Rei Ami

1. Early life

Sarah Yeeun Lee was born on May 25, 1995, in Seoul, South Korea,^[15] to South Korean parents. When she was six, her family moved to the United States, settling in Germantown, Maryland.^[15] She took lessons on piano and guitar. Her parents, devout Christians,^[15] paid for tutoring to ensure that she would perform at church services.^[6] She graduated from Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland in 2014, then from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2018.^[16] In a 2020 interview with The Diamondback, Ami described her musical process during the COVID-19 quarantine: "It’s mostly virtual sessions. Every session is different with each producer but, you know, trying to just make it work. And it’s been successful so far."^[17]

2. Career

In 2019, Ami filmed the visualizer for her breakout single "Snowcone"^[18][19] with a budget of under $100.^[11] That led to her signing with Visionary Records.^[20][21]

2.1. 2020–2024: Freak and Foil

The official music video for "Freak" by Sub Urban,^[22] featuring Lee,^[23][24][25] was released on March 13, 2020,^[23] alongside Sub Urban's EP Thrill Seeker.^[26] The video, which was directed by Andrew Donoho, has a circus-themed background. Ami is depicted as a snake-human hybrid. On YouTube, the video has had over 292 million views and over 3.5 million videos on TikTok.^[24] Lee was featured on Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show.^[27]

Her debut mixtape, Foil, released on June 25, 2021, included collaborations with Aminé on "Do It Right"^[28][29] and Lolo Zouaï on "Cherry Chapstick".^[12] The project showed her ability to move between assertive rap verses and melodic pop hooks.

2.2. 2025–present: KPop Demon Hunters , new music

On the soundtrack of the 2025 film KPop Demon Hunters, Ami provided the singing and rapping vocals for the character Zoey, in the songs "Golden", "How It's Done", "What It Sounds Like", and "Takedown" (soundtrack version).^[31][32] On October 4, 2025, she along with her fellow KPop Demon Hunters cast-mates Ejae and Audrey Nuna made a cameo appearance on the season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live in a sketch based on the film, reprising their respective roles as Rumi, Mira and Zoey.^[33] On October 7, they together performed "Golden" live in full for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.^[34] On December 25, she and the other voices of Huntrix performed "12 Days of Christmas" at the Snoop Dogg 2025 NFL Halftime Show.^[35] On April 10, 2026, she and the other voices of Huntrix appeared during Katseye's Coachella 2026 performance as surprise guests and performed "Golden" alongside Katseye.^[36][37]

As of December 2025, she has been working on a new album after signing to Republic Records.^[38] On September 17, 2026, Ami released "2 Loud", her first single through the company.^[39]

3. Personal life

Ami has talked about her personal challenges, including an erroneous diagnosis with depression during her first year of college and her 2022 diagnosis with bipolar disorder.^[38] She has called music a therapeutic outlet that has helped her navigate mental health struggles.^[40]

Ami is a self-proclaimed anime fan, and in a TikTok, attributed her stage name to the Sailor Moon characters Rei Hino and Ami Mizuno.^[8]

4. Discography

4.1. Mixtapes

Title	Details
Foil	Released: June 25, 2021[12][41] Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD

4.2. EPs

Title	Details
Shhh[42]	Released: November 10, 2023 Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD

4.3. Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Album
"Make It Mine"[15]	2019	Non-album single
"Snowcone"[11]
"Dictator"[43][44]
"Runaway"[45]	2020
"Mac & Cheese"[12][21]
"Do It Right"[29] featuring Aminé	2021	Foil
"That's on You!"
"F.R.A."
"Ricky Bobby"
"Hot One"[46] featuring Leyla Blue and Baby Tate		Non-album single
"Plaything" featuring Pussy Riot and Kito	2022
"Body Bag"[47]	2023	Shhh

As featured artist

Title	Year	Details
"Freak" (Sub Urban featuring Rei Ami)	2020	Non-album single
"Bye" (Marsha Ambrosius featuring Rei Ami)
"Rainy" (Dillon Francis featuring Rei Ami)[48]	2023	This Mixtape Is Fire Too
"I See Red" (lilbubblegum featuring Rei Ami)	2024	Non-album single

4.4. Other charted songs

List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US [49]	AUS [50]	CAN [51]	KOR [52]	MLY [53]	NZ [54]	PHL Hot [55]	SGP [56]	UK [57]	WW [58]
"How It's Done" (with Ejae and Audrey Nuna as Huntrix)	2025	8	7	9	10	9	8	12	9	9	5	RIAA: Platinum[59] ARIA: 2× Platinum[60] BPI: Platinum[61] RMNZ: Platinum[62]	KPop Demon Hunters
"Golden" (with Ejae and Audrey Nuna as Huntrix)		1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	RIAA: 5× Platinum[59] ARIA: 5× Platinum[60] BPI: 3× Platinum[63] KMCA: Platinum[64] MC: 8× Platinum[65] RMNZ: 5× Platinum[62]
"Takedown" (with Ejae and Audrey Nuna as Huntrix)		21	15	25	37	18	18	24	13	67	11	ARIA: Platinum[66] BPI: Gold[67] MC: 2× Platinum[65] RMNZ: Platinum[62]
"What It Sounds Like" (with Ejae and Audrey Nuna as Huntrix)		15	12	15	44	7	10	17	8	13	7	RIAA: Platinum[59] ARIA: 2× Platinum[60] BPI: Platinum[68] MC: 2× Platinum[65] RMNZ: Platinum[62]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

5. Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2025	KPop Demon Hunters	Zoey (singing voice)	Netflix original movie	[31][69]
	Saturday Night Live	Herself[1]	Season 51, Episode 1 Cameo	[33]
	The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon	Herself	Guest and live performer[1]	[34]
	99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade	Herself[1]	Live performance	[70]
	Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve	Herself[1]	Live performance	[71]

6. Tours

Supporting

• 333 Tour (with Tinashe) (2021)^[72][73][74]
• Friends:Forever, SXSW 2024^[75][76][42]

7. Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2025	Asia Artist Awards	Best OST	"Golden"[1]	Won	[77]
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Song – Onscreen Performance (Film)		Nominated	[78]
	K-World Dream Awards	Best OST		Won	[79]
	Korea Grand Music Awards	Best Virtual Artist		Nominated	[80]
	Los 40 Music Awards	Best International New Artist	Huntrix[1]	Won	[81]
	MAMA Awards	Best OST	"Golden"[1]	Won	[82]
	MTV Video Music Awards	Song of Summer		Nominated	[83]
	Melon Music Awards	Song of the Year		Nominated	[84]
		Best OST		Won	[85]
	Variety Hitmakers Awards	Variety's Hitmakers	Rei Ami[1]	Honored	[86]
2026	Advanced Imaging Society Lumiere Awards	Best Musical Scene or Sequence	"Golden"[1]	Won	[87]
	American Music Awards	Song of the Year		Won	[88]
		Best Pop Song		Won
		Best Vocal Performance		Won
	Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production	KPop Demon Hunters[2]	Won	[89]
	Billboard Women in Music	Billboard Women of the Year	Huntrix[1]	Honored	[90]
	Brit Awards	International Group of the Year		Nominated	[91]
		International Song of the Year	"Golden"[1]	Nominated
	Dorian Award	Film Music of the Year	KPop Demon Hunters[2]	Nominated	[92][93]
	Grammy Awards	Best Pop Duo/Group Performance	"Golden"[1]	Nominated	[94]
	iHeartRadio Music Awards	Duo/Group of the Year	Huntrix[1]	Won	[95]
		Pop Song of the Year	"Golden"[1]	Nominated
		K-pop Song of the Year		Won
		Best Lyrics		Nominated
	Japan Gold Disc Award	Song of the Year by Download (Asia)		Won	[96]
		Song of the Year by Streaming (Asia)		Won
	Korea First Brand Awards	Hot Icon (Female)	Huntrix[1]	Won	[97]
	Korean American Community Foundation	Trailblazer Award		Honored	[98]
	MTV Video Music Awards	Song of the year	"Golden"[1]	Nominated	[99]
	Music Awards Japan	Best Song Asia		Won	[100][101] [102]
		Best International Pop Song in Japan		Nominated
		International Song powered by Spotify		Nominated
	Music City Film Critics Association	Best Original Song		Nominated	[103]
	SEC Awards	International Song of the Year		Nominated	[104]

7.1. Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Billboard Korea	2025	K-Pop Artist 100[1]	55th	[105]
Forbes	2025	100 Most Powerful Women[3]	100th	[106]
Luminate	2025	Most Streamed K-Pop Artist in US[1]	2nd	[107]
Gold House	2026	Gold100 List[4][5]	Included	[108]