K-Pop Composer EJAE Discusses Royalties and Reflects on His Trainee Days

EJAE, the composer of the OST 'Golden' for the Netflix animated film 'KPop Demon Hunters,' recently opened up about his royalties.

On the October 22nd episode of tvN's variety show 'You Quiz on the Block,' EJAE appeared as a guest. He is known for composing and performing the song 'Golden' for 'KPop Demon Hunters.'

During the show, Cho Sae-ho asked, "Many speculate that your accumulated royalties are as much as the 'Squid Game' prize money (45.6 billion KRW)." EJAE, surprised, responded, "I didn't know." When Yu Jae-seok jokingly suggested, "You should check your bank account," EJAE laughed and explained, "In Korea, it comes in faster, but in the U.S., it takes about a year."

EJAE also reflected on his long trainee days. He shared, "I was a trainee at SM Entertainment from the age of 11, alongside groups like Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, and f(x) for 12 years. I used to leave at 11 PM every night. Looking back, I worked really hard at such a young age." He recalled, "Girls' Generation's Yuri once told me, 'You will definitely become something. You will succeed,' and I still remember that."

He continued, "I practiced dancing for six hours and singing for another six hours every day. I even fainted once at 13. I cried because I couldn't dance well, but I persevered." However, he never debuted, explaining, "I didn't quite fit with SM. The trend was for clean voices, but mine was rough. I tried to change my voice, but the timing was off."

EJAE revealed, "For 12 years, I watched others debut. On the day my contract ended and I left the company, it rained heavily. I cried in the taxi. I worked so hard, and it ended like this. It was heartbreaking." He added, "I wanted to be a singer so badly, and those years felt wasted. Like Yuri said, my moment never came. I hated myself then," he said, tearing up.

Reported by Min-kyung Lee, TenAsia 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr