Lee Jae, the singer and songwriter of the OST ‘Golden’ from the Netflix animated film ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’, has returned to Korea.
On the morning of the 15th, at a press conference for the Netflix film ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ held at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall in Seoul, Lee Jae opened up by saying, “I can’t believe how I feel. My schedule is so busy that I don’t even have time to digest it. I’m just really happy and grateful.”
He continued, “Two months ago, I was just a composer, but suddenly receiving so much love and attention feels very unfamiliar and amazing. I’m trying to adapt.”
When asked why he participated in ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’, he said, “I wanted to show Korean culture. There are many animations in the U.S. that deal with China and Japan, but there were many kids who didn’t even know where Korea was when they were young. I was really angry about that, so I practiced Korean hard, and I’m just grateful and proud that good results came out.”
Lee Jae also mentioned, “It was important for ‘K-Demon’ to show Korean culture. The director and the studio insisted that we should include Korean lyrics. Since it’s almost the chorus, it was important to put it in the chorus. I felt proud. When I went to the U.S. sing-along screening, all the kids sang ‘Forever unbreakable~’, and it felt so good,” he smiled.
The high-pitched ‘Golden’ has led to a challenge craze. Lee Jae explained, “The director told me to include high notes. He asked for unrealistic high notes. Shouldn’t Lumi close her mouth? It was intentional because that longing had to be expressed. So I made it higher than my vocal range.”
Regarding why ‘Golden’ is loved, Lee Jae said, “These days, there aren’t many melody-centered songs. I also look at the Melon and Billboard charts, and there are many things happening globally. I think it was a song that had hopeful lyrics and was healing, something everyone needed.”
Lee Jae drew attention as the granddaughter of veteran actor Shin Young-kyun. She said about her grandfather, “I think I inherited my grandfather's talent. He is an actor, but singing is also like acting. You have to be 100% immersed for the listener to believe it. When I was young, my grandfather told me that singing is acting, so I should immerse myself in the lyrics. What I learned from my grandfather is that he worked really hard to get to where he is. I drew a lot of inspiration from that. Even now, my grandfather tells me, ‘You did well, keep working hard.’”
She also recalled her time as a trainee at SM Entertainment. Lee Jae said, “What was difficult back then was that I tried to hide my shortcomings. I remember being criticized a lot because my voice was a complex for me, being not feminine and low. Trends change, right? At that time, a clean voice was considered good. So I wanted to hide my husky voice.”
That’s why she resonated with the character Lumi, saying, “I really understand that feeling. The desire to achieve that dream, the desire to work hard, I could relate to that a lot.”
Lee Jae added, “Everything has a reason. I practiced a lot at a young age, and it’s not easy to get rejected. I was hurt when I was young. But to grow, you have to endure some pain. What’s important is how you overcome that. I didn’t think negatively about being rejected back then. I understand the reasons for SM, and there’s a time for everything. What’s important is growth. Even if you fall, it’s important to have the mindset that you can keep trying.”
She continued, “My mom tells me that words become seeds. If you say you can’t do it, you really can’t. You have to say you can to persuade yourself. I came with that mindset. Music saved my life. I have a dream of being a singer, but I also want to be a composer and an engineer, and I made beats every day. I lived in Yeonhui-dong and walked to Hongdae to make beats at a café until midnight, trying to express myself. That’s how I found myself. The most important thing is to give 100% even to small opportunities.”
‘Golden’ has been nominated in multiple categories, including ‘Record of the Year’ and ‘Song of the Year’ at the Grammy Awards, the highest honor in American popular music.
He expressed, “I really want to receive a Grammy. Not just in the OST category, but in other categories as well,” adding, “I intentionally made the song pop-like. I wanted to show that HuntRix is debuting in the real world.”
Lee Jae expressed a desire to collaborate with the group aespa and BTS, saying, “In K-pop, I want to work with aespa and compose a lot. I think it would fit well. BTS is also amazing. It’s an honor. They are so cool. Jungkook sings well, so I think it would be fun. There are so many others too.”
‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ is a story about a K-pop girl group, HuntRix, defeating a boy group made of evil spirits, Lion Boys, to protect the world with their songs. It has recorded the highest viewership in Netflix history, with a cumulative view count of 300 million. The OST ‘Golden’ sung by HuntRix also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a total of 8 non-consecutive weeks.
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
