Asian Normalization in Music After One Year of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

KPop Demon Hunters would not exist without JADED, the diversified music company championing Asian talent. Jaded founder Jing Wang and president Cathleen Cher offer their clients artist development, marketing, management, label services, distribution, and event production.

To the latter, they booked Audrey Nuna and REI AMI—who is also an artist development client at Jaded—for their SXSW 2025 music festival. Sony execs came to the event to see the acts, and after witnessing their powerful sets, Sony brought them in as two of the singing voices for HUNTR/X, the demon-battling K-pop trio leading the award-winning, record-breaking film. Audrey Nuna performed as Mira, and REI AMI performed as Zoey.

Following the unprecedented success of KPop Demon Hunters, the music industry is already adapting. The GRAMMYs just introduced the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, and Warner Music Asia-Pacific has launched Listen Up, a new accelerator program leveraging the Asia-Pacific region towards global recognition for its artists. 

Below, Wang and Cher discuss how the movie has affected their business one year after its release. 

One of JADED’s core principles is breaking barriers for Asian artists. How did KPop Demon Hunters affect those barriers? 

Wang: It's undeniable that the amount of people it's reached goes a very long way in the culture being less “foreign,” but it would be inaccurate to say one project fixed everything. The phrase we use a lot is “normalization over representation.” Once you realize it's not about being Asian or Korean, that really helps normalize. We need to get through the door before we can rearrange the room.

Cher: There's so much authenticity in the Korean representation, but it's a universal story. This also poses a challenge for Asians in the music industry. Now the most recognizable thing is K-pop. Oftentimes, people can get pigeonholed in that. 

Wang: One thing that gives me hope is “Golden.” It’s technically a K-pop song, but its reception maps to a traditional pop song. It's a subtle difference, but it is an important one. So, projects like this need to happen more often. Not necessarily at this scale. It's about how the message is delivered. 

What was it like to work with REI AMI (who sang as Zoey) throughout this huge Sony project? From getting her booked to guiding her through all the success?

Cher: Obviously, major labels have a lot more resources, but that doesn't necessarily equate to success. Being as nuanced as we are, we really understand who an artist is and put them in places like our festival, which gets them in front of the right people. Also, we know how to market those artists in a way that larger entities may not understand.

Wang: Major labels cast a wide net. We cast a deep one. We really have to believe in the talent that we work with. This is ultimately a testament to all three women who were on this journey together. It took a lot of intense work on a project that didn't actually represent [REI] as a solo artist. This is them stepping into a character, rather than showcasing their own creative identities. Everybody really understood what the success of this project meant for their careers and kept that momentum.

Is Sony in your corner for your artists moving forward?

Wang: I can't say enough good things about Sony. Genuinely, they're good people. Our relationship with Sony is an example of our ecosystem. This kind of relationship exists for us across gaming, movies, recorded music, and live entertainment. All of this strengthens those bonds and creates credibility. We know how to nurture talent, and we can always deliver the right talent. It takes the entire ecosystem for a story like KPop Demon Hunters to occur. 

Talking about getting in the room before you rearrange it, Sony can help you at least get in the room.

Wang: That's a big door for us to walk through. It's an interesting position to want to systemically change things without being able to change the actual architecture. That just comes down to people. How do we engage people in decision-making roles? That fabric is woven over many years. It's a value proposition that has to be validated over and over again to maintain that trust. That part of our job is most important, but least visible. You see the success of Kpop Demon Hunters, but how much work did we have to do for things to align to get that one particular door open? That is the essence of our existence, as Jaded.