Backstage Moments: The Golden Songwriting Team Reflects on Their Oscars Acceptance Speech Experience
A minor incident unfolded at the 98th Oscars Sunday night involving the songwriting team from *KPop Demon Hunters* as they accepted their award for Best Original Song.
The team, comprising EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park, was abruptly cut off during their acceptance speech for the film’s hit track, “Golden.” This marked a historic moment, as it was the first time a K-pop song had won at the Academy Awards. Just as Lee took to the microphone, the broadcast transitioned to a commercial, drawing gasps from reporters in the backstage area.
In a subsequent backstage interview, EJAE expressed gratitude for the recognition, stating, “We feel very grateful and very honored. We all worked so hard, and this is such a collaborative effort. We just need to thank our directors. They created a beautiful film. Everyone was a part of it, and we are just so happy that the hard work paid off.” He also mentioned, “I needed to thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna onstage, but I didn’t get to because they just cut us off. They killed it with their singing, and they’re just incredible people and I love them so much.”
Lee added, “I would like to thank all our families, my fellow Idol members, and Teddy Park. This is an incredible honor.” Sonnenblick, who similarly missed the chance to speak, expressed his gratitude by saying, “[I’d like to thank] my family, some of whom are here tonight, my husband, Isaac, who is here tonight. But also just to say everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board. It’s a movie where part of the movie is about looking at someone that you have been taught to hate and to fear and starting to trust, maybe even love them. And that’s part of what the movie is about.
“[The song lyrics are not] ‘I’m going up, up, up.’ It’s ‘We’re going up, up, up.’ And that’s part of the reason that we’re [here] right now. So, thanks to the fans too who have loved this movie and made it into what it is and the soundtrack.”
*KPop Demon Hunters* also received the Oscar for Best Animated Feature during the ceremony.
