Rei Ami on Her New Pop Girl Era, and How Feeling Confident Inspired Her New Single ‘2 Loud’: ‘It’s a Clapback’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Rei Ami has reached a place of genuine self-acceptance, though the road there was anything but smooth. Before joining Huntr/x, one of the three central acts in Netflix's hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters, the 31-year-old artist spent years putting out rap tracks such as Snow Cone and Body Bag, material she now describes as stemming from bitterness and frustration. That film, which earned her both an Academy Award and a Grammy, ended up steering her career in a different direction. "I think the KPop Demon Hunters campaign healed something in me," Ami told Variety. "It shifted and changed a lot for me." The project connected her with a fresh wave of listeners and elevated her profile to levels she had never reached before, opening a period of increased self-confidence that comes through clearly on her forthcoming single 2 Loud, a sharp, dance-oriented pop song scheduled for release this Friday. For added context, KPop Demon Hunters ranked among Netflix's most-viewed animated offerings, a status that handed Ami's music an exceptionally broad international audience virtually overnight.

2 Loud marks a deliberate shift in sound, one propelled by what Ami refers to as her inner pop girl. Reflecting on the intense attention that arrived with the film's success, she admitted she had never encountered anything close to that level of public examination. "I've never had people online comment about just me existing," she said, describing how she adopted new coping mechanisms, including avoiding comment sections and cutting back on doomscrolling. One remark in particular lingered: a viewer asserting she was "doing too much" during a performance. "How am I doing too much?" she remembered thinking. "I am in a position where millions of people are watching me. I have an opportunity of a lifetime." That realization crystallized something for her: strangers do not truly know her, and their judgments are not hers to carry. More importantly, she came to see that being "too much" had generated tangible opportunities, the very ones that allowed her to transform her own life and her parents' lives. That understanding became the emotional core of 2 Loud. As one music industry observer noted, artists who break through on the back of a single enormous project frequently confront a strange paradox: the larger the audience, the more deafening the unsolicited criticism, which makes trusting oneself the rarest commodity of all.

The track, she said, serves as a declaration of unapologetic identity. "I love myself, and I accept myself, flaws and all," she stated, adding that pop has always been her true calling, having grown up on Rihanna and Britney Spears. Her earlier output came from a far darker period, when she felt angry, resentful, and bitter about both her career and her personal life. 2 Loud, by contrast, is about liberation. "I want to dance. I want to celebrate life," she said. "That's what I want to usher into this new era of music, this freedom to be human." The song materialized almost accidentally: during a week when her co-writers, producers, and executive producer were preparing for a writing camp, Ami felt compelled to stop by the studio, where the instrumental was already coming together. Her co-writer Maia Kelly was drafting a verse, and the pair began unpacking Ami's fears about losing herself or becoming someone she was not, a concern made more complicated by the fact that she now performs for a young audience. "Maia and I were talking, and she said, 'Too loud, too much, let's just fucking talk about it,'" Ami recalled. She penned the second verse the following day, driven by irritation. The final product is a retort directed at anyone who considers her excessive. "If this is too loud for you, ooh, I can't fucking wait for you to see what's coming next," she said. "If you don't like it, turn it off."

Regarding her next steps, Ami characterizes her forthcoming album as deeply personal yet broadly resonant, a project that chronicles every peak and valley of her journey rather than striving for philosophical weight. "It's very honest and human," she said, observing that the process has made her more self-assured and more inclined to follow her own instincts. She also opened up about the cost of stifling her naturally expressive nature, particularly while growing up in what she described as a restrictive religious setting. "The moment I let her out, people found it charming," she explained, noting that the very quality she once suppressed turned into a professional strength. Her guidance to others is simple: pursue confidence wherever it can be found, since the traits people often feel ashamed of are frequently the same ones with the power to transform their futures. The interview has been edited and condensed.