely crazy. I cried all day, literally, and the first thing I thought about was me as a kid. I’m just so happy I made little 11-year-old EJAE’s dream come true," she said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
EJAE remarked that having the song she wrote resonate with many people was a special part of the experience.
"That's the part that is so validating. Writing songs is very personal. It can feel like you're showing people your diary or even melodically or anything. It feels really, really gratifying to have people really connect with something I co-wrote. That song, the melody came out so fast, so it's so cool seeing people sing it and hearing my voice on the radio is so odd," she stated.
The singer remarked that his cross-cultural background and her experience as a K-Pop trainee were helpful in shaping the songs she wrote for the film.
"I think the fact that I'm Korean-American, being bilingual, was truly helpful. I did write all the Korean lyrics in the movie except for 'Soda Pop.' That was really helpful. When I was writing the '[Hunter’s] Mantra,' knowing the old school Korean kind of speak and being able to weave in Korean and English there seamlessly," she said.
She went on: "I grew up half in the States, half in Korea, so having that knowledge was super key in finding a sound that can work in both ways and also lyrically. I think that was important. Also, me training as a K-Pop idol for over a decade was very, very helpful. Just being a K-pop writer myself, I definitely incorporated that knowledge. Interestingly, K-pop is really, really maximalist, so it translated very naturally into cinematic songs and sound. I think those were the two very helpful things I think I brought," she stated.