EJAE has hidden a family portrait inside the artwork for her first Christmas single. The cover of “Christmas in New York” includes her husband, relatives and friends among the people filling a snowy city sidewalk.
The Korean American singer-songwriter, who provides Rumi’s singing voice in Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, will release the track on Friday, November 13, at midnight Eastern Time. She unveiled its illustrated cover on November 6.
In her Instagram announcement, EJAE connected the song to her favorite childhood Christmas memories in New York. She described writing it as a love letter to the city and its holiday atmosphere.
There are musical clues to find, too. Some details refer to the unreleased song’s lyrics, although EJAE is keeping their meanings to herself for now. “I’ll let the fans guess what those could be!” she said.
EJAE’s Family and Friends Become Characters in the Christmas Cover
EJAE wanted the illustration to evoke classic New Yorker imagery with a holiday twist. The finished scene combines pedestrians going about their day with snow and Santa’s sleigh passing overhead.
She worked with illustrator Victoria Tentler-Krylov to include “some easter eggs from my life into the scene,” she told PEOPLE. Those references give several figures specific identities.
EJAE and her husband, Sam Kim, both appear. Her mother is walking her dog, while her father, brother and brother’s family are also represented. The cast extends to her best friend, who served as maid of honor, that friend’s husband and members of her creative team.
Tentler-Krylov has a direct connection to the magazine that inspired the project. An architect as well as an illustrator, she created the “Flower District” cover for The New Yorker‘s October 5 issue. That image celebrates the greenery of Manhattan’s flower district, another busy corner of the city translated into an illustrated scene.
EJAE and Sam Kim Married at Her Grandparents’ Former Home
The couple married on October 17 at Stage 28 in Seoul. In her interview with Vogue, EJAE explained that the property had been her grandparents’ home, where she played in the garden as a child.
Their celebrations included a Paebaek ceremony at Congdu50 the previous day. After exchanging their wedding vows in the garden, they held a glasshouse reception.
EJAE shared photographs from the festivities on October 20, captioning the carousel “Serendipitous day with the love of my life” and adding their wedding date. Her post credited the planners, photographers, designers and other people who helped organize the celebration.
She and Samuel Kim first met at a songwriting session in his home studio in 2017. They later settled in Brooklyn, giving the setting of her new single a connection to their adult life together.
The Holiday Release Follows ‘Golden,’ Solo Singles and a World Cup Anthem
EJAE’s holiday debut arrives after a year of major songwriting awards. “Golden,” which she co-wrote and performed with Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as the voices behind HUNTR/X, spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Recording Academy honored the track with Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2026 Grammys. On March 15, it also won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, where EJAE shared the award with her fellow songwriters.
Her releases outside the film have included “In Another World” in October 2025 and “Time After Time” in February 2026. She also joined Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta and Megan Thee Stallion on “DNA (More Than a Game),” the official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
More recently, EJAE appeared on LE SSERAFIM’s “Made My Night” remix, released September 14. She contributed to its production as well as providing featured vocals, according to the group’s agency, Source Music.
As Aju Press reported, that collaboration also gave listeners references to decode. EJAE’s lyrics name-check earlier LE SSERAFIM songs, including “FEARLESS,” “ANTIFRAGILE” and “CRAZY.”
