The popularity of Netflix’s hit animated movie “Kpop Demon Hunters” keeps going up, up, up. Recently, Netflix held a press conference with filmmakers Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and singing voices EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, and REI AMI. The Movie Couple were invited along with other journalists to participate in person. Here’s what we learned:
Singing Voices EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, AND REI AMI Are In Rehearsal For Their First Live Performance
The trio will perform the hit song “Golden” live on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” on October 9. This would mark the first live performance for the singing voices behind HUNTR/X. The singers talked about being in rehearsal to prepare for the upcoming show.
EJAE: Oh my god, rehearsals are incredible. Oh my god, we had so much fun. And, like, we’ve never sang together. And I’m just learning from these ladies ’cause they’re incredible artists themselves and performers. And just the synergy with all of us. Like, Golden’s a hard song.
Director Maggie Kang jokingly said, “Sorry, EJAE.”, as it was important to have Rumi to hit high notes in the film. EJAE, who co-wrote the song, laughed as she replied, “I’m sorry to myself too.”
MAGGIE KANG: Like, when we were writing Golden, which is very hard to write, we wrote many, many different drafts that were very different from what we have now. And I constantly asked Ejae, like, “Ejae, can you sing higher?” She’s like, “Okay.” And then be like, “No, can we go higher?”
The trios have had several early morning rehearsals to prepare. So far, their rehearsals last about 8 hours. About rehearsing together, AUDREY NUNA commented on how it felt like theater camp.
AUDREY NUNA: Sing this song for probably like the first time in the, like, world, maybe. In rehearsal. And just to be in the presence of this, like, honestly generational talent is, for us, just like, she learns from us, she was saying. But we also learn so much from just everything that you do.
EJAE: Well, I mean, like, it’s such a hard song, but I can sing it with these girls by my side. I’m not kidding.
AUDREY NUNA: We sound good together.
EJAE: We sound so fantastic. But no pressure. And don’t expect so much, but like, you should, at the same time, ’cause we work really hard.
REI: Next Tuesday. Huntr/x’s first ever live performance. Golden, stay tuned. See you there.
Directors Hinting At More Kpop Demon Hunters Movie?
During the rehearsal, the singers recalled feeling emotional as it was the first time they truly sang together. AUDREY NUNA mentioned how she broke down during the second day of rehearsal, when she felt like they were truly a unit, “But it was when we locked in. ‘Cause I think, you know, we were working on the song, and it’s one song, you know. So we’re doing the song over and over and over again for the first time. And I think the moment that we felt, we really felt it, was when the three of us connected, I think. And just felt like one unit. That was like a really big breakthrough.”
Filmmakers Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans observed quietly before finally saying:
CHRIS APPELHANS: Yeah, by the way, I’m stealing all that dialogue.
MAGGIE KANG: I know. I’m like, I’m just watching this.
CHRIS APPELHANS: For future scenes.
MAGGIE KANG: And just picturing it, it just animated.
On How Kpop Demon Hunters Portray Korean Culture
The film not only highlights Kpop, but also shines a spotlight on Korean food, locations, and history. AUDREY NUNA spoke about feeling grateful to see her culture portrayed so well in this movie, and shares her own story about having to hide her “stinky kimbap” during lunch in school.
AUDREY NUNA: I, as someone who hid my stinky kimbap, you know, in second grade, and like, I remember taking a Barbie lunchbox, but inside was stinky kimbap. And then that’s why I cried too
when I saw animated kimbap in this film. Like, within the first 10 minutes of this film. ‘Cause I was like, wow. Like, that’s something I used to, as a kid, remember feeling like, Nick Smith (fake name) and whoever else thought was so gross, and now it’s like this beautiful animated juicy-looking kimbap on this, at this point, world-renowned, and just, honestly classic, iconic film.
What Shows Would HUNTR/X Binge on Netflix?
Singing voice for Zoey, REI AMI, gave her answer without hesitation.
REI AMI: Love is Blind. Also, the queer love edition. The queer Love is Blind. [overlap] Or, no. Ultimatum. Ultimatum. The queer one. First season. That is the messiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I loved every second of it.
AUDREY NUNA picked darker titles for her character Mira.
AUDREY NUNA: Yeah, we were saying yesterday. I would imagine they spend their Netflix time separately because they spend so much time together. We all have different, like, Netflix tastes. And I was saying Mira is probably a Bong Joon Ho fan. She probably likes all the dark Korean cinema like Park Chan-wook. That kinda stuff. And then I also think she probably likes Bob Ross.
EJAE feels that Rumi would pick something heartwarming and had a good message.
EJAE: I said rom coms, but I also said like serious. Like, has a good message to it or something. Or like, I don’t know, like some sort of movie where like a dog is lost and is trying to come home or something.
Like something kinda sweet, but like heartwarming.
Director Maggie Kang Called EJAE the Heart and Soul of the Movie
The press conference hit its emotional moments for director Maggie Kang and singer/songwriter EJAE towards the end. It was the first time the two had seen each other since the film’s release. With tears in her eyes, Kang mentioned that EJAE was one of the first people to join the project, when the team was only five people.
MAGGIE KANG: MAGGIE: I think Ejae, Ejae joined before Chris did. Right? I think so. No, it was around the same time. But I knew about Ejae very early, and she’s one of the OG members of our crew.
EJAE: When it was five people.
MAGGIE KANG: So she’s really the kind of, I mean, really the heart and soul of the movie because it’s so much of her soul in the songs, so, we’re just having a moment.
Kpop Demon Hunter Healed the Honmoon With Art
The discussion wrapped with the final question about art being a superpower that can save the world today. Audrey Nuna had an incredibly touching and well thought out answer:
AUDREY: NUNA We live in a pretty messed-up world, I would say. And I do think, I personally am a believer of this delusion that, yes, art can, in many ways, save the world because I think it connects us. And I think you see with this movie, just the pure joy. You meet a stranger who has watched this film and you feel this immediate connection of understanding of just like what is this weird experience of life living in this simulation?
She continues:
AUDREY: And I think that’s like a miracle that really art is, like, the only portal. Like the only doorway to get there. Just, seeing as someone who is completely different from you and understanding that they are, like, you look into their eyes and they’re a human being. And we’re all kind of in this weird ride together. So I’m grateful for all of the art that has inspired me, particularly in this moment, this film that has inspired me in so many ways as an artist, as a human being, and the sorority that I found
with these amazing women. And just, like, being a part of a team, being in service of something bigger than myself. All these ways that this film, being a part of it, and being able to watch people or receive it also has made me become more human. So absolutely. Yeah, long answer for a very powerful question. So thank you for that question.
Kpop Demon Hunters is now streaming on Netflix, with both the theatrical version and a sing-along version.
