‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Songwriters Finish Oscars Speeches Backstage After Being Played Off Stage
EJAE passed the mic to Yuhan and Mark Sonnenblick backstage after the pair were cut off during the historic Best Original Song win for "Golden" at the 98th Academy Awards.
Yuhan, ZHUN, EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, NHD, and 24, winners of the Best Original Song for "Golden" from “KPop Demon Hunters", pose in the press room during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California.
The songwriting team behind “Golden” made history at the 98th Academy Awardson Sunday (March 15) — and then were abruptly played off the stage before they could finish saying so.
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters won Best Original Song at the 2026 Oscars, becoming the first K-pop song to win in the category’s history, the first song with more than four writers to win, and the first best song winner where all of the writers would not receive an individual trophy.
The song has seven credited writers — EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu-Han Lee (also known as Yuhan), Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park.
EJAE, who provides the singing voice of Rumi in the film, led the acceptance speech in tears. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone is singing our song and all the Korean lyrics,” she told the Dolby Theatre crowd. “This award is not about success. It’s about resilience.”
When Yuhan stepped to the microphone to follow, the orchestra immediately struck up, his mic was cut and the broadcast went to commercial. The audience responded with audible boos.
Backstage in the press room, EJAE made sure her fellow winners got to say what they had come to say. Yuhan thanked “our families, and 24, and our fellow IDO members,” calling it “an incredible honor.” Sonnenblick, who had been seen jumping defiantly onstage trying to speak before the group was ushered off, delivered his speech in full. “My family, some of them here tonight — my husband is here tonight,” he said.
“Everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board.” He added: “Part of the movie is about looking at someone that you had been taught to hate and to fear, and starting to trust, maybe love them. A movie is like a village, and we’re lucky to be up here right now, but there’s so many people who have made this what it is.”
The Motion Picture Academy limits Best Original Song to no more than four individual statuettes. For songs with five or more co-writers, the writers must sign an agreement to share a single trophy should they win. The cutoff drew immediate backlash on social media, with fans pointing out the group had just made Oscars history.
The win was one of two for KPop Demon Hunters on the night. The film, Netflix’s most-streamed title ever, also took home Best Animated Feature, with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans accepting the award.
“Golden” was the 18th Best Original Song winner in Oscars history to have previously hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna performed the song live during the telecast, one of only two original song performances of the night.
