'KPop Demon Hunters' IDO Says Rock-Paper-Scissors Decided Oscars Speech: "It Got Cut, but We Were Happy"

The Black Label producer group IDO (Lee Yoo-han, Gwak Joong-gyu, Nam Hee-dong), who contributed to the "KPop Demon Hunters" OST and earned an Oscar, looked back on their euphoric Academy Awards moment.

At a press conference held April 1 at CGV Yongsan in Seoul to celebrate the film’s Academy win, the three members of IDO said they were happy―even though their acceptance speech got cut off at the Oscars.

Lee Yoo-han, who went onstage with EJAE to accept Best Original Song and got a chance to speak, recalled the time limit cutting him short. “I wanted to tell everyone’s families, our labelmates, and our members, ‘Great job.’ I couldn’t deliver everything I prepared, which was a bummer, but it was such an honor that I was still happy,” he said.

Nam Hee-dong said, “I was watching from the back and just enjoying it. From the unexpected moments to standing on the platform and seeing so many actors up close―it was fun and an honor.”

Listening to the trio, director Maggie Kang shared some insider tea: “I heard they decided who would give the acceptance speech with rock-paper-scissors.”

Lee Yoo-han confirmed it. “That’s right. I won at the Golden Globes, and I won at the Academy, too,” he said.

Gwak Joong-gyu, who went onstage at the Oscars but didn’t get to speak, shared what he wanted to say at the time. “I wanted to thank the many fans who loved our film and music. And I wanted to thank my family as well.”

IDO co-composed and co-wrote the entire "KPop Demon Hunters" OST and the main theme, "Golden." The Best Original Song acceptance stage was packed, too―featuring singer and co-writer EJAE, co-lyricist Mark Sonnenblick, and composers Gwak Joong-gyu, Lee Yoo-han, Nam Hee-dong, Seo Jeong-hoon, Teddy Park, and more.

But the Academy presented only one trophy for Best Original Song. So who’d get to keep that single Oscar became a hot topic.

Host Park Kyung-lim suggested deciding it right there with another round of rock-paper-scissors. The three played, and Gwak Joong-gyu won. As he celebrated, Lee Yoo-han laughed and said, “Let’s keep it at the studio. We’ll put it in our shared workspace,” drawing smiles all around.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)