'Golden' from K-pop Demon Hunters eyes Oscars

The theme song “Golden” from Netflix’s global animated hit “K-pop Demon Hunters” will be performed at the Academy Awards ceremony on Sept. 15 in Los Angeles.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, announced on its website Tuesday that EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, who provided the vocals for the fictional girl group Huntrix in the film, will perform “Golden” on stage at the 98th Academy Awards.

The performance will open with Korean traditional instrument music and a fusion dance segment intended to honor the folk inspirations of Korean culture that shaped the film. EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami will then perform “Golden.” The live program will also feature “I Lied To You,” the theme song from the film “Sinners: Sinners,” performed by American artists Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq.

Raj Kapoor, the showrunner and executive producer of this year’s Academy Awards, and executive producer Katy Mullan said the musical program was inspired by “Sinners: Sinners,” which set a record for the most nominations in the academy’s history, and “K-pop Demon Hunters,” a film that helped spark a global pop culture wave. They said the performances are designed to go beyond a traditional stage show by celebrating the connection between music and storytelling while highlighting why the films resonated so strongly with audiences around the world.

“K-pop Demon Hunters” is nominated in two categories at this year’s Academy Awards, for best animated feature and best original song. The film previously won best animated feature and best original song at the Golden Globe Awards in January and took the Grammy Award for best song written for visual media last month.


김태언 기자 beborn@donga.com