*

'KPop Demon Hunters' vocalists draw musical inspiration

from

Black American hip-hop artists

*

Movie is currently sitting as Netflix's ( NFLX ) most popular

English-language film

*

The film spawned the most-consumed soundtrack in the US so

far

this year

(Adds KPop Demon Hunters' surprise performance on Saturday

Night Live in paragraph 10-12)

By Danielle Broadway

LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 (Reuters) - While the lead vocalists

in animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" are largely inspired by

the work of other K-Pop artists, EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna

said they also admire Black American hip-hop stars like Kendrick

Lamar, Missy Elliott and Doechii.

"I think I discovered West Coast rap in high school, and I

learned a lot about storytelling, lyricism and rhythm," Korean

American rapper and singer Rei Ami said.

All three vocalists told Reuters that rapper and record

producer Lamar's music had particularly impacted their musical

styles.

"His (Lamar's) flow is insane, cadence, his way of writing,

his way of vocal producing, I learned a lot from that," Korean

American singer and songwriter EJAE said.

"KPop Demon Hunters," directed by Maggie Kang and Chris

Appelhans and available on Netflix ( NFLX ), is trending around the

world. Its soundtrack has dominated the charts this summer,

boasting more than 3 billion global streams to date, and

breakout hit "Golden" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100

chart, Netflix ( NFLX ) reported in August.

The streaming platform reported on Tuesday that the movie

was currently its most popular English-language film.

A sing-along version of "KPop Demon Hunters" topped the

domestic box office during its opening weekend on August 23 and

24, in what appeared to be a historic first for Netflix ( NFLX ).

The action-packed movie received 2.1 billion on-demand audio

and video streams in the U.S. across all platforms and earned a

total of 5.4 billion minutes watched on Netflix ( NFLX ) in the U.S. by

late September, according to Luminate.

Luminate added it was the most-consumed soundtrack in the

U.S. so far this year when looking at album sales and streaming

equivalents.

FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

While the first live performance for the lead trio of

"KPop Demon Hunters" was originally going to be October 7 when

the singers will perform "Golden" on "The Tonight Show," there

was a surprise performance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on

Saturday, which marked their official live singing debut

together.

EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna performed "Golden" during

an SNL skit with host, singer Bad Bunny.

"It's official," the singers said in unison, talking

about the upcoming performance on "The Tonight Show."

"These girls, it's an honor being on stage with them," Rei

Ami said, noting that for her, this history-making moment is

"overdue."

The movie, which came out on June 20, follows a K-pop girl

group called HUNTR/X, comprised of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, who are

also a trio of demon hunters that perform K-pop music to impress

fans and combat demons.

EJAE provides the singing voice for the lead singer Rumi and

cowrote "Golden," which she performs with Rei Ami, who sings as

Zoey, and Audrey Nuna, who's the vocalist for Mira.

The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation.

With the musical movie continuing to trend, directors Kang

and Appelhans said they are considering what the future may

hold.

Both said they are thinking about a potential sequel, but

right now, they are just trying to take their busy schedules day

by day.

They are also appreciative of the Oscar and Grammy awards

buzz they have received.

"It's an honor to be even recognized, to be potential

nominees," Kang said.