THE YEAR IN BIG BREAKS: EJAE TOPS THE CHARTS

KIDS EVERYWHERE KNOW HER VOICE—IF NOT HER NAME. HOW DID A FORMER K-POP TRAINEE WORK HER WAY INTO GLOBAL SUPERSTARDOM?

- BY MANISHA KRISHNAN

THE NIGHT BEFORE our interview, the 33-year-old singer-songwriter found out that record sales from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack had surged past a million units. Jimmy Fallon, of all people, delivered the news alongside a glimmering framed record when she was appearing on The Tonight Show with Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami for the first full live performance of “Golden.” Together the trio make up the singing voices of girl group Huntr/x in Netflix’s animated musical turned bona fide phenomenon. If you have a kid, you probably don't need a refresher, but the movie follows Huntr/x’s Rumi, Mira, and Zoey as they juggle being astronomically famous while moonlighting as demon hunters. Their singing voices double as their weapons, shielding their fans from the soul-sucking minions of underworld ruler Gwi-Ma.

That Fallon appearance, and the Saturday Night Live appearance that predated it, might have been the first times that American audiences actually saw (and heard) the human being behind that inescapable song. The adventure fantasy—the directorial debut of Korean-Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang, who codirected it with Chris Appelhans—is Netflix’s most popular film of all time, with over 400 million views. When Netflix released a singalong version in theaters, it brought in nearly $20 million, dominating the box office. The soundtrack is one of the highest charting of the year, with more than 7 billion streams. “Golden,” which EJAE partially came up with on a cab ride to the dentist, was number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for eight weeks (as of this writing, it’s only bested by Taylor Swift but remains in the top 10). The promotional tour for the film, which debuted in June, seems to have never ended.