Recommendations of the Editorial team
EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami just can’t let go of “Golden.” The “KPop Demon Hunters” trio came together at the Billboard Women in Music event on Wednesday night to perform the hit song – and then accepted the award for Women of the Year 2026.
The performance (around the two-hour mark) featured the singers in all black – a more intimate, stripped-down version of the pop track. The three then accepted the award from Ella Mai.
“Music knows no origin or gender – it only demands the truth. And when I brought all of my truth – my voice, my Koreanness, my womanhood – everything began to shift,” EJAE told the audience. “I realized that our strength as women was never in conforming.”
Strong words on stage
Rei Ami added: “There is nothing more intimidating than a confident woman who knows what she wants. Our ability to persevere and be present is an absolute superpower – so I thank all the women in this room for using their superpowers to inspire, lead and protect.”
Nuna concluded by saying, “To receive this honor and to represent a song and a film that affirms the belief that the world needs women performing as their most complete, whole selves.”
Other performers of the evening included Teyana Taylor, Tate McRae, Kehlani, Ella Langley and Schwanzey. The ceremony was moderated by Keke Palmer, who also performed her song “Text Message Unsent”.
From the Oscars to Billboard
EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, who star as the fictional group HUNTR/X in the Netflix film, have presented “Golden” on numerous award shows and late-night stages in recent months. In March they appeared on stage at the Oscars, where the film won the award for best original song.
Before the Oscars, the demon-hunting three had already performed “Golden” at the Bafta Awards 2026, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”. They were nominated for five awards at the 2026 Grammys and won Best Song Written For Visual Media. They also received three Golden Globe nominations and won two awards: Best Original Song – Motion Picture and Best Motion Picture, Animated.
“As a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to achieve one dream: to become a K-pop idol,” EJAE said at the Golden Globes, where she became the first Korean-American to be honored. “I was rejected and disappointed that my voice wasn’t good enough – so I stuck to songs and music to get through it. Now here I am as a singer and songwriter.”