34-year-old spent a decade chasing a K-pop debut—now she's a Golden Globe winner for 'Kpop Demon Hunters': 'Rejection is redirection'

A decade ago, Korean-American singer-songwriter Kim Eun-jae — professionally known as Ejae — thought her K-pop career was over.

On Sunday night, her song “Golden” from the Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters” won Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards. The song — which is also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards — was No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list for eight weeks from mid-August to mid-October.

“When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fill one dream — to become a K-pop idol — and I was rejected,” said Ejae, 34, while accepting the Golden Globe with her co-writer and producers. “Now I’m here, as a singer and a songwriter.”

“I can confidently say, rejection is redirection, so never give up,” added Ejae, who also provided the singing voice for the character Rumi in the movie. She quoted “Golden” in her speech: “It’s never to late to shine like you were born to be.”

Ejae’s “redirection” involved chasing a new dream: After failing to land a record deal as a performer, she pursued professional songwriting.