Going up, up, up, indeed, KPop Demon Hunters emerged as the big winner in both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 98th Academy Awards.

Early in Sunday night’s ceremony—early enough for young fans to catch live—the Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation movie collected its long-anticipated trophy for Best Animated Feature, beating out Arco, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Zootopia 2 and Elio.

Keeping with the Oscars’ broader focus this year on staging buzzy cast reunions, the animation honors were presented by Will Arnett and Channing Tatum, who starred in The Lego Batman Movie (2017).

Co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans accepted the award with producer Michelle L.M. Wong. “For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” South Korean-Canadian Kang said, dedicating the win to Koreans around the world. “But it is here, and that means the next generations don’t have to go longing.”

It also wasn’t long before another win for Canada, with The Girl Who Cried Pearls earning the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Funded by the National Film Board of Canada and targeting the 12-plus crowd, this stop-motion fable is about a girl’s pearl tears and a boy who tries to sell them. After the win, directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski underlined the importance of providing funding for animation, and why global streamers must do their part to keep local screen industries alive. 

Later in the night, the Oscars briefly transformed into a concert as KPDH stars EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami took to the stage to perform HUNTR/X’s record-breaking hit “Golden”. The performance weaved in traditional Korean instruments and dancers in hanbok (traditional Korean clothing), as well as light sticks—a common sight at K-pop concerts—for the audience to wave around.

“Golden” then won Best Original Song, becoming the first K-pop song to earn an Oscar. On stage, singer-songwriter EJAE expressed her pride for the genre, which is increasingly being produced for international audiences in mind as it takes over the culture. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone is singing our song, and all the Korean lyrics,” she said on stage. “I’m so proud. I realized the song, the award, it’s not about success, it’s about resilience.”

However, in one of the most criticized moments of the ceremony, the speech was abruptly cut short before her co-writers could get in a word. The team finished their speech backstage, which you can view below:

Featured image credit to Etienne Laurent / The Academy (L-R: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle Wong)