Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters became the cultural phenomenon of summer 2025. Between its standout character design and catchy soundtrack, the animated film became a massive hit among all ages, topping Netflix’s charts, breaking records on the platform, and receiving a successful limited theatrical release.

Speaking with Screen Rant’s Ash Crossan, musician EJAE, who both lent her voice and her writing to the film, opened up about which song was the most difficult to get right. Per EJAE, “‘How It’s Done’ was hard” and had “so many different versions.” Because “How It’s Done” introduces the protagonists, “it’s such an important scene.” She continued:

It was the first impression of the movie, so it was going to be an iconic scene, and just to match up to that energy, it was [like,] “No pressure.” So much pressure.

EJAE explained that due to its importance, the songwriters “had lots of versions for that.” She then clarified that these were “different song versions, literally, and demos… seriously, 30? 40?” Additionally, the song went through several different titles.

“How It’s Done” opened the film, setting up the fictional K-pop girl group and demon-hunting trio Huntrix, made up of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, Though their speaking voices were provided by Arden Cho, Ji-young Yoo, and May Hong, their vocals were provided by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami. As noted, EJAE wrote several songs for the film, including “Golden,” “Your Idol,” and “The Hunter’s Mantra” in addition to “How It’s Done.”

Though “How It’s Done” was the hardest song for EJAE to get right, it’s not the song she has the strongest personal connection to. The songwriter singles out “Golden” as her favorite from the film, explaining that she “was going through a hard time when writing it” and was struggling with “feeling like [she wasn’t] enough” while in K-pop training.

“How It’s Done” had the difficult job of setting up the premise of the film, but “Golden” dove into what made the characters tick. EJAE revealed that her life at the time mirrored the characters’ lives and informed her writing: “The song was about striving to get that dream. I really wanted that dream so badly, so putting that in the lyrics and singing it… I did cry recording the demo, so that song just means a lot to me. I think it gives me a lot of hope.“

This amount of care put into the songs EJAE wrote seems to have paid off. Aside from the movie’s popularity, its soundtrack has seen enormous success, with “Golden” topping the Billboard Global 200. Moreover, the track is even in the conversation for a potential Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song alongside the film itself being up for Best Animated Feature, meaning that KPop Demon Hunters could cement itself as a part of cinema history in addition to a cultural phenomenon.