17 Carat K-Pop

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 Silicon Valley lifestyle, Howard-Hughes-level renovation ideas, and outside-the-box theories. The results: a shoe company where meetings were more like pep rallies, Tony’s llama obsession was apparent, and decor and toys abounded; a Vegas project set on creating the happiest city on Earth in just five years; a “Happiness Tour” that spread fun and games nationwide; and even more pursuits. However, Tony’s ambitious projects also brought chaos, misery, loneliness, and confusion to many - including, unbeknownst to some, himself.

Each episode in this mini-series covers both Tony Hsieh’s life story and seemingly unrelated stories that took place simultaneously. At the end, the different puzzle pieces will form a clear picture, one that shows what happiness is, was, and could be.

This is part two: Tony Hsieh’s years at the helm of Zappos, a company that made its mark by taking a “The customer is always right” approach to the extreme; a bus tour featuring happy hours, animal-themed music, and games galore; major meetings with Jeff Bezos; and the answer to this question: What happens when places as zany as Zappos and Vegas collide?

If you enjoy this episode, check out past episodes of Enthusiasts below! 

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 years now!

Read Hope’s essay about TXT’s take on The Little Prince below, and scroll to the bottom of the essay to find links to lots of previous TXT-themed articles and podcast episodes!

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!

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 Silicon Valley lifestyle, Howard-Hughes-level renovation ideas, and outside-the-box theories. The results: a shoe company where meetings were more like pep rallies, Tony’s llama obsession was apparent, and decor and toys abounded; a Vegas project set on creating the happiest city on Earth in just five years; a “Happiness Tour” that spread fun and games nationwide; and even more pursuits. However, Tony’s ambitious projects also brought chaos, misery, loneliness, and confusion to many - including, unbeknownst to some, himself.

Each episode in this mini-series covers both Tony Hsieh’s life story and seemingly unrelated stories that took place simultaneously. At the end, the different puzzle pieces will form a clear picture, one that shows what happiness is, was, and could be.

This is part one: Tony Hsieh’s early years, during which he pulled off one clever and amusing marketing gimmick after another and tried everything from selling buttons to running a restaurant; the comeback of a “ghost town;” two bizarre characters’ published ramblings from when they were high on laughing gas; turn-of-the-century, over-the-top bashes that kept outdoing each other; and a new idea for a workplace overhaul.

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:

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:

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!

Episodes with related themes to check out next:

“LE SSERAFIM 101”

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 shocking video, big updates for BLACKPINK as solo artists, and much more!

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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!

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)!

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Streaming the best episodes!

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:

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:

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:

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!

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!

The best music videos released by Korean artists this year, a list revealed in the form of a guessing game!

Stay tuned for the final ranking of these picks by subscribing to the show’s free newsletter!

Hope covers a WIDE range of news stories related to the music industry, starting with recent (separate) lawsuits involving Genius and the team behind Internet Archive. Around the 17-minute mark is a brief guide to the past, present, and future of music streaming. Spotify’s heated departure from Uruguay is discussed starting around the 23-minute mark, followed by an explainer about recent Harry Styles demo “leaks” and the scramble to buy them. Lastly, around the 33-minute mark is a lightning round of other music-related news, with stories about everything from Grimes to gum!

Check out past episodes of “STAY Tuned” here:

HYBE and MBC’s olive-branch moment, BLACKPINK’s visit to Buckingham Palace, interesting data about how English language in K-pop songs has changed, FIFTY FIFTY updates, SEVENTEEN’s UNESCO Youth Forum speeches, and even more of the latest K-pop news!

The interview with Nahee, a special artist gone too soon, mentioned in the episode:

Artist-to-watch Gyubin addresses her “super rookie” label, shares why she admires IU, explains why she’s content with not clearly defining her musical style, and more!

Check out her single with Gaeko, “Start To Shine,” here!

Hope decodes all of ENHYPEN’s ORANGE BLOOD pre-release material: the concept trailer and other video teasers, the pictures, and even the tracklist! From the context behind some key words to the details from ENHYPEN’s live shows that reappear in the teaser videos, this is an in-depth look at how ENHYPEN’s newest era is picking up where the last one left off - and adding intriguing new plot twists!

A track-by-track guide to SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, a rundown of all the Easter eggs in the “God of Music” video, and a summary of how SEVENTEEN’s new album is an excellent tribute to their past, present, and future!

Check out previous reflections on SEVENTEEN’s discography here!

How do SEVENTEEN manage to incorporate nods to ALL of their previous musical eras into one new music video?! How does “Ima” both continue their music video story and offer hints about its future? And how do their characters live like crosses between Don Quixote and Truman Burbank?! Hope answers these questions by breaking down the lyrics of SEVENTEEN’s new songs and symbolic moments throughout the “Ima” music video! But before assessing the fictional narrative, Hope spends a few minutes reflecting on the story’s very real components and what about SEVENTEEN’s musical storytelling resonates so deeply for her, specifically as an autistic person. 

Read the essays mentioned in the episode below!

“SEVENTEEN and The Truman Show”:

Earlier this summer, a grand jury decided not to pursue criminal charges against anyone affiliated with the 2021 Astroworld Tragedy. Since then, over 1,200 pages from the crowd-crush investigation have been made public: 911 calls, interviews, emails, text exchanges, and more. The documents form a timeline that starts months before the Travis-Scott-hosted event, goes through the minute details of what unfolded that tragic night, and describes the varied reactions afterwards from the companies and people fearing legal consequences. Hope poured over these documents, and in this episode, she shares the most revealing excerpts from them: insights into who should have stopped the show the second the first medical emergency started, why it took so long to stop the concert, what red flags were raised during the festival construction process, what theories the investigators ruled out, and so much more. 

Catch up with part one below:

Stream on Spotify here:

Hope decodes the “7 DREAM Production : Stranger Seven” short film, connects NCT DREAM’s latest video story developments to the larger “SMCU” storyline, and reviews ISTJ track by track! 

Catch up on past artist-specific episodes of the show below!

How did an FBI sting operation lead to retrieving Dorothy’s stolen ruby slippers? How did Oz fan clubs go from the homes of teenagers to massive, globally-attended festivities? Overall, what has led both thieves and hardcore The Wizard of Oz fans to deem the story valuable, in every meaning of the word? Since earnest fans have kept fan clubs, newsletters, and conventions going to this day, and a money-motivated memorabilia market also remains alive and well, both types of people interested in The Wizard of Oz play a role in cementing the story’s legacy. This episode describes how and why that happened.

Catch up on past Enthusiasts episodes here: