‘I Get To Be Hannah Montana!’

There were plenty of expectations surrounding KPop Demon Hunters before it arrived – from both Sony Animation and Netflix, as well as those who have been following the rise of K-pop in America for the past decade – but nobody could have predicted what ended up happening with the film.

The animated musical didn’t just become a hit on Netflix — it only needed a few weeks to stand out as the most-watched movie the platform has ever released. Its immediate success marked an unprecedented moment not only for the streamer, but for Korean entertainment in the United States.

It wasn’t just the story and world-building that captivated millions around the globe – it was the music. The soundtrack climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and every original song written for the film landed on the Hot 100, which is an almost unheard-of achievement for any soundtrack, let alone a full-length centered in K-pop.

The biggest hit from one of the most popular soundtracks in memory is “Golden.” The song quickly caught fire worldwide, and it went on to spend eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and is already one of the longest-running leaders in the history of Billboard’s global charts.

The tune is nominated for several Grammys, including Song of the Year, Best Song Written for Visual Media, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The cut is credited to both Huntr/x, the fictional girl group that anchors KPop Demon Hunters, as well as the three women who perform “Golden”: Ejae (who co-wrote it with Mark Sonnenblick), Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna.

For Nuna, the path to the history-making project didn’t come via a traditional Hollywood casting process. It was strangely organic, even casual. “It was so simple,” she recalls. What sold her wasn’t just the scale of the film or the musical opportunity, though she loved the tunes instantly. It was the story’s message. Executive music producer Ian Eisendrath described it as a film about identity that doesn’t force a person into a single category or cultural box, something Nuna connected with. “I felt really seen by what this movie was about,” she says.

When the film and its music exploded in popularity and became nothing short of a culture phenomenon, Nuna was on tour supporting her own album, Trench, and suddenly experiencing a career-altering moment in real time. “I remember we hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 on my last show…and I was just like, this can’t be real.” Like many viewers, she knew Korean culture was already thriving worldwide, but even she admits that “no one could have predicted this… This is insane, right?”

Now, with another KPop Demon Hunters installment already on the calendar, an exciting award season ahead and a growing solo career of her own, Nuna is the rare independent artist for whom the world is her oyster. She is responsible for the biggest hit of the year, and she’s ready to continue with her own artistry, not allowing the fame and commercial success to change her path.

Hugh McIntyre: I’ve been writing about the K-pop world for a long time, and when Netflix first announced this movie, I was so excited. Then it hit, and it was just massive. Tell me how you first became involved in this film.

Audrey Nuna: It’s crazy, because it was the most organic thing ever. My first manager’s friend’s brother used to game with this guy, Danny Chung, in Fort Lee, New Jersey. I met Danny when I was like 20, and [he’d] watched my career progress, stayed in touch.

He’s a very talented songwriter and A&R over at The Black Label, so when they got involved in the project, he recommended me, as well as Ejae.

I met Ejae when I was like 15, because I interned for a day at SM [Entertainment]. She also recommended me for it, because she had been watching my career from afar. Then they asked me to do it. It was so simple. It was just like, do you want to hop on a call with this guy, Ian Eisendrath, who’s executive music producing this really cool project? He told me about the movie. He pitched it based on what it was about, and that’s what made me want to do it.

McIntyre: What was his pitch? Was it more leaning into the K-pop side of things, or more about a woman coming to grips with herself?

Nuna: The second one. He gave me this beautiful blurb about how this movie is basically about not having to think so binary and choose parts of yourself and hide parts of yourself. And he also played me the music, which I thought was really lit.

But honestly, for me, the most enticing thing was the story. I feel like what he had said was my life story — trying to be an artist, and being Korean American, and walking this line between worlds constantly, and asking myself these types of questions. I felt really seen by what this movie was about.

McIntyre: That is — for what has turned out to be the biggest movie ever — a pretty easy in.

Nuna: Yeah, damn, I just snuck in there.

McIntyre: How far back did you hear these songs?

Nuna: I heard these songs… This was probably like a year before the film came out. They were in great shape when I heard them.

McIntyre: No one knew what the movie was going to become, but sometimes you can have a sense, when you’re hearing music, like, oh, this is a smash, or this will find its audience. Did you have any idea that any of these songs would go on to top 40, radio-ready domination? They feel like they’re made for that.

Nuna: I’m such a procrastinator. They would send me the materials to get ready for these sessions, and I’d be like, thank God these songs are so catchy and easy to learn. I would literally hear them once and know the whole song.

From my perspective, these songs are perfectly crafted pop, and I’m more in an alternative R&B/alternative pop type of space. So for me, it was admiration of like, wow, they wrote something that’s so catchy.

I also felt this movie would do so well because, I’m obviously aware of how much Korean culture has popped off in the last decade. But I don’t think anyone could have predicted this. Even people who are like, “Oh, I knew. I knew.” I’m just like, but did you know it was going to be like this level? Because this is insane, right?

McIntyre: I heard KPop Demon Hunters before I saw it. I cover the charts, and I was thrilled to see the music debut and then quickly rise. What were those first few weeks like for you?

Nuna: Honestly, I didn’t feel anything, because I’m emotionally constipated. I was like, is this really happening right now? I remember we hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 during the last show of my international Trench Tour for my second album, and I was just like, this can’t be real. This is not happening right now.

It was a shock for me. I was in awe. My first time being on the charts is through this animated demon-hunting pink-haired character in a film. Who wrote the script? Just gratitude and shock.

McIntyre: Is it fair to call you a new artist?

Nuna: I wouldn’t say so. No, I’ve been putting out music since I was 19, and I’m 26 now. I’ve been doing this for… It’s coming up on a decade, you know.

I will say, I feel very new, and I’m very grateful to feel this new sense of who I want to be as an artist. But I think all of us — Ejae, Rei [Ami], myself — we’ve been doing this for a very long time, and we’ve all collectively, in our own ways, eaten shit and had to struggle through this industry, as so many people do.

McIntyre: When I listened to your own material, I was interested in how different it sounds from KPop Demon Hunters. Tell me about introducing yourself to the public via, as you said, this pink-haired demon-hunting character, but at the same time, you’re on tour, and you have these albums that sound different. How are you navigating that process?

Nuna: It’s really fun. I get to be Hannah Montana! How sick is that?

I really feel blessed because I feel really connected to the character of Mira. I feel like she’s this parallel. I’m like a parallel version of her, and she feels a parallel version of me. That is a really beautiful alignment of energy and purpose and beliefs and what she stands for.

So in a sense, it’s actually been very intuitive. I’m not going through some sort of identity crisis, because honestly, my whole thing has always been about duality and walking this line between worlds. This is just another iteration of that. There’s a core, and then it splits off into two. It’s been really organic and really easy. I haven’t had any complaints.

McIntyre: You were touring your album and making a name for yourself, and then all of a sudden, Saturday Night Live and late night talk shows and the Empire State Building, all of that craziness. Is it hard to wrap your head around where you were six months ago, and where you are today?

Nuna: Yes, it’s very weird. It just goes to show we really don’t know anything. And I think that’s a very liberating thing to re-realize in my life. The absolute surrender. I have no control over anything besides my actions every day.

It’s been so surreal just thinking about… I had a plan. I had a plan for the rest of my year, how I was going to go, and all that’s been completely obliterated, and who knows for how long.

But at the same time, I also feel like nothing’s changed. My mission this year was to create, or start creating, the best album that I’ve ever made. That hasn’t changed. Now it’s scheduling and logistics and also the blessing of being able to be part of this incredible legacy-type project. But it’s really kind of the same place I was.

McIntyre: I imagine you’re using this moment to work on and release new music, and at the same time, your schedule must be absolutely packed. How are you managing both of those things?

Nuna: That’s a good question. How am I managing both of those? It’s a lot of focus. I will say at this point in my life, it’s been a choice between socializing or sleeping, and I’ve been sleeping. It’s just dedication.

Honestly, I’m working all the time, and I’m very grateful for it. I don’t take it for granted because I’ve been an artist, or trying to be an artist, for a long time. I think that maybe three years ago, I would have been able to take for granted this idea of people giving a shit about the work that you do. I’m no longer in that position where I feel entitled to that anymore. I’ve seen enough and gone through enough to realize this is very rare, and I am doing nothing but being grateful for it — soaking it up, embracing it. That gratitude keeps me really fired up at the moment.

McIntyre: Tell me about your next musical chapter.

Nuna: I’m working on my third independent album. It’s been really fun. I’ve been doing a lot of stripping down. Something that really inspired me with KPop Demon Hunters is this relentless commitment to story. That was really inspiring.

I’ve written synopses about what this next album is going to be about. I’ve been traveling and creating in different places, creating that separation from everything that I know, and starting fresh when it comes to making things.

I’ve been limiting my tools, because I think having too many tools sometimes can weigh you down. So it’s just me with people I trust in rooms with very few tools, seeing what happens. I will say that this next project… I’ve really invested in this idea of humanness and being able to hear the imperfections, real musicianship, and not necessarily shying away from all of those things. Also really inspired by nature at the moment.

McIntyre: Are you trying to find a way to blend your earlier work, like your album Trench, and then this top 40 pop sound that a lot of people now know you for? It sounds like you’re going the opposite route.

Nuna: I’ve never made my music in reaction to what I think people want, and I don’t think that’s going to change. As a creative, I’m inspired by what I’m inspired by, and hopefully people like it, and if they don’t, it’s all good.

The moment you try to create top 40, it is, for me personally, very counterintuitive. When I try to make top 40, it just sounds like shit. When I do my thing, and I’m excited about what I make, and I’m coming from a pure place, that’s when I make the stuff I’m the most excited about.

I wish I could be like, I’m going to make a top 40 smash, and then I just do it. I wish it worked like that.

McIntyre: So you’re staying independent? I can only assume that in this moment, either the offers are coming in, or certainly people would love to have that conversation with you.

Nuna: A lot of things are changing at the moment. I will say, I feel really grateful that I can even consider either route. Consider being an independent artist or partnering with some really incredible companies.

Speaking to how different my life was six months ago, I don’t think it would have been an option — or it would have felt a bit forced — whereas now it’s a real decision that I have the liberty of making. I’m very grateful for that.