Ejae, the singer behind the KPop Demon Hunters hit song Golden, has revealed the demanding training regime she endured for 11 years at record label SM Entertainment in South Korea. The 34-year-old described being taught how to pout, pose for photo shoots and answer questions in interviews, as well as being banned from junk food, soda and chewing gum.
Golden, which Ejae performed with Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, soared to the top of the charts worldwide after featuring in the hit Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters. But she began training as a teenager, long before achieving global fame.
11 years of training at SM Entertainment
Ejae told The Sunday Times Style Magazine: "They taught you how to be a pop star... Every month they would take you to do a photoshoot so you could learn how to pose. We did a ton of languages. We learnt Chinese because they knew China would be a huge global audience."
She said trainees could not chew gum because it would make their jaws bigger, and were taught to smile in front of a mirror with a ChapStick balanced between the upper lip and nose, because it makes the muscles grow and improves face shape. Ear piercings were banned too, along with sodas and greasy food, so trainees stayed "unbloated and fit."
"I wouldn't say it was healthy. Let's just be real. It's very ambitious for a teenager," Ejae said. She admitted she "worked her a*s off" and said that while training was difficult, she learned a lot.
From trainee to Oscar winner
SM Entertainment dropped Ejae when she was 23. She began meeting with producers and wrote the song Hello, which was picked up by South Korean singer Hani. In 2019, her song Psycho was recorded by Red Velvet and topped the Billboard world digital song chart. Months later, she was invited to write music for KPop Demon Hunters.
Golden went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song. A sequel to the film is currently in the works.
Emotional Oscar speech cut off
Ejae accepted the award alongside co-writers Ido, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy and 24. In tears, she said: "Growing up, people made fun of me for liking KPop, but now everyone is singing our song and all the Korean lyrics and I'm so proud."
After thanking people in her personal life and those involved with the film, she asked, "Is there anyone else?" Lee stepped up to the microphone and began thanking someone, but the play-off music drowned out his voice before the audience could hear who.
Backlash over the cut-off
The moment prompted anger on social media. One viewer wrote: "Alright f*** the Oscars for cutting off Best Original Song for Golden. Absolute disrespect and disgraceful to the creatives behind the biggest song of the year." Another said: "It's so messed that they didn't let them finish," while a third wrote: "Did them so dirty!" and a fourth called the cut-off "ridiculous."
Other viewers wrote: "DAMN! They played off KPop Demon Hunters crazy," and "That was rough and so unnecessary. Zero chill." One raged: "EJAE makin history as first K-pop Oscar win and they cut her off with the music mid-emotion?? Academy wild for that disrespect." Another argued: "Cutting off a historic moment like this is pure disrespect. The Academy needs to do better. EJAE deserved her moment." A further comment read: "When someone makes history, the least you can do is let them finish their speech. That moment belongs to them, not the countdown music."
The dark side of K-pop
K-pop is one of South Korea's most lucrative soft power exports, drawing a huge international following of young fans. In some extreme cases, stars train for up to ten years before making their debut, and bullying, abuse and exploitation are said to be commonplace, with daily weigh-ins, pressure to undergo plastic surgery and contracts that control every move.
The industry's darker side drew attention after the suicides of two popular female stars less than two months apart in 2019. Sulli, whose given name was Choi Jin-ri, took her own life in October 2019, and her friend and fellow star Koo Hara died by suicide a month later. Both had been targeted by severe bullying on social media.
K-pop artist Amber Liu, a former bandmate of Sulli, told CBS in January that the industry expects perfection in looks, performance and discipline. "If you aren't under a certain weight, you can definitely get cut," Liu said. "You're told what to do, what to say, what to think." She said she has seen firsthand the toll the industry and cyberbullying take on stars, adding: "When (people) hear you're getting help they're like, 'What? Why are you getting help? That's weird'.. That stigma against mental health is just so strong."
K-pop idols typically retire around age 30. The industry runs on "fandoms," organised groups of fans who spend heavily to push their favourite stars up the charts, while drug use, drunk driving or public gaffes can damage a star's career for years. Many stars are followed constantly by paparazzi and fans who share images of their daily lives online.
