Netflixâs animated feature K-Pop Demon Hunters (Korean fans call it âKedehunâ) needed a theme that felt like a victory chant you could carry out of the theater. Enter EJAEâcomposer, singer, and former SM traineeâwhose OST track âGoldenâ turned a fantasy hero story into a sing-along for the rest of us.
1) A Morning in Yongsan, A New Name on the Marquee
Flashes pop at CGV Yongsan. EJAE smiles the kind of smile that comes after a sprint: grateful, a little stunned, but game for the next lap. Not long ago heâd simply introduce himself as a composer. Today, the crowd introduces him to itself.
2) How âGoldenâ Works (And Why It Sticks)
The filmâs premiseâidol stars by day, demon hunters by nightâcouldâve felt like cosplay without a musical anchor. âGoldenâ gives it gravity. Gleaming synths, a chorus built for group vocals, and a lyric that shifts from âIâ to âweââitâs a design for collective adrenaline. You donât just watch the heroes win; you hum the win home.
3) Two Months, One Lift-Off
The timeline is almost comical: write, record, releaseâthen boom. As the song travels, so does EJAE. Interviews stack, schedules blur, and in between he keeps repeating the same word: âThanks.â Itâs the sound of somebody trying to hold onto the floor while the room becomes an elevator.
4) The Route Back to K-Scene
EJAEâs route is very K-pop: SM trainee â songwriter â OST frontman. The bigger story is the ecosystem: IP-driven projects like K-Pop Demon Hunters have become fast elevators for musicians too. Ask EJAE about next collabs and he shoots straight: aespa, BTS, and moreânot as name-drops, but as future coworkers.
5) The Why: âI Wanted to Show Korean Cultureâ
His answer to âwhy this project?â is disarmingly simple: to show Korean cultureâclearly, proudly, and to kids who might not have a frame for it yet. The result proves a point: when music crosses borders, identity beats spectacle.
6) Sound Notes: Quick Listening Guide to âGoldenâ
The ignition point: A slightly tangled pre-chorus snaps open into a repeat-ready hook on the word âGolden.â
Layered synths: Vintage-meets-modern textures sketch the filmâs neon palette in sound.
Vocal staging: Verse 1 is an inner monologue; Verse 2 is a rallyâthen everybodyâs singing.
7) Epilogue: The Bridge Built by an OST
An animated film built the bridge; a one-word hook carried the crowd across. EJAE walked back into the K-scene not as a returning trainee, but as a starter pistol. If âGoldenâ is Chapter One, the sequelâs already humming.
TL;DR
EJAE wrote and performed âGolden,â the main OST of K-Pop Demon Hunters, and rocketed from behind-the-scenes composer to on-poster artist.
Former SM trainee, now fielding global attention and openly eyeing big-league collabs (aespa, BTS, and more).
Why it works: a chorus designed for group lift-off and a clear cultural throughline.