‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Singer EJAE Says Awkward Moment With Leonardo DiCaprio Wrecked Her BAFTAs Performance

‘KPop Demon Hunters‘ spent last year turning into an unlikely global phenomenon, transforming EJAE from a working vocalist into the singing voice behind one of Netflix’s biggest animated hits ever.

Providing the voice of protagonist Rumi came with a level of visibility EJAE has openly admitted still feels surreal, especially given the years of rejection she faced before landing the role.

That newfound fame came with high-pressure opportunities too, including a February performance of the film’s breakout single “Golden” at the EE BAFTA Film Awards in London. The performance, delivered alongside fellow HUNTR/X vocalists Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, marked the trio’s first time performing the song outside the United States, a milestone that should have felt like a victory lap for a film that had already become Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time.

Instead, EJAE has now revealed the night left her rattled. Speaking to The Times, the singer said she made mistakes and cracked slightly on the song’s high notes, directly attributing the slip to locking eyes with Leonardo DiCaprio, who was seated in the audience directly in front of her looking unsmiling throughout her performance.

“The BAFTAs haunt me,” Ejae said. “I made mistakes. I cracked a little bit on the high notes. Leonardo DiCaprio was [in the audience] right in front of me, and he was not smiling.” 

The singer, who eventually won an Oscar for co-writing “Golden,” said she looked directly at the Titanic actor right as she sang the words “born to be,” which marks one of the highest notes in the entire song. 

According to EJAE, the moment happened right as she was about to hit the demanding high note on the line “born to be,” one of the song’s most technically challenging passages. She explained that stepping onto a stage already packed with major celebrities was nerve-racking enough, and then suddenly locking eyes with DiCaprio pushed her nerves over the edge, calling the encounter what ultimately threw off her performance.

The BAFTAs moment carried extra weight given that EJAE’s character, Rumi, actually cracks on that exact same note in that exact same spot within the film itself, a detail that led many fans to initially assume the real-life vocal crack had been an intentional homage. EJAE has since clarified that wasn’t the case, explaining plainly that the slip stemmed from genuine nerves rather than a scripted callback to the movie.

Fortunately for EJAE, the discomfort didn’t linger. She told The Times she felt considerably less anxious performing “Golden” again the following week at the Brit Awards, crediting the shift to a crowd made up largely of fans and children enthusiastically cheering her on by name, which she described as unexpectedly heartwarming and helpful heading into the performance.

DiCaprio’s presence at the BAFTAs wasn’t coincidental, either. The actor was in London that night as the star of ‘One Battle After Another,’ which dominated the ceremony with six wins including Best Film and Best Director, giving him a front-row seat directly facing the HUNTR/X performers throughout their set.

Despite the shaky high note, EJAE’s overall response to her rapid rise has remained one of genuine disbelief. She told The Times it still feels surreal, describing herself as having gone from being a nobody to suddenly being a somebody virtually overnight.

That trajectory tracks with the film’s broader success story. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ went on to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a Grammy, cementing its place as one of the most decorated animated films in recent memory, even though the film itself was controversially ruled ineligible for a Best Animated Film nomination at the BAFTAs due to lacking a qualifying theatrical release.

For EJAE, the BAFTAs slip may still sting in hindsight, but it hasn’t slowed her momentum in the slightest.

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