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If you’ve been wanting to have another K-pop-centric movie ever since Kpop Demon Hunterspremiered last year, you are in luck because K-pop: The Debut is around the corner, and Teen Vogue has an exclusive first look and first-hand intel from leading star Ji-Young Yoo.

Scheduled to premiere on February 26, K-pop: The Debut follows the story of Lizzy Lee (played by Yoo), a young Korean-American woman who, tired of spending her life following the path her family chose for her, secretly decides to pursue her dream after landing a spot in a competition show to form the next K-pop girl group in Seoul.

As the official synopsis goes: “Surrounded by extraordinary performers from around the world, all competing for just four coveted spots, Lizzy must push herself further than she ever imagined. As the stakes rise and the competition intensifies, an unexpected ally (Eric Nam) supports her as she finds the confidence to embrace her identity, prove she has what it takes to debut, and claim her place on the world stage.”

Speaking to Teen Vogue ahead of the reveal of the first-look at the project, Yoo shares that while “the broad and global appeal of K-pop certainly makes it rife for inspiration for any type of storytelling,” she believes “the core of the movie is really about how the world often encourages people, especially young people, to play it safe and to settle, and to maybe put a big dream that they have on the shelf while they figure out the rest of their life.” She continues: “This movie is really about a girl who chooses to chase her dreams, so that story is universal and compelling no matter what.”

It’s understandably hard to focus when an unsmiling Leonardo DiCaprio is staring at you. Kpop Demon Hunters singer EJAE reflected on experiencing exactly that while performing the group’s mega-hit “Golden” during the BAFTA Film Awards in February.

“The BAFTAs haunt me,” EJAE said in a recent interview with the Times. “I made mistakes. I cracked a little bit on the high notes. Leonardo DiCaprio was [in the audience] right in front of me and he was not smiling.” 

She explained that just before she sang the lyric “born to be” a high note in the song, she looked right at the actor. “That’s what put me off,” she said. “He made me so nervous. It was already so nerve-racking to be in front of all these celebrities, and then I look up and lock eyes with Leonardo DiCaprio? Come on.” 

Elsewhere in the interview, EJAE recalled crossing paths with one of the music industry’s biggest power couples, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. “I was at their afterparty and Jay-Z came up to me and said, ‘Hi, my name’s Shawn,'” she said. “I was beyond starstruck. Beyoncé is my idol and she said, ‘You have an incredible voice.'” She added, I asked her, ‘Do you know ‘Golden?’ She was like, ‘Yeah, my girls sing it.’”

The KPop Demon Hunters phenomenon whisked Nuna and fellow HUNTR/X singing voices EJAE and Rei Ami into a year-long whirlwind of late-night TV debuts, high-profile interviews, flashy photo shoots and a near-constant stream of performances. Now, Nuna is prioritizing recalibration; she’s not just aiming to merge her new fans with her existing supporters, but also re-aligning her understanding and appreciation for the craft of pop music.

“The biggest thing KPop Demon Hunterstaught me is that it’s okay to fail and struggle through making your art,” she tells Billboard the day after playing Iowa’s Hinterland Music Festival. “As an artist, I’ve always tried to get things to feel good to me, but KPop Demon Hunters taught me structure and that, sometimes [when creating], there is a right answer, and we need to get to it. Almost like design-based thinking. [That experience] reinvigorated my love for pop, and the ideals and philosophies behind it.”

KPop Demon Hunters has slayed on Billboard’s Top Soundtracks chart, having led the list for 54 weeks – just eight weeks shy of the record. This chart was introduced a little more than 25 years ago – on June 30, 2001 – which means it doesn’t include blockbuster soundtracks of previous eras, including West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Doctor Zhivago, Saturday Night Fever and Purple Rain. Actually, it does include one – The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s 1965 TV soundtrack, A Charlie Brown Christmas – but only because of its chart success since 2001.

KPop Demon Hunters has been No. 1 for all but four of its 58 weeks on Top Soundtracks, having yielded for one week each to Wicked: For Good, the holiday perennial A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights and the soundtrack to this year’s most-talked about TV miniseries, Heated Rivalry.

With KPop Demon Hunters likely to set a new record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Top Soundtracks, we thought it would be a good time to look at the 12 soundtracks that have led the chart for 25 weeks or more. The list includes two TV soundtracks and 10 film soundtracks. Notably, the five soundtracks with the most weeks at No. 1 are all from animated films.

“KPop Demon Hunters” stars Ken Jeong and Rei Ami are getting close and personal with some of the world’s most fearsome apex predators for Shark Week! They chatted with “Extra’s” Terri Seymour about the experience — Ken watched from the safety of the boat while Rei swam with hammerhead sharks! Shark Week kicks off Sunday with “KPop Shark Heroes” on Discovery.