There's something almost absurdly perfect about the idea that the summer's loudest anthem—blaring from SUVs, infiltrating TikToks, even slipping into H Mart's overhead playlist—started in a dentist's chair. Golden, the breakout track from Netflix's animated juggernaut KPop Demon Hunters (released globally on June 7, 2024), didn't come from some polished studio retreat. It came to EJAE while she was on her way to get her teeth cleaned.
That throwaway hum morphed into a Billboard Top 10 monster. The song functions as an “I Want” anthem for the fictional girl group Huntr/X, but it's also a pep talk, a bilingual bridge between Rumi's half-demon identity crisis and the universal need to feel… well, golden. And that duality—cheesy but earnest, commercial but personal—is why it stuck.
“Going to the dentist, that was the first melody that came,” EJAE laughed to Variety. She pitched the hook, “gonna be Golden,” to co-writer Mark Sonnenblick. His reaction? A stunned “Oh my God!” Within hours, they had a track that somehow felt inevitable.
The irony is delicious: KPop Demon Hunters itself is a chaotic genre cocktail, pitting Huntr/X against a demonic boy band, the Saja Boys, while juggling themes of self-acceptance. The film's English-Korean hybrid soundtrack reflects that tension. EJAE's bilingual fluency wasn't a side note—it was essential. “It was important for Maggie Kang, our co-director, to have Korean in the lyrics. And not just tucked away in verses, but front and center.”
Hearing Golden now, you can sense the fingerprints of its writers (EJAE, Sonnenblick, IDO, 24, TEDDY). It's structured like a hero's journey in miniature—introducing each girl's struggle, then collapsing into that euphoric chorus. Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo voice the leads, while EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna tear through the vocals like they're shaking stadium walls.
EJAE's own past as a K-pop trainee surfaces in the song's bridge, where vulnerability overtakes bravado. “Going through that experience helped a lot in writing and emoting,” she admitted. You hear it—this isn't just a fictional pep song, it's her pep song. Maybe that's why adults are screaming it in their cars with the same shameless glee as kids glued to Netflix.
And if you're rolling your eyes at the phenomenon—fine. But admit it: the first time “gonna be Golden” loops back, you feel a jolt. Corny? Absolutely. Effective? No question.
Why Golden Hit Harder Than Expected
A dentist's office birth. A melody scribbled en route to oral hygiene spiraled into a summer anthem.
Bilingual power. The fusion of English and Korean lyrics wasn't garnish—it was narrative necessity.
Personal scars in pop gloss. EJAE's trainee past bleeds into the bridge, giving the sugar rush real sting.
Cultural wildfire. From Billboard charts to grocery store speakers, the track eclipsed its animated origins.
Huntr/X as avatars. The fictional band gave listeners an excuse to project, to see themselves in neon-haired demon hunters.
So, maybe that's the magic—KPop Demon Hunters wasn't just a Netflix release. It was a weird alchemy of animated spectacle, demon-slaying spectacle, and a dentist-office earworm turned global mantra.
What about you—did Golden catch you off guard, or did you resist the hype until it was blasting from every speaker you passed?
