Asian Pop Nation

After 31 episodes provided by a team of 10 young Asian folks who loved popping in every Tuesday to yap about everything under the sun, we have officially reached the end of Asian Pop Nation 2024 (and potentially forever)! Come join us one last time to not only talk about a concert that feels very on-brand for us to end our show on, but to also reflect on the year and the evolution of APN with some fun behind the scenes lore. No matter if you are a long-time or recent listener of our show, thank you so much for tuning in to our little corner here on SYN and for one last time... this is APN signing off! 👋❤️ (00:00) One last intro from your APN 2024 team (02:21) Jessie & Ethan's experience at MIKU EXPO 2024 in Melbourne (13:24) How was 2024 for us individually? (32:16) A mix of Asian movies, anime, media & music we enjoyed in 2024 (45:12) Reminiscing about the history of APN and our times on the show (01:05:30) Goodbye from us here at Asian Pop Nation Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before we officially rip the band-aid off when it comes to reaching the end of APN 2024, our team members wanted to focus on more light-hearted moments that happened back in November (with an October sneak entry), such as the trio of concerts we got to see from girl groups' ARTMS & (G)I-DLE as well as from solo artist, tiffi. The fun times however do come to an end as we also say our early farewells to our newest team member, Annabella, by giving her the spotlight to yap all about the stuff she personally loved in 2024! (P.S. Listen to this episode to find out where you can continue to hear her on your airwaves) (01:46) Annabella's Asian media faves of 2024 ❤️ (16:29) Ethan's SVIP experience at ARTMS's Moonshot World Tour in Melbourne (25:40) Tracy's experience at (G)I-DLE's i-DOL World Tour in Melbourne (39:56) Tracy's experience at tiffi's cold medicine tour in Melbourne Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the title of this episode suggest, we are doing a massive recap session on all of the major headlines that took the world by storm... maybe a while back, but we couldn't end off the year just yet without covering these topics at all! So tune in to the APN team discussing all of the chaos from the past while also switching the spotlight to our EP, Tracy, making her official return to the mic after her big overseas trip to Singapore and Taiwan for the first time! (01:24) RIIZE & Seunghan's controversy (17:36) The Vatican designing an anime-inspired mascot called Luce (20:17) Simu Liu vs Bobba in the TV show, 'Dragon's Den' (25:56) Why is a new Korean cooking show called 'Culinary Class Wars' so popular right now? (30:48) A solo traveller's guide to Singapore, brought to you by Tracy (43:19) A solo traveller's guide to Taiwan, brought to you by Tracy Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Entering the month of November reminds us of the fact that we have to start our countdown to the end of our 2024 APN run! 😢 But before we start delving into the sadness revolving around this particular month, we are time travelling back to happier times in October to not only hear Annabella & Jessie's thoughts of the most recent Stray Kids's stadium concert in Melbourne but also welcoming Le back to the APN virtual studio to yap all about her travel stories in Malaysia & China. (01:38) Stray Kids World Tour in Marvel Stadium (24:50) Le visits Malaysia & China and experiences a cultural whiplash Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a similar vein of bringing back a classic APN special that has been neglected for far too long, we are welcoming our Member Mixtape back to this year's APN rotation! If this is your first time seeing these words thrown around, it is an annual tradition in which each of our team members will have the spotlight to chat & play whatever they want; all rules are off the table! From casual catchup sessions with team members who have been MIA for a bit, to showering love & appreciation to some of our personal fave shows, this episode has it all. 🎶 (00:00) Annabella's picks (07:17) Lisha's picks (11:43) Xenia's picks (19:46) Ethan's picks (26:32) Tharuki's picks (36:41) Jessie's picks Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call this episode a little throwback to a topic that hasn't been getting as much love as usual here at APN, aka all things anime/manga related! Given how much talk there has been about a series of long-running manga's reaching their end in 2024, we wanted to take a look back at a large variety of endings that didn't really hit the mark for us personally. We will also take a slight detour this episode into discussing a certain VTuber announcing their retirement from the streaming scene, and what closing a chapter in their streaming journey means to a fan. Minor spoilers ahead... 🤫 (03:51) Anime/Manga endings that are bad in APN's opinion Part 1 (13:14) Anime/Manga endings that are bad in APN's opinion Part 2 (26:22) Anime/Manga endings that are bad in APN's opinion Part 3 (40:23) The streaming pipeline from IShowSpeed to VTuber Amelia Watson (53:04) More lore drop about VTuber Amelia Watson & her retirement Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you are looking far and wide for an incredible Asian artist who was able to look at a real life ceramic bear, and make it the inspiration for one of our favourite new tracks of the week, look no further than the LA-based Singaporean singer-songwriter, Linying! She joins Tracy & Annabella in dissecting through the behind-of-scenes creation process of her latest single, "Donovan", as well as the many transitional phases in Linying's artistic journey, including moving overseas! 🐻 You can listen to "Donovan" on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. You can also follow Linying on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to hear about all her future releases and projects. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And the ball doesn't stop rolling here at APN as we have another exciting interview, this time from Los Angeles-based Singaporean artist, Linying, joining us for a chat about her latest single, "Donovan"! But if you also love to fall into deep rabbit holes into certain niche, but well-loved films & music, you are going to love the many movie retrospectives that are all occurring at once in little old Melbourne, from Godzilla to Akira Kurosawa. We'll also take a look into a disbanded Japanese girl group that has been having a bit of a revival moment due to the certain recent Emmy winning actress. 😉 (00:00) Our interview with Linying (27:57) Asian film retrospectives happening in Melbourne (36:04) A mini deep dive into FAKY, Anna Sawai's former J-pop group, brought to you by Tracy Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After releasing a joint collaboration album back in July titled, "AAA", indie powerhouses HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster are ready to bring their album to life with their upcoming November tour across Australia! In preparation for an once-in-a-lifetime concert experience, Tracy sat down with frontmen Oh Hyuk from HYUKOH and Kuo Kuo from Sunset Rollercoaster to chat all about the work that went behind intertwining two creative visions from Korea and Taiwan together plus a little tale about taxes. 🪁 Chinese translations during the interview: (04:48) 因为台湾的中文舌头比较平 : because Taiwanese Chinese has flatter tones (05:09) 台灣通勤第一品牌 (shortened to 台通 tái tōng) : a popular Taiwanese podcast show (06:16) 华侨 huáqiáo : A diasporic Chinese person You can find out more about the "AAA Tour" through here. You can also listen to "AAA" on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. You can also follow HYUKOH on their website and Instagram, and also Sunset Rollercoaster on their website and Instagram, to hear about all their future releases and projects. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brand new month also comes with a brand new season of APN! With the power of uploading episodes back to back, it probably doesn't feel like a big break for you, dear listeners, but over here in APN, we have been cooking up a bunch of surprises behind the scenes & are finally ready to reveal it now! Starting with our very special interview with both HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster in the lead up to their upcoming tour in November, the up's and down's Asian folks have been facing on TV, the KATSEYE takeover and a certain comedian opening up a certain fried rice restaurant. Tune in to this episode to find out all of the details! 🍚 (00:00) Our interview with HYUKOH & Sunset Rollercoaster (17:54) Asians on TV: Shōgun’s record breaking Emmy wins, The Bachelorette, Bridgerton (27:22) One Uncle Roger fried rice restaurant opens and suddenly all hell breaks loose (39:01) The KATSEYE phenomenon Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once upon a time, the APN team sat all together in the SYN studios, to record the final episode of Season 3 back in September... and now you get to hear exactly what we chatted about on that faithful night! There will be plenty of tales about the concert experiences to come from both the Laufey & aespa shows last month, and for the anime enthusiasts out there, you will also get to hear our thoughts about the 2024 Animaga Expo, so gather around for our final Season 3 episode for the year! (02:23) Annabella's POV experiencing A Very Laufey Day in Melbourne (11:44) Le and Liz's POV experiencing Laufey's Bewitched: The Goddess Tour at the Palais Theatre (22:24) Ethan and Lisha's POV experiencing aespa's SYNK: PARALLEL LINE at Rod Laver Arena (34:31) Le and Lisha's POV experiencing Animaga Expo 2024 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever wanted all of the behind-the-scenes tea from being in a televised documentary about becoming a manga creator or maybe you wanted to relish the past "joyful" memories of being an Asian kid going to your daily Kumon class? Well, this episode of APN will have some special guests here & there, who are ready to spill on their personal experiences going through these core memories of their lives. You can watch the documentary through the official NHK website. Be sure to also check out the one-shot manga's by Enewald and Monotone Ink to see their finalized work in action! (02:23) NHK's Documentary "Discovering Tomorrow's Manga Masters" (31:26) The Kumon Experience 😐 Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some unfortunate technical issues in the past couple of weeks has led APN to have a few miscellaneous topics that might seem old news now as we reach the end of August. But please bare with us as we take a trip down memory lane to APN's collective first reactions to seeing the hit Thai film, 'How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies' in Australian cinemas, while also hearing some insane tales to come from IVE's first ever Melbourne show back in July & 3rd generation girl groups slowly fading away from us. 😔 (01:04) First reactions to How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (12:18) POV: You are Ethan doing everything you can to see IVE in Melbourne (22:30) The story of Weki Meki and the current state of 3rd gen K-pop girl groups Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In classic APN fashion, we will be returning to our good old friend aka the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF for short), to highlight some of the films in their 2024 line-up that were done by Asian filmmakers across the globe! 📽️ For some bonus shenanigans, the team decide to interrogate Ethan on his trip to Jakarta & Singapore whilst also looking into the Hatsune Miku Australian takeover that is slowly but surely approaching us... (00:58) Asian films at MIFF 2024 (23:48) Ethan visits Jakarta & Singapore (warning: there will be Minions mentioned) (33:25) Hatsune Miku touring Australia Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has been an influx of shows, movies, books & pop culture events that each of our team members have wanted to yap about on APN for AGES but it all kept being put into the backburner until now! So listen in to hear all about it, from some of our general thoughts about hit TV series, Shogun & The Sympathizer to books such as Yellowface by R.F. Kuang and even the phenomena of K-pop entering the Western market. (01:56) SM’s new UK-focused boy group and the concept of "global groups" (13:35) TV series reviews: The Sympathizer and Shogun (24:04) Movie reviews: How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and Ultraman: Rising (29:42) Asian rep on Masterchef Australia (Season 16) (34:28) Book review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (44:48) SEVENTEEN at Glastonbury Festival 2024 Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a tiny little hibernation period of us here at APN, we are officially back for Season 3! 🥳 Just like everyone else in the year of 2024, whenever there is any sort of break time, Japan seems to be the top destination for people across the globe to travel straight to and... we were definitely no different as one of our team members, Jessie, visited this buzzing country for the very first time. You are going to be able to hear all about the woes and joys of travelling to Japan in this episode, with Jessie's own personal spin to it! (01:28) Pre-trip: The do's and don'ts in Japan (16:04) Post-trip: What were Jessie's thoughts after travelling to Japan? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In honour of our last episode for Season 2, we are going to look back into some of the most memorable music videos that shaped us! From the ones that made us cry when we were kids to the ones that made us scratch our heads a bit, we will be taking a trip down memory lane to revisit some of our personal faves and maybe some of yours as well! (01:09) Angsty 2nd-gen K-pop MV's (K.Will, Big Bang, JYJ & F.T. Island) (13:04) An MV filled with pure nostalgia (BTS) (15:58) Silly & Goofy MVs (SHINee, AOA & EXO) (25:20) MV's with the most convoluted plots of all time (B.A.P, MBLAQ & 2NE1) (33:50) Aesthetically memorable MV's (Jus2, TWICE, Red Velvet, T-ARA, VIXX, U-KISS) (38:30) Non-kpop related music videos shoutout! (RAN, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, NIKI) (45:05) Recent memorable K-pop MV's (IVE & ARTMS) Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the weather getting colder every single day, you might need a little remedy for the sickness you might have caught and what's a better cure than the brand new single titled 'cold medicine' released by the Western Sydney bedroom pop artist herself, tiffi! She joins Le & Lisha to chat all about the inspiration behind her latest tracks as well digging into what made tiffi the young musical gem she is today! 🐰 You can listen to cold medicine on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. You can also follow tiffi on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to hear about all her future releases and projects. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I wonder what has been the talk of the town lately? Would it be our full interview with the Australian singer-songwriter, tiffi or Tokyo's local government creating their own dating app or Chinese video games that has recently piqued the interest of some of our team members aka JP & Le? Guess you have to listen to this episode to hear all of the goss... (01:56) APN's interview with tiffi! (38:32) Tokyo's government-created dating app (and why dating apps are a nightmare) (49:50) Upcoming & recent Chinese video games Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There seems to be two very specific topics that the APN team can't seem to stop thinking about these last couple of weeks: sports anime and why Haikyuu reigns supreme (allegedly) & the first studio album release to come from South Korean girl group, aespa. So, it only makes sense that we yap all about it on this episode! (01:46) Mini deep dive into the genre of sports anime (22:24) Aespa title tracks (Supernova & Armageddon) thoughts (32:18) Aespa first full-length album, Armageddon, thoughts Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - @asianpopnation Please note that SYN does not have the rights to podcast the music it plays on 90.7FM. That means you'll have listen live on SYN 90.7FM | DAB+ syn.org.au every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm for all the wonderful tunes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.