EJAE, the Singing Voice of Rumi: How a Korean-American Songwriter Helped Win an Oscar
Who is the real singer behind Rumi—and why does EJAE’s work matter beyond “Golden”?
⏱ 10 min read · Updated August 1, 2026 · EJAE and KPop Demon Hunters creator profile
Rumi comes to life through Arden Cho’s performance in KPop Demon Hunters, but the voice carrying her biggest songs belongs to EJAE. Born Kim Eun-jae in Seoul, the Korean-American singer-songwriter became Rumi’s singing voice after years spent training, writing demos, and building songs for major K-pop artists.
Her contribution reaches beyond the microphone. EJAE helped develop the film’s musical identity, co-wrote several soundtrack songs, and brought parts of her own experience with perfectionism and rejection into Rumi’s emotional world. “Golden” later won both a Grammy and the Academy Award for Best Original Song, with each award recognizing a credited songwriting team rather than EJAE alone.
Understanding those different roles—character actor, singing performer, songwriter, composer, lyricist, and producer—makes the HUNTR/X phenomenon more interesting. The fictional group sounds convincing because experienced real-world creators built the songs underneath it.
• EJAE, born Kim Eun-jae, is Rumi’s singing voice; Arden Cho performs Rumi’s spoken dialogue.
• EJAE joined the film’s music process early and helped shape HUNTR/X through demos, songwriting, and vocal performance.
• “Golden” won the 2026 Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media and the 2026 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
• Both awards belong to credited creative teams, although the exact displayed credit line differs by institution.
• EJAE’s earlier credits include songs for Red Velvet, aespa, LE SSERAFIM, TWICE, and NMIXX.
• Her Korean-American background and K-pop training experience helped connect Rumi’s fictional struggle with real industry pressure.
A focused guide to EJAE’s career, Rumi’s split voice performance, the creation and awards history of “Golden,” and the real K-pop craft behind HUNTR/X.
This Vanity Fair process video is the most relevant first media for a creator profile. EJAE and co-writer Mark Sonnenblick explain how the song developed from early ideas into the finished HUNTR/X anthem.
▲ Vanity Fair’s official breakdown of the “Golden” songwriting process. You can also watch it on YouTube.
🎤 Who Is EJAE?
EJAE is the professional name of Kim Eun-jae, a Seoul-born Korean-American recording artist and songwriter. She began idol training as a child and spent years inside the Korean entertainment system before moving toward songwriting and studying at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
By the time KPop Demon Hunters introduced her voice to a much larger audience, she already understood several sides of music production: trainee performance, demo recording, topline writing, lyrics, background vocals, and vocal direction. That experience allowed her to contribute to the film as a creator rather than simply arriving at the end to sing a finished song.
Professional name: EJAE
Birth name: Kim Eun-jae
Film connection: Rumi’s singing voice and a songwriter on several soundtrack songs
Industry background: K-pop trainee, songwriter, recording artist, demo singer, and vocal creative
🎬 Rumi’s Speaking Voice and Singing Voice
Calling EJAE “the voice of Rumi” is understandable shorthand, but it hides the production split. Arden Cho performs Rumi’s dialogue and character acting in the English-language version. EJAE performs the singing voice heard in Rumi’s musical scenes.
The same model applies across HUNTR/X. The speaking cast and the recording artists work together to create one animated character, with each performer responsible for a different part of the voice.
| Character | English speaking voice | Singing voice | Musical identity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rumi | Arden Cho | EJAE | Lead vocals carrying the film’s central emotional conflict. |
| Mira | May Hong | Audrey Nuna | A lower, sharper vocal color balancing the trio. |
| Zoey | Ji-young Yoo | REI AMI | Rap and vocal energy giving the group a contemporary pop edge. |
“EJAE is Rumi’s singing voice” is more precise than “EJAE plays every part of Rumi.” Arden Cho and EJAE contribute different performances to the same character.
🎵 How EJAE Helped Build “Golden”
EJAE joined the film’s music development years before its release. She recorded early demos, tested melodies and harmonies, and worked with the directors and other songwriters to find a sound that could function as convincing K-pop while advancing an animated story.
Netflix’s account of Rumi’s creation explains that the directors wanted the character to have a lower register than the other members. EJAE’s demo voice became such a strong fit that she ultimately remained as Rumi’s singer. Her job was therefore connected to both character design and music production.
“Golden” began with music supplied by THEBLACKLABEL collaborators and developed through EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick’s melodic and lyrical work. The final song had to establish HUNTR/X’s ambition, carry Rumi’s private struggle, fit the film’s plot, and still survive outside the movie as a pop record.
EJAE did not simply lend a finished song a powerful vocal. Her demos and songwriting helped determine what Rumi sounded like as a singer, which means the character and the music developed together.
🏆 The Grammy and Oscar Credits
“EJAE won an Oscar” is broadly true, but the credit is worth unpacking. Best Original Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media are songwriting awards. The recognized creators receive the award according to each institution’s eligibility and official credit listing.
| Award | Result | Official credited team |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Grammy Best Song Written for Visual Media |
Winner | EJAE, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Mark Sonnenblick. |
| 2026 Academy Award Music (Original Song) |
Winner | EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park. |
Award organizations apply their own eligibility and credit rules, so the Grammy and Academy lists differ slightly even for the same song.
Official award records: GRAMMY.com · The Academy
▲ “Golden” became an awards success through collaboration across melody, lyrics, production, recording, and film storytelling
📝 EJAE’s K-Pop Career Before Rumi
KPop Demon Hunters made EJAE visible to viewers who rarely read K-pop credits, but her industry record was already substantial. GRAMMY.com lists work connected to major girl-group releases including Red Velvet’s “Psycho,” aespa’s “Drama” and “Armageddon,” LE SSERAFIM’s “So Cynical (Badum),” TWICE’s “Last Waltz,” and NMIXX’s “O.O” and “DICE.”
| Artist | Representative EJAE-linked credit | Craft visible in HUNTR/X |
|---|---|---|
| Red Velvet | “Psycho” | Dramatic melody, emotional tension, and a memorable vocal peak. |
| aespa | “Drama,” “Armageddon” | High-concept pop designed for performance and visual storytelling. |
| LE SSERAFIM | “So Cynical (Badum)” | Concise hooks and attitude-driven group vocals. |
| TWICE | “Last Waltz” | Multi-member vocal arrangement and tonal contrast. |
| NMIXX | “O.O,” “DICE” | Large structural shifts and demanding vocal performance. |
Those credits do not mean HUNTR/X copies any one real group. They show that the fictional act was built by someone familiar with the practical questions behind K-pop songwriting: where a hook should arrive, how syllables sit on a melody, how three voices divide a line, and how a track supports choreography and visual narrative.
🌏 Why EJAE’s Personal Story Matters to Rumi
EJAE’s interviews describe a long period of idol training followed by the disappointment of not debuting. She eventually redirected that experience into songwriting. Rumi’s fear of being judged, her need to appear flawless, and her difficulty accepting part of herself therefore had an emotional vocabulary EJAE already understood.
This connection should not be flattened into “Rumi is secretly EJAE.” Rumi remains a fictional character created by the film’s writers and directors. EJAE’s lived experience gave the vocal performance and songwriting another source of emotional truth.
Her Korean-American identity also mattered to a project balancing Korean language, K-pop conventions, diaspora experience, and an English-language animated film. EJAE has discussed the importance of keeping Korean inside K-pop and creating music that can travel without stripping away its cultural origin.
Rumi feels culturally specific without becoming inaccessible because the performance sits between worlds: a Korean-born, Korean-American songwriter singing for a fictional idol inside a Hollywood animated film built around Korean myth and pop culture.
📚 Korean Words for the Creative Roles
Korean entertainment coverage uses different terms for the work hidden inside the broad English label “artist.” These words separate EJAE’s recorded performance from her songwriting and studio contributions.
| Korean | Reading | Meaning | Connection to EJAE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 목소리 | mok-so-ri | voice | Her recorded voice forms Rumi’s singing identity. |
| 가창 | ga-chang | vocal performance / singing | The singing role distinct from Rumi’s spoken acting. |
| 데모 가창 | demo ga-chang | demo vocal performance | An early recorded vocal used to test a song before the final version. |
| 작곡가 | jak-kkok-ga | composer / songwriter | A creator responsible for musical composition or melody. |
| 작사가 | jak-ssa-ga | lyricist | A writer responsible for the words sung in a song. |
| 보컬 디렉팅 | bo-keol di-rek-ting | vocal direction | Guiding tone, phrasing, harmony, and emotional delivery during recording. |
맡다 means to take charge of, be responsible for, or perform a particular role.
🇰🇷 EJAE는 루미의 가창을 맡았어요.
🔊 EJAE-neun Rumi-ui ga-chang-eul mat-ass-eo-yo.
💬 EJAE handled Rumi’s singing performance.
🇰🇷 Arden Cho는 루미의 목소리 연기를 맡았어요.
🔊 Arden Cho-neun Rumi-ui mok-so-ri yeon-gi-reul mat-ass-eo-yo.
💬 Arden Cho handled Rumi’s voice acting.
참여하다 means to participate or take part in a project.
🇰🇷 EJAE는 “Golden”의 작사와 작곡에 참여했어요.
🔊 EJAE-neun “Golden”-ui jak-sa-wa jak-kkok-e cham-yeo-haess-eo-yo.
💬 EJAE participated in writing the lyrics and music for “Golden.”
🧩 Quick Check
Try answering first, then open each card to check your understanding.
Q1. Who performs Rumi’s spoken dialogue, and who performs her songs?
01 Show answer
Arden Cho performs Rumi’s speaking voice in English, while EJAE performs Rumi’s singing voice.
Q2. Why is “EJAE won the Oscar alone” inaccurate?
02 Show answer
The Academy awarded “Golden” to a seven-person music-and-lyrics team. EJAE is an Oscar winner, but the award was collaborative.
Q3. What did EJAE bring to HUNTR/X before she became widely known as Rumi’s singer?
03 Show answer
She brought years of idol training, demo recording, songwriting, vocal direction, and credits for major K-pop artists.
EJAE gave Rumi a singing voice, helped write the music around her, and carried real K-pop experience into an award-winning fictional group.
🧭 Final Thoughts
EJAE’s achievement is larger than one difficult high note. Her work connects character performance, K-pop songwriting, bilingual creative judgment, and an industry career that existed long before audiences learned her name.
Her visibility also changed what many viewers noticed. The success of HUNTR/X encouraged fans to look past the animated character and read the credits behind the music—where demo vocals, songwriting teams, background harmonies, and vocal direction turn a fictional idol group into a believable recording act.
The next question is how that creative foundation will carry forward as the audience’s relationship with HUNTR/X grows. For the broader franchise picture, continue with KPop Demon Hunters One Year Later.
Did you first discover EJAE through Rumi, “Golden,” or one of the K-pop songs she wrote before the film?
❓ FAQ
Q1. Is EJAE the voice actor for Rumi?
EJAE is Rumi’s singing voice. Arden Cho performs Rumi’s spoken English dialogue and character acting.
Q2. Did EJAE win both a Grammy and an Oscar for “Golden”?
Yes. She was among the officially credited winners when “Golden” won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2026 Grammys and Best Original Song at the 2026 Academy Awards. Both were collaborative songwriting awards.
Q3. What is EJAE’s real name?
Netflix identifies her birth name as Kim Eun-jae. She works professionally under the stylized name EJAE.
Q4. Is EJAE a real member of HUNTR/X?
HUNTR/X is fictional. EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI are the real recording artists behind the group’s singing voices, while the animated characters have separate speaking performers.
👉 “Golden” Korean Lyrics Explained: What HUNTR/X Is Really Saying
👉 Who Are the Saja Boys? — The Lion Symbol and Korean Afterlife Mythology
👉 KPop Demon Hunters One Year Later — Sequel, World Tour, LEGO, and What Comes Next
👉 Korean Horror Vocabulary: Ghosts, Shamans, Curses, Grudges, and Death Warnings
👉 BLACKPINK “GO” Korean Slang Explained — 가자, ㄱㄱ, 달려, and 가보자고
• Netflix Tudum — Arden Cho and EJAE on Rumi’s Journey
• Netflix Tudum — Original Songs, Performers, and Soundtrack Credits
• Netflix Tudum — The Oral History of “Golden”
• The Academy — The 98th Academy Awards Winners
• GRAMMY.com — EJAE Awards and Nominations
• GRAMMY.com — EJAE’s Career and K-Pop Songwriting Credits
• Vanity Fair — EJAE on Her Past and “Golden”
• Vanity Fair — How EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick Created “Golden”
※ Checked as of August 1, 2026. Netflix’s official Rumi and soundtrack features, the Academy and Grammy award records, EJAE’s career profile, and the cited creator interviews were reviewed on this date; video availability, artist profiles, and franchise pages may be updated.
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