"Leonardo DiCaprio's Unsmiling Glare Haunts KPop Star at BAFTAs"

In an exclusive interview with The Times, "KPop Demon Hunters" sensation Ejae revealed that Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio left her feeling shaken during her performance at the 2026 BAFTA Awards. "The BAFTAs still give me chills," Ejae confessed in a candid interview published Thursday. "I stumbled slightly on my high notes, and there was this one moment that really threw me off - Leonardo DiCaprio was sitting right in front of me, and he wasn't smiling." The award-winning singer recounted her experience as she sang the powerful ballad, "Golden," one of the highest notes during her Oscar-winning performance.

"That's what did it for me," she recalled with a shiver. "Seeing him so unamused made me nervous. It was already nerve-wracking to be performing in front of all those celebrities, and then I find myself locked in an intense stare-down with Leonardo DiCaprio? Talk about pressure!" In lighter moments during the interview, Ejae shared a heartwarming encounter with music royalty Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

"I was at their afterparty, and Jay-Z came up to me and said, 'Hi, I'm Shawn,'" she gushed. "At that moment, I felt like I was floating on air. Beyoncé is my idol, and when she told me I have an incredible voice, I was speechless." Ejae, who wrote "Golden" alongside Mark Sonnenblick as well as several other songs for the film, also shared her role as Rumi's singing voice in the fictional K-pop group HUNTR/X, which features martial arts-trained demon hunters.

Despite Ejae's jitters during her BAFTA performance, "Golden" went on to dominate the 2026 awards season, sweeping the Oscars and securing a place for her trio - which also includes Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami - at events like the Brit Awards, Golden Globes, and Grammys. From star-struck encounters to electrifying performances, Ejae's rise to fame continues to captivate audiences worldwide.