Singer-songwriter EJAE opened up about the lasting trauma from her time as a trainee at SM Entertainment, including public weigh-ins and body shaming. In recent interviews, she discussed how these experiences continue to affect her, despite her success with the hit song 'Golden' from the Netflix film K-Pop Demon Hunters. EJAE also shared insights on her career highs, panic attacks, and the potential real-world debut of the group HUNTR/X.
EJAE, whose real name is Kim Eun-jae, trained for over a decade at SM Entertainment, one of South Korea's top agencies, starting as young as 11 or 13 years old. The label ultimately decided not to debut her, citing her height and her low, husky voice as unsuitable. "After getting dropped, my dream to become a singer—I let that go," EJAE told Vanity Fair over Zoom.
In a candid interview with And The Writer Is…, EJAE described the harsh conditions during her trainee period. She recounted public weigh-ins every week in front of other trainees, including males, where weights were called out aloud. As a tall seventh-grader—around 5'6" or 5'7"—she was scolded for her weight, with instructors saying her dancing felt "heavy" because she was overweight. Her voice was criticized as sounding "ugly," clashing with trends favoring higher pitches for female idols. "You’re very impressionable when you’re a teenager... There’s not much filter in how the critiquing went," EJAE said, noting the blunt critiques on her physical appearance during puberty. These experiences left deep scars, and she continues therapy to process the shame and pressure.
Despite this, EJAE has achieved remarkable success. Born in South Korea and raised in the United States, she co-wrote "Golden," performed by HUNTR/X (featuring EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI), for the Netflix film K-Pop Demon Hunters, now the most-watched film on the platform. The track has over one billion streams, topped the Billboard Hot 100, won a Grammy and Golden Globe, and earned an Oscar nomination—the first for a K-pop song. On The Jennifer Hudson Show on February 26, 2026, EJAE reflected on her whirlwind rise: "It’s been crazy. I don’t know how to take it all in. It’s really hard to process everything." She mentioned early insecurities, a panic attack during her first major performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and how songwriting serves as her therapy.
EJAE, who was once mocked for liking K-pop, now celebrates its global impact. "It’s such an honor... It’s truly about representation," she said, emphasizing pride among Koreans and Korean-Americans. She performed an impromptu rendition of Jennifer Hudson's "And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going," crediting Hudson's music as a soundtrack to her training. Regarding HUNTR/X, EJAE indicated it could become a real group: "I never thought we were a fictional K-pop group... It was just introduced in a very creative way."
