The composers behind Golden from KPop Demon Hunters made history at the 2026 Academy Awards by winning the first-ever K-Pop Oscar. However, the Academy’s decision to play them off stage during their acceptance speech turned the historic win into a controversy.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the songwriters were speaking with the media in the Dolby Theatre press room after the ceremony, continuing the remarks they could not finish on stage. They had been cut off mid-speech during the live broadcast on Sunday night.
Yu-Han Lee barely got a few words out before the orchestra started playing, forcing him to finish his speech backstage. “I would like to thank our families, and 24, and our fellow IDO members,” Lee said. “This is an incredible honor.”
The cut-off speeches did not stop the composers from expressing heartfelt gratitude
Co-composer Mark Sonnenblick also used the press room to share his thanks. “My family, some of them here tonight, my husband has a booster tonight,” he said. He also acknowledged “everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board.”
Sonnenblick also spoke about the message of the film, explaining, “Part of the movie is about looking at someone that you had been taught to hate and to fear, and starting to trust, maybe, you know, love them.” He thanked the fans “who loved this movie and made it what it is,” adding, “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. So thank you!”
The full songwriting team for Golden included Yu-Han Lee, Mark Sonnenblick, Ejae, Joong Gyu Kwak, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park. Ejae was the only member who managed to deliver her full speech during the live broadcast. The 2026 awards season has been full of surprises, and you can check out some of the biggest film festival highlights of the year to see how the broader film world has been shaping up.
“Thank you to the Academy for this insane award,” Ejae said on stage. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics. I’m so proud.” She added, “I realized, like the song, this award is not about success, it’s about resilience, and I’m just so grateful to our team.”
The KPop Demon Hunters team won the Oscar for Best Original Song, beating out composers from Sinners, Train Dreams, Viva Verdi, and Diane Warren: Relentless. The film also won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, beating Zootopia 2, Elio, Arco, and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. Hollywood’s award circuit can be unpredictable, even for its biggest stars, as seen in the story of an Oscar-winning actor now facing homelessness.
Published: Mar 16, 2026 06:45 pm