‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Stars on How Years of Hard Work and Rejection Led to Incredible Achievements
For one night only, EJAE, Rei Ami, Audrey Nuna, Ji-Young Yoo, Arden Cho and May Hong, better known as the singing and acting voices behind Huntr/X from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters,” were reunited for Variety’s Screening Series.
Rain didn’t stop an audience from packing the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. It was a historic evening for the women. Earlier in the day, the Variety Extra Edition magazine featured all six women in an exclusive interview. The issue marked the first time six Korean American women had been on the cover of the magazine in its 121 years of history.
EJAE, who co-wrote the award-winning song “Golden” with Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24 and Teddy Park, praised the film’s directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. “When they told me about the story, and it being the first animated film based in Korea, I was like, ‘Yes, any song you need.’ That was just so important for me as a Korean American woman and it is just such a historical thing to have.”
The animated film and its hit songs continue to break records aside from being Netflix’s most-watched title over a six-month period with 482 million views. “Golden” topped the Billboard’s Global Exl. U.S. chart for a record-breaking 20 weeks. The “KPop” team was nominated for two Oscars: animated feature and original song.
Jazz Tangcay, Variety’s senior artisans editor, moderated the conversation and broke the news that the song had gone 5x platinum.
Yoo talked about what it meant to get a script where Korean folklore was at the heart of a film’s narrative: “There are so many avenues of storytelling we have yet to explore, and this is just the beginning of it.” She went on to share how exciting it had been to hear from Kang, Appelhans and the animators discuss what went into developing the story, the music and the characters. “I heard from the music team that there were chords that people were resonating with for specific characters. And all of the attention to detail feeds into this larger thing of historical importance and the spiritual connectedness I feel with this movie.” She connected the film to “Sinners” and how it too uses “the power of music reaching through time and space, and the power of your ancestors to fight mythological creatures, I think is incredible, moving and striking.”
Cho, who is up for an Annie Award for voicing Rumi, talked about overcoming her previous struggles with acting and how this film had given her a new confidence. She told the audience that when “KPop Demon Hunters” came her way, she was feeling “exhausted.” “This movie hit number one on August 26th, exactly three years after my last show was canceled. And like Audrey said, so often we don’t feel like we can be the main character or that we can be the lead.”
Cho has been in the industry for over 20 years and admitted she never thought she could play Rumi, after she had previously auditioned for the part of Celine. “I probably would’ve been happy just to be a part of a movie like this because I love animation and I would’ve dreamed of a movie like this when I was a kid. But then to see where we’ve come, I mean, this is very meta, I feel like this movie is so beyond all of us and just to be able to be a part of it, I feel like I’ve sort of kind of gotten this surge of energy and hope and I’m a dreamer now.” She added the film had given her hope in the business again and reminded her of why she loved movies.
Nuna talked about her experience in the music industry and said, “We’ve all experienced what it’s like to feel like, ‘What is my place in this industry, in this world, in this project?’ I think we were programmed to really set ourselves up for the spaces that we can fit into. And I think that this movie just freaking obliterating the roof off of literally every record that you didn’t even know existed. All of a sudden we find ourselves, in some way, shape and form at the center of culture this year, in a way of representation and alongside so many other amazing projects.”
For Hong, who appeared in “Tales of the City” and made appearances on “Hacks” and “Broad City,” also found the success of the film dared her to dream. “This project has opened me up and cracked me open where daring to dream and daring to think about things that I could be a part of in the future,” she said. “If this can be this successful, there’s hope for all of us.”
Ami also shared how the film changed her: “Oftentimes when we tell ourselves to minimize and shrink ourselves, it’s out of shame. It’s in a way to hide and protect ourselves and not be seen for who we are. Because sometimes being seen for who you are is really scary. When we are vulnerable, it does kind of shed a light on ourselves. And it’s oftentimes the light that the world needs. It’s scary, but being that light, which I personally did not want, the responsibility of providing that light, but sometimes, you on accident, become that light and that source of inspiration and motivation for a lot of people, which makes you feel a lot less alone in this world.”
She went on to say how the film had helped her to embrace her human side, flaws and all. “But that’s what makes life so special and unique. And so you, and that’s what makes it your life, your story. So yeah, embrace it. Be proud of it.” She went on to quote Natasha Bedingfield’s song, “Unwritten.” “Your story’s not done…So stay writing. Don’t put the pen down.”
The six also talked about the recording process and shared how they hadn’t recorded any vocals together. EJAE, Ami and Nuna also shared what it was like to sing “Golden” and record that famous A5 note.
The conversation was filled with powerful and impactful moments, and it ended on an emotional note as EJAE shared how the success of everything had given her confidence to grow as a songwriter and as a Korean woman: “This film challenged me a lot in writing, singing, um, and just like really had to make me dig deep in my Korean side.”
She shared how creating work for this film was a healing journey. “I was dropped as a K-pop trainee as a kid and heard a lot of things about my singing voice, saying that it ‘was too low or kind of ugly.’ So while writing the songs, I was very ashamed of me being dropped as a K-pop trainee and this movie allowed me to embrace that side. It was actually a superpower that hurt that I had, and the pain that I went through kind of helped me write the songs.”
Writing “Golden” helped her accept her voice and challenged her to sing and to be more confident. “This movie saved me to be honest.” She ended by saying, “It is just so beautiful and I feel so accepted. So thank you to the fans so much.”
Watch the video above.
Rain didn’t stop an audience from packing the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. It was a historic evening for the women. Earlier in the day, the Variety Extra Edition magazine featured all six women in an exclusive interview. The issue marked the first time six Korean American women had been on the cover of the magazine in its 121 years of history.
EJAE, who co-wrote the award-winning song “Golden” with Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24 and Teddy Park, praised the film’s directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. “When they told me about the story, and it being the first animated film based in Korea, I was like, ‘Yes, any song you need.’ That was just so important for me as a Korean American woman and it is just such a historical thing to have.”
The animated film and its hit songs continue to break records aside from being Netflix’s most-watched title over a six-month period with 482 million views. “Golden” topped the Billboard’s Global Exl. U.S. chart for a record-breaking 20 weeks. The “KPop” team was nominated for two Oscars: animated feature and original song.
Jazz Tangcay, Variety’s senior artisans editor, moderated the conversation and broke the news that the song had gone 5x platinum.
Yoo talked about what it meant to get a script where Korean folklore was at the heart of a film’s narrative: “There are so many avenues of storytelling we have yet to explore, and this is just the beginning of it.” She went on to share how exciting it had been to hear from Kang, Appelhans and the animators discuss what went into developing the story, the music and the characters. “I heard from the music team that there were chords that people were resonating with for specific characters. And all of the attention to detail feeds into this larger thing of historical importance and the spiritual connectedness I feel with this movie.” She connected the film to “Sinners” and how it too uses “the power of music reaching through time and space, and the power of your ancestors to fight mythological creatures, I think is incredible, moving and striking.”
Cho, who is up for an Annie Award for voicing Rumi, talked about overcoming her previous struggles with acting and how this film had given her a new confidence. She told the audience that when “KPop Demon Hunters” came her way, she was feeling “exhausted.” “This movie hit number one on August 26th, exactly three years after my last show was canceled. And like Audrey said, so often we don’t feel like we can be the main character or that we can be the lead.”
Cho has been in the industry for over 20 years and admitted she never thought she could play Rumi, after she had previously auditioned for the part of Celine. “I probably would’ve been happy just to be a part of a movie like this because I love animation and I would’ve dreamed of a movie like this when I was a kid. But then to see where we’ve come, I mean, this is very meta, I feel like this movie is so beyond all of us and just to be able to be a part of it, I feel like I’ve sort of kind of gotten this surge of energy and hope and I’m a dreamer now.” She added the film had given her hope in the business again and reminded her of why she loved movies.
Nuna talked about her experience in the music industry and said, “We’ve all experienced what it’s like to feel like, ‘What is my place in this industry, in this world, in this project?’ I think we were programmed to really set ourselves up for the spaces that we can fit into. And I think that this movie just freaking obliterating the roof off of literally every record that you didn’t even know existed. All of a sudden we find ourselves, in some way, shape and form at the center of culture this year, in a way of representation and alongside so many other amazing projects.”
For Hong, who appeared in “Tales of the City” and made appearances on “Hacks” and “Broad City,” also found the success of the film dared her to dream. “This project has opened me up and cracked me open where daring to dream and daring to think about things that I could be a part of in the future,” she said. “If this can be this successful, there’s hope for all of us.”
Ami also shared how the film changed her: “Oftentimes when we tell ourselves to minimize and shrink ourselves, it’s out of shame. It’s in a way to hide and protect ourselves and not be seen for who we are. Because sometimes being seen for who you are is really scary. When we are vulnerable, it does kind of shed a light on ourselves. And it’s oftentimes the light that the world needs. It’s scary, but being that light, which I personally did not want, the responsibility of providing that light, but sometimes, you on accident, become that light and that source of inspiration and motivation for a lot of people, which makes you feel a lot less alone in this world.”
She went on to say how the film had helped her to embrace her human side, flaws and all. “But that’s what makes life so special and unique. And so you, and that’s what makes it your life, your story. So yeah, embrace it. Be proud of it.” She went on to quote Natasha Bedingfield’s song, “Unwritten.” “Your story’s not done…So stay writing. Don’t put the pen down.”
The six also talked about the recording process and shared how they hadn’t recorded any vocals together. EJAE, Ami and Nuna also shared what it was like to sing “Golden” and record that famous A5 note.
The conversation was filled with powerful and impactful moments, and it ended on an emotional note as EJAE shared how the success of everything had given her confidence to grow as a songwriter and as a Korean woman: “This film challenged me a lot in writing, singing, um, and just like really had to make me dig deep in my Korean side.”
She shared how creating work for this film was a healing journey. “I was dropped as a K-pop trainee as a kid and heard a lot of things about my singing voice, saying that it ‘was too low or kind of ugly.’ So while writing the songs, I was very ashamed of me being dropped as a K-pop trainee and this movie allowed me to embrace that side. It was actually a superpower that hurt that I had, and the pain that I went through kind of helped me write the songs.”
Writing “Golden” helped her accept her voice and challenged her to sing and to be more confident. “This movie saved me to be honest.” She ended by saying, “It is just so beautiful and I feel so accepted. So thank you to the fans so much.”
Watch the video above.