los angeles — They shine like they were born to be!
The songwriters who penned “Golden,” the hit song from the hit Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” are officially Oscar nominees.
Complete list: Nominations for the 2026 Oscars
The nomination for “Golden” for Best Original Song was announced during a live performance on Thursday morning, ahead of the 98th Academy Awards on March 15.
Other songs nominated in this category include “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless,” “I Lied to You” from “Sinners,” and “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi.” And “Dream Train” from “Dream Train.”
“Golden,” written by Kim Eun Jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Edo and Teddy, made history on Thursday, becoming the first K-pop song to be nominated for an Oscar.
It was a full-circle moment for singer-songwriter Ijay, who shared in her Golden Globes speech earlier this month that she trained for 10 years to become a K-Pop idol but was rejected.
Reflecting on her journey, she said she would tell her younger self that she was “so grateful and proud of it.”
“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 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 the No. 1 spot for 20 weeks.
So far this awards season, the songwriters have won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. They were also nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
After the Oscar nominations were announced, KPop Demon Hunters directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans shared their reaction with Good Morning America, saying the nominations were a “dream come true.”
“Everyone who touched this film put all their hearts and souls into it,” Kang said. “It’s amazing to be recognized for the hard work we’ve put in. The fans see that, but also our fellow filmmakers and obviously the Academy, so it’s really nice to put a lot of work into something and be recognized.”
Appelhans added: “I think we tried to make something new. We really tried to use music in a new way. We tried to represent women in a new way in animation, and the audience loved it. They loved something new and something from the heart and we tried to do all of that.”
Singer-songwriter EJAE and composer Sonnenblick also shared their excitement for the announcement, with Sonnenblick sharing several celebratory posts to his Instagram Story and EJAE sharing a post on Netflix with the caption “Congrats team.”
The 98th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 15 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live on ABC and Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
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