HUNTR/X’s Ejae, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna Accept 2026 Woman of the Year

Ejae, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna are Billboard’s Women of the Year recipients, collecting top honors at the 2026 Women in Music event with a powerful and emotionally-charged speech. Explore the latest videos, charts, and news about the singers and songwriters who voice the fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, heroes of the 2025 Netflix animated musical film *KPop Demon Hunters*. Since *KPop Demon Hunters* hit screens and devices, the trio has been smashing ceilings, busting records, and collecting awards. Along the way, HUNTR/X made history as ‘Golden’ won best original song at the Academy Awards, marking the first time a K-pop song won an Oscar. The song also won best pop duo/group performance at the Grammy Awards, the first time a K-pop track won a golden gramophone. On Wednesday, April 29, the artists made history again at the Women in Music event, hosted at the Hollywood Palladium. The road to the top hasn’t been easy. Their journey has been one of self-belief, rebounding, and recalibration, driven by hard work. Ejae remarked, ‘Working in music is not easy. And as an Asian woman, the lack of representation was obvious to me. Growing up in the U.S., I rarely saw artists who look like me on Western stages. So I pursued becoming a K-pop idol. When that didn’t work out, I thought I was done. But when I found songwriting, I realized music doesn’t see race or gender—it only asks for the truth.’ Grammy Award-winning British R&B artist Ella Mai presented the award, but not before the trio performed their hit ‘Golden,’ which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ejae’s speech emphasized the importance of speaking one’s truth, amplifying identity, and creating without apology. She acknowledged the women behind *KPop Demon Hunters*, including director Maggie Kang, Spring Aspers, Michelle Wong, and Sunny Park. Rei Ami thanked God, her mom, and the women beside her for the honor. She highlighted the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, noting the double standards and the need for resilience. Audrey Nuna expressed her emotional journey, rejecting societal expectations of what a Korean-American woman should be. She celebrated the power of women supporting one another and dedicated the award to her team of visionary women, including Paula Park, Nina Lee, Ashley Chu, Sarah Tehrani, Carolyn Massey, Mary Hannon, and Grace Lee. She also acknowledged the women executives fighting for equity and change in the industry.