The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was awash in gold on March 15, 2026, as the 98th Academy Awards delivered a night of firsts, fanfare, and a bit of controversy. The centerpiece of the evening? The electrifying victory of "Golden," the anthemic track from Netflix’s animated phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters, which not only clinched the Oscar for Best Original Song but also shattered several longstanding records in the process.
Before the golden statuette even landed in the hands of its creators, the crowd was already on its feet. EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami—the singing voices behind the film’s fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X—lit up the Oscars stage with a performance that felt less like a typical awards show number and more like a stadium-filling K-pop concert. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the spectacle began with the film’s "Hunter’s Mantra," performed by dancers in traditional Korean hanbok, before the trio emerged in striking white ensembles. Gold flags fluttered, dancers spun, and the audience waved light sticks—a staple at K-pop shows—creating a sea of color and energy that swept through the crowd. "It was a truly larger-than-life way to bring 'Golden' to the Oscars," reported Billboard.
For EJAE, the moment was surreal. She admitted to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the show, "We’re so honored to even be considered to be performing for the Oscars. Excuse me? Who can say that?! I’m very nervous. I don’t know what to say. I’m so speechless for that. I just need to work hard to make sure my vocal cords are on point. It’s a hard song, so I have to make sure these vocal cords are good. They’re swollen right now." Her nerves, however, melted away as the performance unfolded, captivating viewers both in the theater and on social media, where clips of the performance spread like wildfire.
Moments later, as anticipation reached its peak, "Golden" was announced as the winner for Best Original Song—making history as the first K-pop song to ever win an Oscar. The song, which had already claimed the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media and swept the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes, now stood atop the entertainment world’s most coveted podium. The win was more than just a personal triumph for the songwriters; it was a watershed moment for Korean representation in global pop culture. As EJAE reflected at the Grammys, "[I’m] so, so proud to be Korean. Growing up, people didn’t know where Korea was or what Korea was, and that’s why it’s so incredible to have the song ‘Golden’ being sung all over the world, singing the Korean lyrics word by word. It means so much and I think this award is about that representation. Today is about celebrating culture and music that unites all culture, and we need that right now. It’s a great honor to have."
But the night’s triumph was not without its hiccups. As EJAE began her acceptance speech, she emphasized the song’s message of resilience: "Thank you so much to the Academy for this insane award. Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud. And I realized, the song, this award is not about success; it’s about resilience." She thanked her family, her manager, and the film’s creative team, but as her collaborator Yu-Han Lee (Yuhan) stepped up to add his own words of gratitude, the orchestra abruptly played them off, cutting to commercial. The crowd responded with audible boos, a signal of disapproval for the ceremony’s strict timekeeping—especially when international artists are given little space to speak in their second language, as noted by Variety.
Backstage, the team made up for lost time. Yu Han Lee thanked "our families, and 24, my fellow IDO members, and Teddy Park," calling the honor "incredible." Mark Sonnenblick, the only American-born co-writer among the seven, praised the collaborative spirit that defined both the song and the film: "Everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board. It’s a movie where a part of the movie is about looking at someone that you’ve been taught to hate and to fear, and starting to trust, maybe even love them, that’s part of what the movie is about. It’s not, ‘I’m going up, up, up.’ It’s, ‘We’re going up, up, and up.’ That’s part of why we’re on stage right now, everything, this whole room is a deep collaboration."
"Golden"’s win was historic for more reasons than one. With seven credited writers—EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu-Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park—it became the first Oscar-winning song in the category’s history with more than four writers. Due to Academy rules, only one statuette will be shared among the group, a stipulation that required all writers to sign a group award agreement prior to the ceremony, as outlined in the official Oscar rulebook.
Perhaps even more impressive, six of the seven writers are the first South Koreans to win in this category, marking a new chapter for Korean artists on the global stage. The song also set a record as the longest-running No. 1 hit to win Best Original Song in over two decades, spending eight or more weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100—a feat matched only by Debby Boone’s "You Light Up My Life" and Eminem’s "Lose Yourself."
The film that spawned "Golden," KPop Demon Hunters, was itself a juggernaut, taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film that same night. The Netflix and Sony Animation production, which follows the adventures of Huntrix—a K-pop girl group who moonlight as monster-fighting heroes—has become Netflix’s most popular title ever. Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo provided the speaking voices for the animated trio, while EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna handled the vocals. The film’s cultural resonance and global appeal have already sparked talks of a sequel, with Netflix and Sony Animation striking a new multi-year deal with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. While no release date has been announced, anticipation is high.
This year’s Oscars, hosted for the second consecutive year by Conan O’Brien and broadcast live on ABC and Hulu, also marked a shift in how original song nominees were showcased. Only two songs—"Golden" and "I Lied to You" from Sinners—were performed live, while the remaining nominees were introduced via custom-produced segments, a change from previous years when all nominated songs were performed onstage.
For EJAE and her collaborators, the journey from being teased for loving K-pop to standing atop the world’s biggest stage was more than a personal vindication—it was a testament to the unifying power of music. As EJAE told The Hollywood Reporter, "The story was a beautiful story, the film was incredible, and I think the lyrics are just something that the world kind of needs to hear right now. Before ‘Golden’ and the soundtrack, if you looked at the Hot 100, [the songs topping the charts were] all about love or drinking; you’d rarely see songs about hope. So maybe it was something that people wanted to hear, especially right now. And it’s also a film that’s about a different culture...right now, the world is kind of on fire, and it gave light to a very dark time."
As the lights dimmed on the Dolby Theatre and the echoes of "Golden" faded, it was clear that this was more than just another awards show victory. It was a moment of cultural connection, resilience, and hope—a song, a film, and a team that brought the world a little closer together, one note at a time.