Both “Golden” and “KPop Demon Hunters” have become a global phenomenon.
In a nutshell, “KPop Demon Hunters” dropped on Netflix in June, and it exploded. It’s the biggest movie ever to stream on the platform. Four songs from the film’s soundtrack sit on Billboard’s top 10, and the film landed the top spot at the domestic box office – a first for the streamer.
The film’s “I Want” song “Golden” sung by the fictional K-Pop girl band Huntr/X sits atop the Billboard Top 10 and is undeniably the song of the summer. Countless social media videos show parents playing the song on repeat for their children, and adults have no shame in sharing their sing-along moments for the world to see.
There’s no escaping “Golden.”
“KPop Demon Hunters” follows Huntr/X, the fictional K-pop girl group whose members double as demon hunters. When they’re not battling demons and saving the world, they’re lighting up the stage with catchy songs such as “Golden.” However, they face their toughest foe yet, the Saja Boys, a demon boy band who are out to steal Huntr/X’s fans and their souls. Through it all, Rumi, who is half-demon, has to face another demon, one of self-acceptance. Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo provide the speaking voices for Rumi, Mira and Zoey, respectively. EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna provide the respective singing voices.
EJAE, a K-pop singer, is used to hearing her voice on demo tracks; hearing her voice and the songs played everywhere is taking getting used to. “Hearing it at H Mart on the radio. It’s weird,” she says.
The film’s popularity “hasn’t fully set in” for Cho. At a recent screening, she had a waitlist for her young nieces AND nephews. She understands its mass appeal regardless of age. Cho says, “It allows any human or person to feel like they can relate. It’s like they feel seen.”
The song is written by: EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, IDO, 24, and TEDDY. IDO, 24, TEDDY, and Ian Eisendrath are the song’s producers.
In the movie, “Golden” sets up the idea of Rumi, Zoey and Mira working to protect the world from demons and seal the honmoon, a barrier separating demons from the real world.
The song blends both English and Korean seamlessly into its lyrics.
Speaking with Variety, EJAE said, “One of the biggest assets I brought to the movie, or when writing the songs, was being bilingual. It was important for our co-director, Maggie Kang, to have Korean in the lyrics, and I just love that it’s not just the verses; it was in the actual song too.”
She went on to say that cracking the actual song took a while. While they had a general idea of what the scene needed, the filmmakers gave a guideline: “It needed to have the word gold in it, and the feeling of what Rumi was going through.” It also needed to introduce the struggles of each member in the verses. She says, “It needed a pep talk and the idea that we can do this together.”
Thematically, it also needed to be empowering and follow the hero’s journey of feeling like an outsider.
In the song, Rumi’s vulnerabilities are revealed – “She’s incredibly hardworking and has that leadership. She puts her best foot forward, but she tries to hide her imperfections and flaws.”
EJAE admits the melody was one of the first things she came up with for the song. “That was the first thing that I came up with.” She confesses, “I actually wrote the melody on my way to the dentist.”
The idea of “gonna be Golden” lyrics came soon after. She took it to Sonnenblick and had mumbled those words to him on the rough takes. His reaction? “Oh my God!” EJAE says the inspiration continued, and they wrote it “super fast.”
EJAE didn’t just relate to Rumi’s struggles; she related to the words she wrote. As a former K-Pop trainee, that experience and pressure were something she tried to drop into the song’s bridge. Once she had that, she says the bridge too came together with ease. “Going through that experience helped a lot in writing and emoting the melody and lyrics.”