On the historic 98th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15th, the songwriting team behind "Golden" made history - only to be abruptly cut off from the stage as they tried to celebrate their monumental achievement.
"Golden," from KPop Demon Hunters, became the first K-pop song to win Best Original Song at the 2026 Oscars, marking a new milestone in the category's history. It is also the first song with more than four writers to triumph and the first where all writers would not receive individual trophies.
The song has seven credited writers - EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu-Han Lee (also known as Yuhan), Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park. EJAE, who voices Rumi in the film, led the acceptance speech in tears. "Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone is singing our song and all the Korean lyrics," she told the Dolby Theatre crowd. "This award is not about success. It's about resilience."
However, Yuhan's turn to speak was cut short as the orchestra struck up and the broadcast went to commercial. The audience responded with audible boos. Backstage in the press room, EJAE made sure her fellow winners got to say what they had come to say. Yuhan thanked "our families, and 24, and our fellow IDO members," calling it "an incredible honor." Sonnenblick, who had been seen jumping defiantly onstage trying to speak before the group was ushered off, delivered his speech in full.
"My family, some of them here tonight - my husband is here tonight," he said. "Everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board." He added: "Part of the movie is about looking at someone that you had been taught to hate and to fear, and starting to trust, maybe love them. A movie is like a village, and we're lucky to be up here right now, but there's so many people who have made this what it is."
The Motion Picture Academy's rule limiting Best Original Song to no more than four individual statuettes drew immediate backlash on social media, with fans pointing out that the group had just made Oscars history.
The win was one of two for KPop Demon Hunters on the night. The film, Netflix's most-streamed title ever, also took home Best Animated Feature. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans accepted the award.
"Golden" was the 18th Best Original Song winner in Oscars history to have previously hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna performed the song live during the telecast, one of only two original song performances of the night.
