EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick Discuss the Songs Behind KPop Demon Hunters

The continued glowing reception of Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation‘s KPop Demon Hunters has been nothing short of meteoric. From landing record-breaking streaming numbers on Netflix to dominating the Billboard charts, the journey ahead to award season seems to be on the golden path. And who would have known? 

“During this whole process [of creating music for the movie], it was really challenging trying to balance pop and theater,” EJAE, who doubles as the film’s songwriter and singing voice of Rumi, told Deadline. “We were constantly saying that this was really hard and if we could pull this off, then we’d be geniuses. We were joking, but that’s what we said. And now, here we are, and it’s so incredibly validating and shows that hard work does pay off at some point. This whole project was truly a great example of collaboration. I can’t emphasize that enough.” 

Co-writer Mark Sonnenblick also added, “All of this reception is inspiring. Behind this movie is a city of artists and executives who poured their hearts into something that may have seemed obvious, because it’s like, of course, K-pop is popular, but it wasn’t that simple. This was such a labor of love for something that isn’t big IP, and to see the response that the audience has had and the love of the fans, that’s the only reason why we’re even in these conversations, because of how people have built word of mouth and formed a relationship with the material. I have nothing but gratitude.” 

Recently, KPop Demon Hunters scored music nominations for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes, Best Song at the Critics’ Choice Awards and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the Grammys. 

Below, the songwriting duo give insight into some of their top hit singles and reflect on their career journey. 

DEADLINE: What was the first song you both cracked together? 

MARK SONNENBLICK: “How It’s Done.”

EJAE: I think it was “Your Idol,” because we were still working on the lyrics of “How It’s Done.” “Golden” was the last song we worked on. 

DEADLINE: “Your Idol” has a really cool, haunting sound. Talk about the composition behind that track. 

SONNENBLICK: It’s our spooky track. We ran it by Maggie [Kang, co-director] and Chris [Appelhans, co-director] to ask whether that vibe was the right energy for what they had in mind, since they already had some of the Saja Boys’ character designs in demon form at that point. 

EJAE: The track had this dark choir sound sampling in it, so I stuck to that and laid down a bunch of melodies and freestyled, “I’m a be your idol.” And that line was a lightbulb moment because I was a K-pop trainee for a very long time, so I’ve seen the dark side of K-pop, and the idea of idolizing someone can be very toxic. So, I added that creepy cathedral sound, the “Pray for me now” lyric. Mark started spitting bars that also worked as double entendre and we Frankenstein-ed the melodies together. 

SONNENBLICK: This song is really where we cracked the workflow too. EJAE with the melody and concept that accomplished everything that the directors wanted: this idea of toxic relationships with K-pop groups and their fans. It was a song to check this kind of religious demonic thing that they have going on. It’s also to check this box for a toxic relationship with someone you potentially love. But the challenge was also trying to make it stand as a pop song. 

EJAE: It’s a song about taking souls, and then the added layer of HUNTR/X connects people through music, but the Saja Boys divide people through music. 

DEADLINE: What was the most difficult song to craft? 

EJAE: “How It’s Done.”

SONNENBLICK: For sure. 

EJAE: We for sure did not know how it was done, done, done back then. 

SONNENBLICK: It was particularly challenging because it’s the first song in the movie, so it’s got to make you lean in and introduce the characters and the vibe of the film. 

EJAE: There was so much pressure, because it’s the first impression. 

DEADLINE: “Free” is a song that I can’t get enough of. It’s so cute. What was the composition of that song like?  

SONNENBLICK: That song was the first time I had met Stephen Kirk and Jenna Andrews, and they had a draft of the verse and chorus, which has that beautiful melody. So, I started working with them on it, and Maggie and Chris, and I realized it was more than a traditional love song. We were trying to show two people becoming increasingly vulnerable toward each other, while also discovering in real time that they’re both a little cautious. They don’t have many good reasons to trust each other, but they’re finding that vulnerability is healing them. It rides a line of being more of a subtle love song than the big-throated romantic duets of like, “Now we’re in love.” 

It became a process of trying to tell the truth of that story and the lyrics, for example, of another draft, was like, “What if it feels right standing right in front of you? What if we don’t try fighting?” Or “What if we don’t try running from it like we always do?” or something like that. But the difference between going, “What if it feels right standing right in front of you?” There’s a proposal to that, there’s a strength to that, and then changing it to a, “Why does it feel right every time I like you in?” That’s something you can genuinely ask in the moment, like, “I don’t fully understand what this is, but I’m healing by getting to know you. And I think we should pursue this together, and maybe I think you should lean into this too, but I really don’t understand it.” And he says something back to her like, “I don’t trust it, but I want to.” We wanted that tension and had to learn how to maintain that throughout the whole song. 

DEADLINE: I love that line in “Golden” that goes, “Called a problem child, because I got too wild, but now that’s how I’m getting paid.” I’m curious: when did you start taking yourselves seriously as artists in both of your respective careers? This industry is not easy to be in. 

SONNENBLICK: I’ve been lucky to be able to support myself as a songwriter. This was not always the case, but I’m a roll-with-the-punches sort of person with my art, too, and that has led me to find the opportunities that speak to me and led me to finding the people I love being around. I have been a tutor and a teacher and have done other jobs to support myself along the way, but at the heart of it, I’ve been lucky to have supportive friends and family who have encouraged me to follow my dreams. I wouldn’t necessarily have said it was writing songs in quite this way if you’d asked me 10 years ago. I’ve been in bands, and I’ve written a musical, and part of the beauty of this is being an artist open to the path and taking what comes your way. 

EJAE: I wanted to be a K-pop idol. So, I was a K-pop trainee since I was 11 years old. [I did that for 12 years], and eventually I did get dropped. But I never knew that songwriting would ever be a thing for me. It was never in the cards, but it still happened in an organic way. I was around 22 or 23 when I got dropped, and I was struggling to find out what I was supposed to do. I started producing more – I loved the Soundcloud scene at the time, and I fell in love with producing and making beats. Then I just realized what people in that crowd were talking about. They were saying I had to keep posting, I had to go on YouTube because social media was a huge platform to try and make people like you. And all of that felt so tiring, and I just had to get real with myself. I don’t have thick skin. I got my feelings hurt when people talked about my appearance. So, I realized that my personality doesn’t work with being an artist or being a K-pop idol. 

So, I chose my mental health because I had friends in the industry who, sadly, committed suicide and seeing that, I thought it was a big sign that I needed to prioritize my mental health in saying this path was not for me. And I’m very glad I did, because now I’m here as the singing voice of an animated character in a movie. But look, I’m 33, and I’ve learned my lesson. 

SONNENBLICK: In one of the most-watched animations of all time.

DEADLINE: Is there anything left on the cutting-room floor that you wish you could have snuck into the movie? 

EJAE: Absolutely, there are so many. There was one for Rumi, and it was in the Celine moment right before “Your Idol.” 

SONNENBLICK: It was amazing. 

EJAE: Rumi has this breakdown, and she’s supposed to have her moment, so it was a ballad she had while she’s feeling broken. It was a really cool experimentation, like 007’s “Skyfall” vibe, very dark and moody. 

SONNENBLICK: Very Imogen Heap. 

EJAE: We had this Korean pansori and arirang, which are Korean folk-melody types. It was a cool combination of pop and the mantra, and I wish people could hear that. 

SONNENBLICK: We never hear the full mantra, but EJAE has this thing, “We are hunters, voices strong,” with these gorgeous harmonies. 

EJAE: It had snippets with Rumi as a kid saying that line. 

SONNENBLICK: Maybe in the sequel. 

EJAE: We’ll see.