EJAE has spoken about the moment her BAFTAs performance started to unravel after she noticed one of Hollywood’s biggest stars watching from the front row.
Back on February 22, the singer joined KPop Demon Hunters castmates Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna in London for a performance at the 2026 BAFTA Awards. The three artists appear as fictional group HUNTR/X in the Netflix hit, and they delivered the movie’s standout track during the ceremony.
The appearance was a major milestone for the trio, marking both their first live show outside the US and their first time performing in front of an audience packed with A-listers, including Leonardo DiCaprio seated directly ahead of them.
Kim Eun-jae, who performs professionally as EJAE, later admitted that a few “mistakes” she made while singing “Golden” still continue to “haunt” her, and she says DiCaprio’s presence played a big part in that.
Speaking to The Times, she said: “The BAFTAs haunt me. I made mistakes. I cracked a little bit on the high notes. Leonardo DiCaprio was [in the audience] right in front of me and he was not smiling.
“It was already so nerve-racking to be in front of all these celebrities, and then I look up and lock eyes with Leonardo DiCaprio? Come on.”
The moment she was referring to came on the high note in the line, “born to be”. She added: “[DiCaprio] is what put me off. He made me so nervous.”
Even so, the performance still landed well with people in the room and with viewers online. Variety reported that DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another co-star Chase Infiniti could be seen singing along from the audience.
One social media user wrote: “Wait the cracking voice is actually genius. it’s like in the movie but then she overcomes it and hits the rest of notes; Love that they aren’t lip syncing. We need to encourage reality and not filters.”
Another posted: “Just like the movie, her voice cracked at first but ended up pulling those incredible notes; The crowd looked like they were asleep, except for a few people, it’s such a catchy song I don’t understand how you can’t enjoy it.”
EJAE said the Brit Awards on February 28 felt far less intimidating, especially because fans and children in the crowd were shouting: “Rumi, you got this!” She described that support as “heartwarming and helpful,” and it appears the encouragement paid off.
“Golden” went on to collect the Academy Award for Best Original Song on March 15, the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The track also became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy.