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EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami relate to their characters
EJAE is looking back on what could have been a golden moment.
Though the singer-songwriter and her collaborators made history at the 2026 Oscars with their Best Original Song win for Kpop Demon Hunters’ “Golden,” their speech was abruptly cut off. As for what she would have said to close out the historic moment, she admitted she had a few special people they hoped to acknowledge.
“I didn’t get to because they just cut us off but I wanted to thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna,” EJAE told reporters of her Kpop Demon Hunters bandmates after the win at the March 15 event. “They killed it with their singing and they’re just incredible people and I love them so much.”
After the track’s historic win as the first-ever Kpop song to win in the category, EJAE, 34, took the stage alongside five of her collaborators. (Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park all shared in the honor).
EJAE began the speech by thanking those who made it possible for her to achieve the award, before one of her cowriters approached the microphone with a piece of paper in hand.
"I would like to thank," Yu Han began, before the orchestra started up, putting an end to the "Golden" team's time onstage.
Though their acceptance speech didn’t go as planned, EJAE emphasized that their gratitude hasn’t wavered toward the Academy.
Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
“We feel very grateful and honored to be up here,” she explained. “This is crazy. We all worked so hard. It was such a collaborative effort. We need to thank our incredible directors; they created a beautiful film. It truly was a collaboration to create this song.”
As she added, “Everyone was a part of it [and] we’re just so happy that the hard work paid off.”
But the milestone win wasn’t the only honor that EJAE, Rei, and Audrey—who provide the singing voices for the Netflix movie’s HUNTR/X girl group—experienced at the Conan O’Brien-hosted ceremony. In fact, beyond sharing in Kpop Demon Hunters’ win for Best Animated Feature, the trio also had a chance to perform the Oscar-winning tune during the event.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
“I was very nervous but it was such an honor to be performing on such an incredible stage like the Oscars,” EJAE explained. “It was not on my bucket list because I didn’t think it was possible.”
“As a Korean American growing up in the states we kind of wanted to hide our Korean side, our food our culture,” she added. “So just having a connection like that and in rehearsal we were able to connect with that and really go back to our roots and we’re so proud of that.”
For a look at the full list of winners at the 2026 Oscars, read on…
--Reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
WINNER: One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Actress in a Leading Role
WINNER: Jessie Buckley - Hamnet
Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value
Emma Stone - Bugonia
Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet - Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon
WINNER: Michael B. Jordan - Sinners
Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent
Actress in a Supporting Role
Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
WINNER: Amy Madigan - Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku- Sinners
Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another
Actor in a Supporting Role
Benecio Del Toro - One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo - Sinners
WINNER: Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value
Director
Chloé Zhao - Hamnet
Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme
WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler - Sinners
Original Screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just An Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
WINNER: Sinners
Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
WINNER: Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Original Song
"Dear Me" from Diane Warren: Relentless
WINNER: "Golden" from KPop Deamon Hunters
"I Lied to You" from Sinners
"Sweet Dreams of Joy" from Viva Verdii
"Train Dreams" from Train Dreams
International Feature Film
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
WINNER: Sentimental Value
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Live Action Short Film
Butcher's Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen's Period Drama
WINNER (Tie): The Singers
WINNER (Tie): Two People Exchanging Saliva
Documentary Short Film
WINNER: All the Empty Rooms
Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: "Were and Are Gone"
The Devil Is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness
Original Score
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
WINNER: Sinners
Visual Effects
WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
WINNER: Sinners
Train Dreams
Film Editing
F1
Marty Supreme
WINNER: One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Production Design
WINNER: Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
WINNER: One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Documentary Feature Film
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
WINNER: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor
Casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
WINNER: One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Animated Short Film
Butterfly
Forevergreen
WINNER: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters
Makeup & Hairstyling
WINNER: Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Animated Feature Film
Arco
Elio
WINNER: Kpop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Sound
WINNER: F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirat
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