You might be humming along to the catchy tunes from the K-pop-infused world of 'Demon Hunter,' and if 'Golden' has particularly resonated with you, you're likely wondering who's behind that heartfelt vocal. Well, that would be EJAE, a Korean-American songwriter and vocalist who lent her voice to Rumi, one of the film's main characters.
It's fascinating how the music for 'Demon Hunter' was crafted. Instead of bringing in traditional film musical writers, the team tapped into the vibrant energy of the K-pop world. Executive music producer Ian Eisendrath, known for his work on Broadway and film musicals, explained that it was about bringing pop hitmakers into a film context, a bit of a reversal from the usual. This approach allowed the songs, like the fizzy 'Soda Pop' or the empowering 'Takedown,' to stand on their own as compelling pop tracks, even as they served the narrative.
EJAE's contribution to 'Golden' is particularly poignant. She also sang on 'How It's Done' and 'Your Idol,' but 'Golden' is where she poured in a decade of her own experience as a former K-pop trainee. She shared that the song is about what she wished she could have heard during those intense training years. The K-pop industry, as she knows all too well, is incredibly competitive, and the pressure to be perfect can be immense. EJAE channeled that feeling of internal struggle, the heartbreak of not aligning perfectly and potentially being overlooked, directly into the lyrics and her performance of 'Golden.' It’s a raw, honest reflection of the journey, something many can relate to, whether they're K-pop trainees or not.
Songwriting for this project was a collaborative effort, with EJAE bouncing ideas back and forth with Mark Sonnenblick, a composer with a background in narrative songwriting. Unlike the rapid-fire pace of typical K-pop songwriting camps, this process was much more deliberate, with some songs taking years to perfect. Stephen Kirk, who has worked on massive BTS hits like 'Butter' and 'Permission to Dance,' mentioned that there were many more revisions than usual for a human artist. For instance, the soaring ballad 'Free' came together relatively smoothly, but the emotional core of the finale, 'What It Sounds Like,' underwent a staggering 147 revisions before it was just right.
Interestingly, an early reference point for some of the tracks was Lorde's 'Green Light.' However, the studio wasn't keen on a draft that leaned too heavily in that direction. The key, it seems, was building upon the established K-pop sound. As Eisendrath put it, leveraging existing K-pop bangers helped everyone, even across language barriers, get on the same page and understand the desired musical direction for 'Demon Hunter.' It was about creating their own version, infused with that unmistakable K-pop energy and polish.
