'Golden' from 'KPop Demon Hunters' makes history with 2026 Oscar nomination
They're shining like they're born to be!
The songwriters behind "Golden," the hit song from the popular Netflix film "KPop Demon Hunters," are officially Oscar nominees.
"Golden" was announced as a nominee for best original song during a live presentation on Thursday morning, ahead of the 98th Academy Awards on March 15.
Other songs nominated in the category include "Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless," "I Lied to You" from "Sinners," "Sweet Dreams of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!" and "Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams."
"KPop Demon Hunters" also received a nomination for best animated feature film.
"Golden," which was written by Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido and Teddy, made history on Thursday, becoming the first song in the K-pop genre to ever be nominated for an Oscar.
It was a full circle moment for singer-songwriter EJAE, who shared in her Golden Globes speech earlier this month that she trained for 10 years to be a K-pop idol but was rejected.
Reflecting on her journey, she said that she would tell her younger self now that she's "so thankful and proud of her."
"Golden" serves as an anthem for "KPop Demon Hunters" and is performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind the film's fictional K-pop group, HUNTR/X.
Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo were the voice actors for the characters, respectively.
"Golden" sat atop the Hot 100 list for eight weeks from mid-August through mid-October, according to Billboard, and currently sits near the top of the Billboard Global 200, where it previously held its No. 1 ranking for 20 weeks.
So far this awards season, the songwriters have won the Critics Choice Award for best song and the Golden Globe for best original song. They are also nominated for five Grammy Awards, including song of the year and best pop duo/group performance.
Following the Oscar nominations announcement, "KPop Demon Hunters" co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans shared their reaction with "Good Morning America" and said the nods were a "dream come true."
"Every person who touched this film just put all their hearts and souls into it," Kang said. "It just feels amazing to be recognized for the hard work that we put in. And the fans see it, but also our fellow filmmakers and obviously the academy, so it just feels really great to put so much work into something and be recognized for it."
Appelhans added, "I think we tried to make something new. We tried to really use music in a new way. We tried to represent women in a new way in animation, and audiences loved that. They loved something new and something with heart and we tried to do all of that."
Singer-songwriter EJAE and composer Sonnenblick also shared their excitement over the announcement, with Sonnenblick sharing several celebratory posts on his Instagram story and EJAE sharing a Netflix post along with the caption, "Congrats team🥹❤️."
