17 Carat K-Pop

A massive guide to all things 17 IS RIGHT HERE ! Hope breaks down everything worth knowing about the compilation album’s four new songs and music videos: behind-the-scenes facts, Easter eggs, symbol interpretations, lyric breakdowns, parallels to past eras, and even summaries of the mythological stories (among others) that are mentioned in the lyrics! Subscribe to this newsletter to be the first t...

From being a “Lost Child” to the “Winning” superstar that she is today, this episode chronologically recaps IU’s career and catalog! This is both a guide to IU for those unfamiliar with her work and a chance for long-time fans to recall key moments from each year since IU’s debut. From releasing music videos that put original spins on classic stories to releasing albums that spoke to an ever-expan...

A ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop artists! Read more about one of the top picks here! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/txts-take-on-the-little-prince  

While this five-part series is about one extraordinary man who deserves as much name recognition as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, it’s also about the many overlapping contexts that explain his successes, his tragic downward spiral, and his evergreen comments on how to be happy. Tony Hsieh spent his life studying and trying to create and spread happiness, implementing elements of rave culture, the...

Thorough breakdowns of the latest K-pop-company-related feuds, from the drama between HYBE and its subsidiaries to the lawsuit against a different “Big Four” company over its construction project failures. Plus: a major change that threatens North American tours, the sentencing of someone who extorted a BTS fan, the latest “K-pop is past its prime” debate, the detention of girl group members in Ba...

While this five-part series is about one extraordinary man who deserves as much name recognition as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, it’s also about the many overlapping contexts that explain his successes, his tragic downward spiral, and his evergreen comments on how to be happy. Tony Hsieh spent his life studying and trying to create and spread happiness, implementing elements of rave culture, the...

While this five-part series is about one extraordinary man who deserves as much name recognition as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, it’s also about the many overlapping contexts that explain his successes, his tragic downward spiral, and his evergreen comments on how to be happy. Tony Hsieh spent his life studying and trying to create and spread happiness, implementing elements of rave culture, the...

A ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, P-pop, and T-pop artists!

While this five-part series is about one extraordinary man who deserves as much name recognition as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, it’s also about the many overlapping contexts that explain his successes, his tragic downward spiral, and his evergreen comments on how to be happy. Tony Hsieh spent his life studying and trying to create and spread happiness, implementing elements of rave culture, the...

Throughout this in-depth guide to The Little Prince , Hope draws attention to the parallels TXT make to it in their new songs, short film, “Deja Vu” music video, and even teaser images. Simultaneously unpacking minisode 3: TOMORROW and The Little Prince reveals how complementary the stories are and how TXT’s world-building has actually been covering the same life lessons as The Little Prince for y...

Everything to know about NCT DREAM’s DREAM()SCAPE-era videos and images, from the overall plot to the specific nods to EXO’s story! Check out more NCT theories here! https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/nct-talk.html

While this five-part series is about one extraordinary man who deserves as much name recognition as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, it’s also about the many overlapping contexts that explain his successes, his tragic downward spiral, and his evergreen comments on how to be happy. Tony Hsieh spent his life studying and trying to create and spread happiness, implementing elements of rave culture, the...

A ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, and T-pop artists! For more information about these picks: Episode about TAEYONG’s TAP: https://anchor.fm/hope-jacobson/episodes/TY-for-TY-Tracks-e2gdndo Episode about LE SSERAFIM’s EASY: https://anchor.fm/hope-jacobson/episodes/LE-SSERAFIMs-New-Era-e2g3nrg   P1Harmony album review: https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/p1harmony-keep-k...

The ultimate guide to TAEYONG’s TAP Era: the best lyrics, the thematic parallels to the SHALALA Era, theories about the “TAP” music video, the hidden meanings in the teaser images and videos, and so much more!  For more thoughts on TAEYONG’s music: https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/taeyongs-purposeful-playfulness    For more discography analyses: https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/sorted-by-artist.ht...

Hope uses the movie Black Swan as a starting point for understanding the messages in LE SSERAFIM’s new mini-album, EASY ; assesses the ways the group’s new songs build on the foundation of their older ones; describes how the poem “Good Bones” is uniquely incorporated into the group’s story; and overall shows why LE SSERAFIM’s discography remains as praiseworthy, resonant, and thoughtful as ever! E...

A short overview of times the makers of Monster Energy (aka Monster Beverage Corporation) sued entities who used the word “Monster” in branding, the latest example being K-pop rookie girl group BABYMONSTER. Other news covered in this episode: TikTok’s feud with Universal Music Group, all the things that went wrong at end-of-year awards shows, a crusade against lip-synching, publication of a shocki...

A ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, and T-pop artists! Support the show by… Streaming the best episodes! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/the-best-of-17-carat-k-pop-9b8?r=4ajn9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web    Streaming episodes of Hope’s other show, Enthusiasts! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/the-best-of-enthusiasts?r=4ajn9&utm_campaign=post&u...

After explaining the reason for this show’s hiatus and what the future of 17 Carat K-Pop looks like, Hope makes seventeen predictions for 2024 (mostly K-pop-related, but some more general ones too)! Support the show by… Streaming the best episodes! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/p/the-best-of-17-carat-k-pop-9b8?r=4ajn9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web    Streaming episodes of Hope’s othe...

A ranking and review of last year’s seventeen best Japanese releases from K-pop artists! While 17 Carat K-Pop and Enthusiasts are on a hiatus, catch up on past episodes with these directories! The best of 17 Carat K-Pop : https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/directory.html   The best of Enthusiasts : https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/enthusiasts.html Episodes and articles sorted by artist: https://17caratk...

A quick overview of each episode of Enthusiasts that was released in 2023, along with some story updates! While 17 Carat K-Pop and Enthusiasts are on a hiatus, catch up on past episodes with these directories! The best of 17 Carat K-Pop : https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/directory.html   The best of Enthusiasts : https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/enthusiasts.html Episodes and articles sorted by artist:...

From unique highlight medley videos to pre-album-release short films, this mini-sode celebrates the coolest, most creative, and overall best teasers for K-pop comebacks of 2023! While 17 Carat K-Pop and Enthusiasts are on a hiatus, catch up on past episodes with these directories! The best of 17 Carat K-Pop : https://17caratkpop.weebly.com/directory.html   The best of Enthusiasts : https://17carat...

After revisiting her 2023 predictions, Hope recaps both the year in K-pop headlines and in episodes of this podcast, while adding new commentary and story updates! First: revisiting 2023 predictions! Starting around the 23-minute mark: a summary of 2023’s 17 Carat K-Pop episodes! Starting around the 36-minute mark: a fast-paced recap of all the major headlines in the world of K-pop this year!

Fifty different artists from the worlds of J-pop, C-pop, T-pop, and P-pop who released the most interesting, creative, and/or overall excellent music in 2023!

A guide to the best songs of the year from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai artists!  See the final ranking of these picks the second it’s official by subscribing to the show’s free newsletter! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/

A fast-paced guide to over 100 of 2023’s best albums released by Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists! The albums are discussed in a random order. Subscribe to the show’s newsletter to see the official ranking as soon as it’s revealed! https://17caratkpop.substack.com/