Ejae has spoken openly about the mental health crash she suffered when her childhood plan to become a K\u2011pop teen idol suddenly disappeared.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She told the New York Times: “Depression was a thing.”<\/p>\n
Ejae said she had been accepted into a major Korean label at just 11 and believed her future was set.<\/p>\n
She continued: “I had a whole future set out for me. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to be a K\u2011pop idol, huge superstar by like 18.'”<\/p>\n
But by 22, she was told she was already past the industry’s cut\u2011off.<\/p>\n
She said: “That’s actually considered like the ‘Grandma Age’ is what they call it.”<\/p>\n
Ejae said she only began to recover when she “accidentally” found her way into songwriting \u2013 a shift she now credits with changing the course of her life.<\/p>\n
She has penned tracks for major K-pop acts including Red Velvet, Aespa, Twice and Le Sserafim.<\/p>\n
Ejae also shared that the pressure to succeed had been drilled into her from an early age.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
She also grew up studying Beyonce’s early training videos, pushing herself through “seven, eight hours of dancing and singing every day.”<\/p>\n
Despite the work, she faced constant rejection.<\/p>\n
She said: “I went through so many rejections. I’m like, what am I doing wrong?”<\/p>\n
Her breakthrough moment came when she was chosen to record Oscar-winning KPop Demon Hunters track Golden.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Performing the song at the Brits helped her confront her stage fright.<\/p>\n
She recalled hearing a young fan shout, “Rumi, you got this,” which gave her the push she needed.<\/p>\n
She said: “I sang so well that day.<\/p>\n
“The love from the fans was just why I feel confident about my singing voice.”<\/p>\n
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