Things I did in 2023 that I'm proud of...

On top of Bunni Pop, I also did some writing and producing

Jan 03, 2024

Hello from beautiful Hong Kong! It’s a city that’s close to my heart. It’s where my parents were born and raised, and the place I spent three months interning at the South China Morning Post back in the summer of 2015.

Although Hong Kong has undergone many changes since, being here in Asia with family and staying in touch with my roots does give me the ability to feel inspired. And more importantly, helps plant the seed for how I want this newsletter to grow in 2024.

While I might not be as present in the next month (I’ll be back by the end of January!), I have been able to reflect on some of the cool things I got to do last year outside of Bunni Pop.

I thought I’d share a few pieces I got to write and produce in 2023.

As always, I am so grateful to everyone who has tuned in to Bunni Pop to read my thoughts on K-pop and Asian entertainment broadly.

If there’s anyone reading that would love to do a feature interview or have me dive into a specific topic, please get in touch! I’d love to chat more.

Features…

(Photo credit: Kpop4Planet)

As someone who collects K-pop albums, I've started wondering about my consumption and impact on the environment. That got me digging further for a radio documentary for CBC Radio’s Day 6. Read the full story here, and listen to my radio documentary.
I also explored how K-pop has always been inspired by Y2K era R&B. But with that, also asked some fans about how that’s at times led to K-pop groups appropriating Black culture. Read the story for Joysauce.

Lists…

For Joysauce, I looked at the different ways K-pop artists are exploring different genres, from pop-punk, rock, classical music to disco.
From Beyond, Anita Mui to Andy Lau, I did a deep dive into Cantopop’s roots. Read more on Grammy.com
Also for Grammy.com, I compiled a list of Asian pop artists worth checking out during Asian Heritage month. Featuring Baek Yerin , Tyson Yoshi, So!Yoon!, Lexie Liu, Phum Viphurit.

Feature interviews…

I profiled Chinese singer Lexie Liu about giving up on being a K-pop idol, leaving business school in order to pursue her musical dreams and her love of tarot. Read the piece for ELLE CANADA.
After seeing The Rose perform twice at Lollapalooza, I interviewed the South Korean rock band about their breakout year, their new album DUAL and their musical inspirations growing up for Grammy.com

New column with The RepresentASIAN Project!

One of the things I’m proud to say about growing Bunni Pop is the ability to collaborate with others. I’ve worked with the team at The RepresentASIAN Project over the years and have always admired the website for creating a platform to highlight Asian representation in all its forms.

So when Madelyn (editor at RepresentASIAN) reached out to form a new K-pop column with the website, I immediately said yes!

Now each month, I will be rolling out interviews, lists and features as part of a new column called “The K-pop Chat”. Below are the first three I did! Ideas are always welcome…

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Accountability is important to me, so please address corrections and concerns by sending me an email at bunnipopnewsletter@gmail.com. Continue the conversation by following Bunni Pop on Instagram and Twitter.