Inspiring story of 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' rising star EJAE; reveals how she landed lead role in director Maggie Kang's blockbuster
The world of
K-pop
and animation just got a lot more interesting! The smash hit animated series "
K-pop Demon Hunters
" has been breaking records, and now we've discovered something absolutely mind-blowing about its star performer.
The series follows three K-pop superstars - Lumi, Mira, and Joy - who secretly battle demons when they're not busy being global sensations. It's like if your favorite girl group also happened to be supernatural warriors (which, let's be honest, explains a lot about how they manage those crazy schedules). Since its release last month, it's been sitting pretty at number one on streaming platforms worldwide.
Voice That Conquered the Billboard
Here's where it gets really exciting for all you music lovers out there. The main theme song "Golden" by the fictional group
Huntrix
has climbed all the way to number 6 on the US
Billboard Hot 100
chart. That's not just impressive - that's absolutely insane for an animated series soundtrack!
But here's the kicker - the person behind this chart-topping magic is EJAE, a composer-singer who not only performed the track but also wrote it. The path to this success wasn't exactly smooth sailing though.
EJAE
spent nearly a decade as a trainee at SM Entertainment, one of Korea's biggest agencies, but unfortunately never made it to debut. Instead of giving up (which honestly, many of us would have), she pivoted and headed to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to study music industry and psychology. Talk about turning a setback into a comeback!
Family Legacy Meets Modern Success
Now here's where this story gets absolutely fascinating. Turns out, EJAE (whose real name is Kim Eun-jae) is the granddaughter of legendary Korean actor
Shin Young-kyun
. He starred in classics like "
Red Muffler
" and "Hate Once Again," films that defined an entire generation of Korean moviegoers.
But wait, it gets even more impressive. This isn't just any regular celebrity grandfather - Shin Young-kyun is known for his incredible philanthropy. We're talking about someone who donated around ₹400 crores (500 billion won) worth of theaters and cultural facilities to the film industry, plus another ₹80 crores (100 billion won) in land to Seoul National University.
Back in 2011, when EJAE was just 19 and studying in New York, she appeared on a Korean morning show with her grandfather. Even then, Shin Young-kyun was incredibly supportive, saying his granddaughter had real talent for music and would definitely make it big someday. Thirteen years later, his prediction has come true in the most spectacular way possible!
The Magic Behind the Music
What makes this story even more beautiful is how EJAE's journey mirrors so many of our own experiences. She started as a trainee with big dreams, faced rejection, adapted by getting proper education abroad, and slowly built her reputation by working with major K-pop acts like
Red Velvet
, aespa, TWICE, and NewJeans. It's like watching someone methodically build their empire, one song at a time.
The really cool part? She originally joined "K-pop Demon Hunters" just as a composer, but director Maggie Kang was so blown away by her demo vocals that she immediately cast her as the voice of main character Lumi. Sometimes the universe just has perfect timing, doesn't it?
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