original song

This summer, Netflix’s animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters” might have created the most popular K-pop girl group in America. And seemingly the only people unaware of that distinction are its members.

“Is that what it is?,” asks Rei Ami, who with fellow artists Ejae and Audrey Nuna forms the film’s fictional trio Huntr/x. “Is that what it’s being labeled as?”

The stats are behind them: “Golden,” a contender for the Oscar for original song, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for more than eight consecutive weeks, with three other numbers earning a place in the Top 10. As a result, the film’s soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and recently went platinum. With success has come an array of other opportunities as well. The group have since made a cameo on “Saturday Night Live” and performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

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But as Ejae points out, theirs has not been the usual route to K-pop stardom. A former K-pop trainee herself, she notes that many hopefuls spend years developing their craft and chemistry with future group members. “We were all individually our own person. They had their music career, and I have my career as a songwriter,” she says. “[Becoming a K-pop group] later is unheard of with K-pop training. You do it when they’re kids, before anything [can develop], so they can shape them together, whereas we’re our own individuals coming together. Having this synergy is incredibly rare.”

That’s what singing in the most-watched Netflix film of all time will do for you. Premiering in August, “KPop Demon Hunters” propelled the members of Huntr/x — all of them already established in the industry, Nuna and Ami as artists and Ejae, who recently released her first solo single, as a songwriter for K-pop groups — into a new intensity of spotlight. (Ejae also wrote several tracks for the film, including “Golden,” with co-writers Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24 and Teddy.)

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1. Rei Ami is the singing voice for Zoey. 2. Ejae is the singing voice for Rumi. 3. Audrey Nuna is the singing voice for Mira. (Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

“We were thrown together, basically,” says Nuna. “I’ve seen photos of us and I [thought], ‘Damn, we look like we were perfectly calculated to be in this group.’ The balance is nuts. But to think how serendipitous it was that this happened — we didn’t audition in rooms or go through multiple rounds of pairings to find each other… It just speaks to the beauty of the universe and how things go and when things just happen.”

In fact, the singers did not even meet until nearly five months ago, on the carpet at the film’s premiere. They recorded their parts separately with executive music director Ian Eisendrath, who then worked with the music team to edit them all together.

Ami was the last to record her part, which meant she got to hear “This Is What It Sounds Like” in its entirety with all the voices meshed together. The moment recalled the film’s final scene, in which Huntr/x — whose members double as the demon hunters of the title — reunites to fight the main villain to the sounds of the very same song, when “This Is What It Sounds Like” plays.

“I got to hear the song in full and all of our harmonies for the first time,” she recalls. “I was completely moved. I knew in my heart that this was going to be great.”

Still, they never expected the film to become a global phenomenon, resulting in their now chaotic schedules filled with press interviews, panel engagements, media appearances and special performances. Ami smiles, “We’re doing our best.”

Through it all, they’ve hyped each other’s achievements and held hands while expressing their appreciation for each other.

“These women have worked so hard on their journeys individually,” says Ami. “The industry has been so tumultuous, and the amount of pain, struggle, blood, sweat and tears that we’ve individually had to deal with … These two girls are the only ones in the world who will fully understand what I’m going through. I can’t talk to anyone else about this. Only they understand, and I feel so supported and not alone.”

They all clasp hands, with Ami telling the others, “I love you guys.”

And, for all the challenging moments, they are immensely grateful for the chance to fulfill their dreams. They all express their gratitude for the opportunity, as it has always been their dream.

“Literally, a month before the movie came out, I was doubting myself as a songwriter,” Ejae explains. “My goal was to get No. 1 on the Hot 100. I was going to do that — move to California, write so many sessions, and get No. 1. It felt impossible.”

“Those are all things we have on our bucket list,” Ami, right, says of the prospect of performing at the Oscars or Grammys.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

Ami becomes emotional about the film’s success when she talks about its impact on her career.

“I’m so blessed,” she says, holding back tears. “It’s really introduced me to more fans and new fans. This whole experience has taught me a lot about myself and what I want to do as an artist. My dreams are coming true.”

That hasn’t necessarily been the experience for her groupmates, though. “It takes a very long time [for me] to process and metabolize emotions,” Nuna says of her own lack of waterworks. “I’ve never wanted somebody to cry so much in my life,” Ami chimes in, laughing. “Feel something!”

The “instant chemistry” displayed in their interview was recently on display when the three were asked to perform “Golden” together for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” — their first as a group. And the more they rehearsed, the more they cohered. Just like a real K-pop group.

“It’s really wild and weird,” says Nuna. “Honestly, the mesh of our voices just felt so intuitive. It was very organic and easy. The song is not easy, but the mesh and connecting were. It was literally our first time singing together, and I feel like we were hearing overtones in our harmonies and stuff, because they’re just really locked in.”

Awards buzz, for both the Oscars and the Grammys, has come as a surprise to the group, but it leads to questions about reuniting Huntr/x onstage at the biggest pop culture events of the year.

“[Performing at the Oscars or Grammys] would be the biggest deal,” says Ami. “I think we can all relate. That’s probably one of the highest accolades and achievements you can accomplish as an artist, songwriter, and producer. Those are all things we have on our bucket list.”

The trio hasn’t thought far enough ahead about an actual performance on either stage, as they’ve only recently begun rehearsing together.

“Jimmy Fallon will be a good practice,” Ejae laughs. “Good warm-up preparation.”

Indeed, though they have joked about forming a (real-life) K-pop group, all three are busy with individual projects — at least for now.

“If we were to get together, the charts better watch out!” Ami shouts. “You might not ever see another name other than us.”

Brian Setzer was on tour with the Stray Cats last year when he noticed the earliest signs of what was eventually diagnosed as an autoimmune disorder.

Now, it seems that disorder may be keeping Setzer off the road.

The Stray Cats said Tuesday they would be canceling their fall U.S. tour as Setzer, 66, battled a “serious illness.” The announcement comes months after Setzer’s diagnosis, although it’s not yet clear if this is a separate health issue.

“I know this affects so many people and I am devastated to have to deliver this news,” Setzer wrote Tuesday on X. “I’ve been trying everything I can to go on and do these shows, but it is just not possible.

“I’ve been looking forward so much to being on stage with my band mates again,” he said, “and playing for all of our amazing fans, and I’m gutted.”

The Stray Cats initially canceled the first two stops on their fall run, in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and Rockford, Ill., before scrapping the whole tour Tuesday. The band said refunds would be available at the point of purchase and did not announce any future tour dates.

Setzer first shared details about his unspecified autoimmune disease in February, writing on social media that, although the illness was not painful, it rendered him unable to play guitar.

“It feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play,” he wrote, adding that the disease had for a time hindered his ability to accomplish everyday tasks like tying his shoes.

The artist said that he had been improving as he received care at “the best hospital in the world down the block from me,” the Mayo Clinic.

“I know I will beat this, it will just take some time,” he said. “I love you all.”

The Stray Cats, formed by Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom in 1979, have dissolved and re-formed several times over the decades. In 2019, the founding trio reunited to release a 40th anniversary album, aptly dubbed “40,” their first album in a quarter of a century.

On Friday, the band rolled out its first release since then. The pair of singles, consisting of original song “Stampede” and a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Teenage Heaven,” were described on the band’s website as “loud, upbeat, and unmistakably The Stray Cats.”

“Jim and I cut both songs in Minneapolis at Terrarium Studios,” Setzer said in a statement posted to the site. “‘Stampede’ was an instrumental that I wrote lyrics for. I basically copied the guitar part, which was pretty ahead of its time to begin with, and ‘Teenage Heaven’ is one of the few Eddie Cochran songs that has not been covered to death.”

Rocker said “‘Stampede’ has the drive and intensity that brings me back to our first album,” and “‘Teenage Heaven’ is a classic Eddie Cochran song that we put our [Stray] Cats magic on.”

“The Cats are back and better than ever,” the bassist said.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.

Speaking with musician and producer Adrian Quesada elicits a calming effect, as if a salve has been applied to the people conversing with him. His voice moves and bounces with intrigue and interest, but never catapults itself upward in decibels.

The soothing and entrancing qualities of his disposition mirror that of his latest album, “Boleros Psicodélicos II,” a 12-track sonic field trip through Quesada’s Latin American influences — and a testament to teamwork — that dropped on Friday.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the mellow Austin-based musician prefers to kick it in the background, fancying himself more of an Izzy Stradlin than a Slash — despite having his name splashed across his imminent record.

“I always consider myself more of a producer than an artist. Being a solo artist is a very recent thing for me,” Quesada told The Times on a recent sunny day by Echo Park Lake. “It’s really raw and kind of a weird thing for me because it’s not my style to be in the forefront. I just like to make the music. I try to move in silence.”

He managed to maneuver the music industry by flying under the radar up until a few years ago by playing in large ensembles. His former band, Grupo Fantasma, had 10 members; his mid-2000s Latin-funk group Brownout was also a dectet; and his Grammy-winning group, Black Pumas, had seven (sometimes eight) members. While he obscured himself physically, his musicianship and production skill always stood out.

Grupo Fantasma’s “El Existential” won a Grammy for Latin rock or alternative album in 2011. Black Pumas were nominated in the new artist category in 2020, then received three more Grammy nods in 2021 — which included record of the year for the track “Colors” and album of the year for the group’s eponymous album. Black Pumas also nabbed two Grammy nominations in 2022 and another one in 2024.

Quesada embarked on his journey as a solo artist with “Boleros Psicodélicos” — the spiritual precursor to his latest album. It featured covers of boleros from across Latin America, as well as original material, with Quesada enlisting artists such as iLe from Calle 13, Mireya Ramos and Gaby Moreno to lend their voices to the project.

The Times called that 2022 album a “tropical mystery-thriller of a record,” imbued with a “crispy, 1960s psych-rock feel [that] … sets the scene for Latin indie’s best and brightest vocalists to truly sparkle.”

“Boleros II” finds Quesada as aurally slick as ever as he tackles the oft-covered romantic Spanish standard “Cuatro Vidas,” plus Los Pasteles Verdes’ “Hoy Que Llueve” and brand-new tracks — all while integrating his signature three-over-two rhythms.

(James Carbone / For De Los)

Born and raised in the border town of Laredo, Texas, Quesada always felt he was “at the crossroads of a crossroad.”

“It’s not quite Mexico, but it’s not quite Texas and it’s not quite the Rio Grande Valley,” Quesada said. “Laredo is completely bilingual, everybody just speaks Spanglish. I didn’t have a distinction between English and Spanish and it was a couple of different cultures together. Now with music, people seem really caught up on genres — this is in Spanish and this is in English. And none of that really fazes me.”

Like most American kids of the ’80s and ’90s, Quesada’s biggest source of musical consumption came from binge-watching MTV, with a sprinkling of recommendations from friends.

“I was home a lot by myself and I would just watch MTV, so I used to watch all the shows: ‘Yo! MTV Raps,’ ‘Headbangers Ball,’ ‘Alternative Nation’ and ‘120 Minutes,’” he said. “That was where I was discovering stuff. And then friends had an older cousin who used to make me cool tapes, and other friends would pass around hip-hop tapes.”

Quesada says he finally became curious about what a music producer does after listening to N.W.A in his teen years. He recalls sitting in front of his Casio keyboard with its pre-programmed drum machine and trying to dissect the intricacies of what producer Dr. Dre was able to craft.

Revealing the arbitrary nature of self-imposed borders — of both countries and genres — is one of Quesada’s artistic goals, opting to build bridges and not walls.

“There’s a thing called the narcissism of small differences, which means we can’t get over our differences that we have with other people that are so minuscule, we have to differentiate ourselves,” Quesada said. “And I’m starting to finally feel a responsibility for showing people nothing is that different. Latin rhythms are not that different from soul rhythms, or funk rhythms, or rock ’n’ roll. That’s probably the biggest [impact] my upbringing has on me.”

Despite his deeply Texas roots and sensibilities, Quesada’s “Boleros II” and his recent life experiences have been immensely L.A.-coded.

Quesada was nominated for original song at this year’s 97th annual Academy Awards, for writing the track “Like A Bird” with Abraham Alexander, as featured in the Colman Domingo-led film “Sing Sing.”

“I had fun with that. I was catching key things in the movie, seeing what they did visually, and what I could do musically on the song,” he said of working on the piece.

That process led to him spending more time in L.A. than anticipated. “The Oscars kind of flipped my world upside down,” he said. “I had to be here a lot between the nomination being announced and Oscars night. That was the first three months of the year.”

Carrying the L.A. momentum from the Academy Awards to “Boleros II” is the notable presence of Angelenos on the album, including Hawthorne’s perpetual sadboi Cuco, El Monte native Angélica Garcia and Carson soul singer Trish Toledo. (L.A. producer Alex Goose may not be Latino, but his intrepid hip-hop production chops blend seamlessly with Quesada’s eclectic sensibilities.)

“L.A.’s such a predominant Latino town,” said Quesada. “All the references I was showing Angelica, Trish and Cuco, they were very familiar with all that stuff. It came really natural to them. So I do think there’s something with L.A. where they get it culturally here. I leaned on a lot of L.A. artists.”

Quesada is currently touring as part of Trio Asesino, in support of Hermanos Gutiérrez on their U.S. tour. Quesada will perform songs from “Boleros II” at L.A.’s Grand Park on Aug. 2, as part of a free summer concert series by Grand Performances. (Editor’s note: De Los will be a co-presenter of Quesada’s performance.)

“‘Sing Sing’ was about rehabilitation through the arts and how it can change people’s lives, not just reaching people as a fan, but also reaching more kids who can take up art,” Quesada said of the mission of the Grand Performances series. “I believe in the power of art. Everything from a song inspiring a whole movement to a song just making you smile for the day, that’s the power of music.”