EJAE has spoken openly about the mental health crash she suffered when her childhood plan to become a K-pop teen idol suddenly disappeared.
The 34-year-old songwriter and singing voice behind Rumi in the 2025 blockbuster animation KPop Demon Hunters shared how rejection hit her hard after spending her entire youth preparing for a debut that never came.
She told The New York Times: “Depression was a thing.”
EJAE said she had been accepted into a major Korean label at just 11 and believed her future was set.
She continued: “I had a whole future set out for me. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to be a K-pop idol, huge superstar by like 18.'”
But by 22, she was told she was already past the industry’s cut-off.
She said: “That’s actually considered like the ‘Grandma Age’ is what they call it.”
EJAE said she only began to recover when she “accidentally” found her way into songwriting — a shift she now credits with changing the course of her life.
She has penned tracks for major K-pop acts including Red Velvet, aespa, TWICE and LE SSERAFIM.
EJAE also shared that the pressure to succeed had been drilled into her from an early age.
She said: “My grandpa was a huge figure in the movie industry of Korea. He would always tell me you have to work hard to be successful.”
She also grew up studying Beyoncé’s early training videos, pushing herself through “seven, eight hours of dancing and singing every day.”
Despite the work, she faced constant rejection.
She said: “I went through so many rejections. I’m like, what am I doing wrong?”
Her breakthrough moment came when she was chosen to record Oscar-winning KPop Demon Hunters track Golden.
EJAE said the shock was overwhelming: “I heard that before you die, you have flashback for three seconds of your whole life. I felt like I had that moment walking down that aisle.”
Performing the song at the BRITs helped her confront her stage fright.
She recalled hearing a young fan shout, “Rumi, you got this,” which gave her the push she needed.
She said: “I sang so well that day.
“The love from the fans was just why I feel confident about my singing voice.”
