KPop Demon Hunters has been a cultural phenomenon for six months now, and it’s shocking to me that Ejae, the songwriter and singing voice of major character Rumi, hadn’t already revealed every demo for the film’s soundtrack months in the past. My favourite track on the soundtrack is the closing quantity, “What it Sounds Like,” during which Rumi and the remainder of the Huntr/x women come collectively, sing apologies to one another throughout a crowded stadium, after which defeat the demon king Gwi-ma. It’s an unimaginable, anthemic finale that ties every part the film has mentioned and completed collectively in a single ensemble efficiency. It seems, the demo laid that on somewhat thicker.
Ejae sat down with YouTuber Daniel Wall for a prolonged interview discussing her course of and enjoying demos of the movie’s songs. She is the only vocalist on these early recordings, as they have been meant to be proofs of idea for the songs that may lastly seem within the movie, and different vocalists, like the opposite two members of Huntr/x, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, hadn’t recorded their elements but.
Amongst these demos is one for “What It Sounds Like,” which was already meant to be the ultimate track within the film in these early phases. The ultimate model of the track has the group singing the Korean “Hunter’s Mantra” beneath the ultimate refrain, however surprisingly the demo model truly had the massive closing quantity drawing from each track within the soundtrack, with a full medley of songs like “Free” and “How It’s Done” combined in. Notably, you gained’t hear Huntr/x’s award-winning lead single “Golden” within the combine right here, as that track hadn’t been written but. You possibly can hear Ejae play the demo in full on the 1:21:31 mark of the total interview:
The interpolation is one superb distinction between the demo and the ultimate model, however I additionally gotta name out the unimaginable harmonies all through. A whole lot of these are nonetheless in “What It Sounds Like,” however that closing combine does foreground Rumi’s voice over these of the opposite two Huntr/x women to carry the melody out. I get why it was combined that manner, however I love the three-part harmonies of the track and want you possibly can hear Zoey and Mira’s elements higher within the closing piece. So listening to Rumi’s a number of tracks dancing round one another right here is pleasant.
Simply after I thought I couldn’t love this track extra, I get to listen to it in a brand new manner. It was truly my high track on my Spotify Wrapped this yr. Don’t ask what number of occasions I listened to it in 2025.
772.
