Asian Pop Nation

Wen Pei is a singer-songwriter and artist (and fellow SYN host on The Hoist!) whose soft and enchanting melodies sung in Hokkien and Mandarin, will have you feeling the windy breeze and warm sun on your face no matter where you are listening from. While the APN team first learnt of her through the opening night of Limitless Play at No Vacancy Gallery last year, she most recently opened for Japanes...

APN had the pleasure of interviewing Cupnoodle - a Thai German independent singer-songwriter based in Bangkok, Thailand. She has been releasing the most delicious soul and jazz infused pop music since 2020 - writing from an in-between space fusing Asian and Western music styles, singing in English and Thai, and she is unafraid to be playful in her lyrics and music.  Her latest single "A.I. CA...

Coincidentally, the APN team had a lot to say about Japan this episode beginning with maid cafes, One Piece Live Action - and ending with a discussion on how Japan is romanticised online, with people on TikTok romanticising their hometowns by pretending it is 'Tokyo, Japan' 🇯🇵🌸 ...  We had so much to say about BTS last episode that we continued that discussion here as well! We had a full ret...

A jam packed episode filled with throwbacks to some iconic K-pop debuts and one of the team's most favourite rhythm games they were obsessed with (arguably still) Project Sekai!! As well as more recent happenings in the Asian pop world - most importantly the long awaited comeback of BTS post-military service, with the album, 'ARIRANG'. Listen to hear our initial thoughts and opinions of this comeb...

In this episode APN revisit an...altercation between Knetz and SEA Kpop fans over concert etiquette, as well as report on a very recent (at the time of recording) shock departure of Heeseung from ENHYPEN. More topics include a segment on older genres of Asian pop as well as, your favourite, an anime attack!! (0:04) Intro (2:13) Anime Attack: Sentenced to Be Absolute Trash (15:31) K-Pop Wars: SEAbl...

Last week APN had the pleasure of sitting down with comedian Harry Jun, who was visiting Melbourne for his run of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His show titled "Inside Jokes, Outside Voice" actually sold out its entire Naarm run (we are so proud 🥹), and our team who luckily snagged tickets can absolutely see why. So if you missed out on seeing his set, this interview is a must-list...

HOW WE FEELIN OUT THERE? APN, PRESENT!!! 🫡 Not me quoting songs two podcast episode captions back to back. This week Denise and Annabella talk about their experience at the In Your Fantasy tour at Rod Laver arena and give you a quick run down on the iconic group, ATEEZ. They also both gush over the representation in Bridgerton S4 🏰 and the adorable new starters in the upcoming Pokemon: Wind and...

This week APN dropped it like hot, hot, hot, oh jigeum feeling so hot. No we did not play HOT by SEVENTEEN but we did talk all things Heated Rivalry - the hot new show generating lots of discussion and love, and Hotpot Bomb  - the hot new food product that claimed to be the 'first' of its kind...generating lots of discussion and hate. And finally, Annabella again makes the most of her solo ti...

Hello and welcome back to Asian Pop Nation! The very first show of 2026, and the first of the Year of the Fire Horse 🐴🔥. Episode one meant only one person in the studio, your Executive Producer for 2026 - Annabella! She took many liberties this solo show to talk all things ZEROBASEONE before they d*sbanded and how much she loves member, Seok Matthew - who somehow healed her inner cultural identi...

L!FE is a Melbourne-based Filipino songwriter and producer, whose music combines hip-hop, rock and pop styles, with honest lyrics about, well, life! All its highs, all its lows and what it is like to be a human and alive. A week prior, APN attended L!FE's release party for his new EP 'I'm a Human Being' and fell in love with his energetic hip-hop beats you couldn't resist head bopping to, and infe...

Apart from our interview with L!FE and watching him perform his banger single 'Show Me What You Got', the APN team came together to discuss the unfortunate racism Golden Bachelor winner, Sunny had been receiving following the show. As well as some upcoming anime releases and a certain badly drawn angle of one of our most beloved characters...   (0:07) Golden Bachelor winner Sunny and racist c...

This week the APN team talk all about their experience at L!FE's EP release party and seeing JXCKY as an opener as well as the GRAMMY nominations having an Asian representation moment with some names nominated such as KATSEYE, Rosé, Bruno Mars and HUNTR/X. Finally, we end the show with Ashly's experience visiting her homeland in China and why if you are a fan of all things pop-culture, you...

In the week leading up this show, the team at APN had been out and about completing various side-quests! The local scene for Asian art was truly thriving that week! Jessica, Annabella and Denise saw the 2005 Japanese film 'Linda Linda Linda' that was remastered and brought to Melbourne by the Asian Cinema Collective. They also went to see four incredible local Asian Australian musicians at Limitle...

For the very first time on Asian Pop Nation, our ears were graced with a live performance by Lemes – an up-and-coming Indonesian student band based in Melbourne. Joining us in the studio was Deo, Julian, Theo, Rama, and Chelsea, who performed two wonderful Indonesian songs: 'Pandangan Pertama' and 'Cinta dan Rahasia'.  We had the chance to talk to Lemes about their hopes, dreams, and go...

In this jam-packed episode of Asian Pop Nation, Jessica, Annabella, Denise, and Takee address two infamous battles happening in Asian media: the Newjeans legal dispute and the appeal of sports competitions in animes like Haikyu!! and Free! For the first time ever, Melbourne-based Indonesian student-band, Lemes, joins us in the studio for a live performance and a short chat.  (4:17) The appeal...

What would you do if your favorite K-Pop idol landed in a controversy – with a bunch of your other faves in the mix too? In this fifth episode of Asian Pop Nation, Annabella, Denise, Jessica, and Ashly discuss the various moral and cultural controversies that have surrounded K-Pop and Pop spaces in recent weeks. We also get nitty gritty talking about the newly released Chainsaw Man movie! Wh...

Welcome back to another episode of Asian Pop Nation, but this time, everything's a little spoooooky!! 👻 Join us for our Halloween special where we talk about many spooky things, such as Indonesia's love for horror movies, anime recommendations to put you into that scary mood, and Halloween video games and K-Pop! 🎃 Tune in to Spooky Pop Nation... if you dare... 🧟  (0:04) Intro (2:38) Indone...

In this third episode, the APN team explores all things that makes our love of Asian media SOCIAL; we recap the recent PAX convention, bring back bittersweet memories of watching K-Dramas, and address the 'parasocial' phenomenon happening throughout K-Pop. Listen more to find out the best and trendiest Asian collabs of the year! (3:00) Jessie and Ashly recap the PAX convention (12:40) K-Drama Sad...

APN has taken off and landed on a planet...a BOYS II PLANET! 🪐 This episode Jessica and Annabella complain- I mean, discuss the the sequel to the hit survival show BOYS PLANET. Listen to hear their thoughts on voting controversies, classic Mnet riggory, and the unfortunate final group name. Our frustrations continue as we discuss how recent protests against corruption in Southeast Asia are u...

Did you miss us?? Asian Pop Nation is finally back, after a (almost!) one year long hiatus! And for the first time in many many moons, we are recording LIVE in the studio 📻. So the APN podcast may sound a little bit different! Not only this, but we have some new voices on the show 🤩! You may recognise Jessie and Annabella from previous shows, but joining them are Takee, Jessica, Denise, and Ashl...

An APN episode in 2025?! It's more likely than you think... Enjoy a little blast from the past moment as some of our team members gather around our metaphorical campfire to revive Asian Pop Nation for just one night only in honour of SYN's 2025 Radiothon. If you ever wanted to know what we have been up to post-APN plus also some of our itching thoughts about the latest Asian content taking over th...

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 som...

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 fa...

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 aft...

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...