SBS PopAsia


SBS PopAsia is an Australian digital radio station that broadcasts 24/7 Asian pop hits on digital radio, online and on mobile devices. It debuted on Australian TV in late 2011 presenting back-to-back Asian Pop music videos hosted by Jamaica dela Cruz. Since Jamaica dela Cruz's departure in 2016, the show is now hosted by Andy Trieu on SBS Viceland from 9am-10am on Sunday mornings. SBS PopAsia broadcasts music from across East and South East Asia. However the majority of music that is broadcast is from South Korea. PopAsia fans are called PopAsians.

History

SBS PopAsia began as a weekly two-hour segment on the SBS youth radio programme, Alchemy, as the Asian Pop Show. Due to growing popularity and increasing online fan engagement SBS PopAsia was launched as a 24-hour digital radio show in 2010. In late 2011, it debuted on free-to-air Australian TV in a two-hour timeslot on Sunday mornings from 9am. In 2013, the program was extended to three-and-a-half hours of prime-time broadcast across Saturday and Sunday evenings on SBS Viceland. In 2014, it reverted to its original 2 hour timeslot at 9am on Sundays. From March 13, 2016, it changed to a one-hour show on Sundays 10am-11am on the SBS Viceland channel.
PopAsia TV aired its final episode on July 8, 2018. Since then, SBS Viceland has aired repeat episodes in the Sunday morning timeslot.

Radio

SBS PopAsia is also a 24-hour digital radio station, which began in 2010. It is available on DAB digital radio across Australia, 24/7 streaming live online and via iPhone and Android mobile applications.

Radio Schedule

SBS PopAsia hosts a variety of segments and shows on digital radio:

The New Music Show

Andy Trieu shares the latest song releases and pop culture news, and also interviews a variety of Asian pop artists

The Old School Hour

Playing the super hits of the old days

Breakfast Requests

Playing fan requests made through Facebook, Twitter or the request phone line.

BTS Hit Zone

Non-stop BTS songs for an hour every weekday.

Beats & Bars: Hip-Hop: 11pm - 12am (AEST) Monday

An hour of hip-hop, rap and R&B music encompassing Asian countries including South Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and more.

J-pop Nation

Playing the newest in Japanese pop music.

C-pop Central

Focusing on Chinese pop music that's been recently released, as well as some popular favourites.

PopAsia Party

Every Friday and Saturday night the station plays a variety of upbeat Asian pop music for a party atmosphere.

SBS PopAsia's Top 30 Countdown

Listen to Australia's only Asian pop countdown! All the hottest songs are being counted down every Sunday.

We Love Boybands

All the best from boybands in Asian pop.

K-drama OST

Playing music from K-drama soundtracks, including classics as well as new releases.

Boyband Friday: Allllll Day Friday

Fridays feature the best hits from boy bands

The K-Wave

Get the hottest hits coming out of Korea

Anime Hour

An hour of the best music from Anime

J-rock

A three-hour program dedicated to Japanese rock, metal and other heavy music.

Filipino Buzz

A focus on the latest music from the Philippines.

Girl Group Alumni

Three hours of non-stop girl groups

Former shows

Live@5 Show
Between 2011-2014, fans could tune into the digital radio show between 5-7pm where co-hosts Jamaica dela Cruz and MegaMatt would count down the biggest Asian Pop hits in Australia as voted on Twitter and Facebook. The show was replaced by Hashtag Hits in 2014 which introduced a system of live voting through hashtags on Twitter.
Hashtag Hits
The Hashtag Hits show commenced in 2014. Every weekday, regular votes through Twitter and Facebook finalised the top 8 songs and a challenger. Live voting opened at 4.30pm where listeners tweeted or posted on the Facebook wall the #Hashtag of their favourite song from the top 9. The concept of Titanium Status was introduced in June 2014 where when a song has reached number one for eight consecutive days, it becomes titanium. Despite anticipation that EXO's Overdose would be the first song to reach Titanium Status, in fact label mate Super Junior M succeeded with their song Swing. The other Titanium songs included GOT7's A, Beast's Good Luck, Infinite's Last Romeo, Super Junior's Mamacita and Infinite's Back. All of the songs that have reached Titanium status are from Korean male groups rather than female groups.
K-Wave (formerly)
K-Wave commenced on 25 June 2014 and was hosted by the Australian leader of K-Pop group, C-Clown, Rome. Segments included 'Rome's Week', audience questions and interviews from K-Pop stars.
Eat Your Kimchi
YouTubers, Simon and Martina or Eat Your Kimchi, had a radio show on SBS PopAsia radio every Friday 7-8pm AEST. They talked about K-Pop and more largely Korean culture. Content covered include issues similar to theTL;DR's on their YouTube channel such as plastic surgery and the FIFA World Cup.
Prince Mak Hour
Australian member of K-pop boyband JJCC began hosting his own 1 hour radio show from 2015 on Tuesdays at 8pm. He played Asian Pop music and talked about his life as an Asian popstar

Television

The SBS PopAsia TV show launched in September 2011 on Australia's SBS1 channel, 8.30am-10.30am on Sundays. Growing popularity meant that an additional episode was added - Monday 5pm. With the relaunch of SBS Viceland channel to focus on younger audiences, SBS PopAsia moved to SBS Viceland in 2013 and was broadcast every Sunday afternoon from 4-6pm, but was later changed to 9-11am. The show aired its final episode on July 8, 2018. The show was rated PG and hence positioned the show as an accessible, family-friendly television programme. The previous weekend's episode could be accessed on the PopAsia website or on SBS on Demand for 7 days after the episode aired on television.

Audience interaction

The show debuted by displaying tweets and Facebook messages at regular intervals throughout the show. However it was replaced by exclusively showing displays real-time audience tweets.

Advertisements

Advertisements relevant to those interested in Asian culture were sometimes played in the ad breaks. For example, the Korean Tourism Office aired videos such as PSY's "Wiki Korea" tourism project.

Segments

Three-in-a-row

The goal of this game was to guess the common theme between the three Asian Pop videos that are shown. Viewers were encouraged to play along by tweeting or posting their guesses. Previous themes included the beach, vampires, swirly lollipops and Australian Asian Pop stars. SBS PopAsia also encouraged viewers to submit their own three-in-a-row.

Double Play

Every week, the SBS PopAsia gave PopAsians the option of choosing which of two artists should have two of their music videos played in the next episode. The winning artist was chosen through voting on Twitter and Facebook.

PopAsia 101

PopAsia 101s used to be broadcast weekly on PopAsia. This involved presenter 'PopAgent' Jay K, presenting a different 'PopAsia 101' - a 'super-fast, pop master class' on an Asian Pop artist. These were short featurettes that provide overviews of artist' careers, songs and trivia. The segment is intended to provide viewers with a gateway to engage with the landscape of Asian pop. Popular 101s include on artists Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, 365daband and EXO. PopAsia 101s can be found on the .
In addition, there are special PopAsia 101s on topics relevant to Asian Pop such as on Flash Mobs and Australian Asian Pop Tours.
Date of releaseArtistCountry that artist is active inReference
18 April 2012Super JuniorSouth Korea
23 April 2012EXOSouth Korea
29 April 2012Show LoTaiwan
6 May 2012Girls' GenerationSouth Korea
14 May 2012PerfumeJapan
28 May 2012Kyary Pamyu PamyuJapan
1 July 2012Big BangSouth Korea
8 July 20122NE1South Korea
24 June 2012IUSouth Korea
11 July 2012miss ASouth Korea
30 July 2012CNBlueSouth Korea
30 July 2012ScandalJapan
5 August 2012PsySouth Korea
16 September 2012YuiJapan
1 October 2012BoASouth Korea
8 October 2012U-KISSSouth Korea
28 October 2012TVXQSouth Korea
27 December 2012Rainie YangTaiwan
11 March 2013Thanh BuiVietnam
18 March 2013PasspoJapan
9 September 2013Flash MobsN/A
7 January 2013AileeSouth Korea
29 January 20132AMSouth Korea
25 February 2013GReeeeNJapan
1 April 2013Leehom WangTaiwan
8 April 2013NS Yoon-GSouth Korea
17 September 2013KaraSouth Korea
10 December 2013C-ClownSouth Korea
10 March 2014Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Japan
7 December 2014Cyndi WangChina
7 December 2014Epik HighSouth Korea
7 December 2014VIXXSouth Korea
4 April 2016TaeyangSouth Korea

SBSPopAsia has hosted interviews with Asian Pop bands and artists such as BTS, EXO and Jay Chou and celebrities related to the Asian Pop industry such as YouTube stars Mychonny and Eatyourkimchi.
See Guests and interviewees section.

Video Requests

In 2012, SBS PopAsia took video requests whereby viewers could post videos on YouTube requesting a song to be played on PopAsia. The video request would then be then be played on PopAsia TV preceding the music video it was requesting.

Special episodes

When holidays and special events occur, SBS PopAsia hosts special PopAsia episodes:
Additionally, when the show first started, PopAsia used to have special episodes for certain Asian Pop artists such as .

Social Media

SBS PopAsia maintains an active presence within social media to take song requests and interact with listeners/readers.

Facebook

The Facebook page was launched on 1 January 2011 and currently has nearly 1.3 million likes. The Facebook page functions as a vehicle to keep PopAsians up-to-date with PopAsia's radio schedules, Asian pop news and also to take requests for the radio station.

Twitter

The SBS PopAsia Twitter account was launched in December 2010 and has over 136.9K followers. It also functions to keep PopAsians up-to-date with the radio schedule and Asian Pop news. Official Twitter accounts for SBS PopAsia staff also exist.

YouTube

SBS PopAsia joined YouTube on 26 April 2011. It has over 104K subscribers and 31 million views. Their channel consists of content including PopAsia101s, reactions to Asian Pop videos, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes with Asian Pop artists.

Instagram

The SBS PopAsia Instagram has over 43K followers. It is often used to post short videos and memes.

Snapchat

Kakaotalk

SBS PopAsia has KakaoTalk account, a popular mobile messaging app in Korea.

TikTok

SBS PopAsia can be found on TikTok at sbs_popasia.

Mobile

SBS PopAsia also has an official mobile application for both Apple iPhone and Android which can be downloaded for free from the respective platforms. The app's primary feature is the 24/7 streaming of PopAsia's digital radio station and beside each track has a track purchase button. The app also connects users to the PopAsia website and podcasts.

Podcast

PopAsia podcasts can be downloaded off the . and primarily compromises of interviews such as regular chats with blog . Also, there is some non-Asian pop related content such as 'Top 3 movies not to miss in 2014'.

Guests and interviewees

SBS PopAsia regularly features guests on its TV, Radio and YouTube platforms. The date is in accordance to the date that the interview was uploaded onto SBS PopAsia's YouTube platform and hence may not reflect the original date of broadcast on SBS PopAsia's TV or radio platforms. Where there is not a specific interviewee, SBS PopAsia in general is specified as the interviewee.
DateCountry active inIntervieweeInterviewerLocation of interviewNotesReference
12 November 2011South KoreaSHINeeJamaica dela CruzBackstage at ANZ Stadium, SydneySHINee performed as part of the line up for the 2011 K-Pop Music Festival. It was the second time they performed in Australia
5 March 2012TaiwanShow Lo & Rainie YangPrincess AniaSBS PopAsia studio, SydneyShow Lo and Rainie Yang were in Sydney to shoot a series of online videos for Tourism Australia while Show Lo also filmed 3 music videos.
28 March 2012South KoreaHanbyul, then-member of LedApplePrincess AniaSouth KoreaConducted through Skype. The interview came a day after LedApple released the music video to their single, 'Sadness'
29 March 2012TaiwanLollipop FSBS PopAsiaSydneyLollipop F were in Australia for their first-ever Sydney and Melbourne performances
3 April 2012South KoreaSM Entertainment representativesPrincess AniaSBS PopAsia studio, SydneyArtist and repertoire representatives Hanna Cho and Gi-Hyun Kim
19 April 2012South KoreaJun Won Lee
SBS PopAsiaSouth KoreaJun Won Lee talks about what makes good talent and what happens when you join the YG Family
19 April 2012AustraliaDarrenTP & IcePrincess AniaMelbourne, AustraliaDarren and Ice were finalists in the YG Entertainment BigBang Cover Competition for Bad Boy and Fantastic Baby.
24 April 2012TaiwanDream GirlsPrincess AniaSydney, AustraliaDream Girls were in Sydney to judge a Chinese singing competition
16 May 2012PhilippinesPhilippine AllStarsPrincess AniaWorld Hip Hop Dance Champions, the Philippine AllStars, gave Princess Ania a dance lesson
21 June 2012BulgariaStanislav IanevskiPrincess AniaSydney, AustraliaIanevski acted as Viktor Krum in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Interview took place at SupaNova Pop Culture Expo in Sydney
31 July 2012South Korea/AmericaJay ParkJamaica dela CruzAustralia/South KoreaInterview conducted via Skype. Was in lead up to his 'New Breed' concert to be held in Sydney and Melbourne later that year
24 August 2012South KoreaNU'ESTJamaica dela CruzSydney, AustraliaNU'EST were interviewed at the 3rd Anniversary of Digital Radio in Australia celebrations at First Fleet Park in Sydney
10 September 2012South Korea/AustraliaC-Clown's RomeSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaAustralian Leader of K-Pop group C-Clown. Talked about the group's name, his responsibilities, inspiration, creeper bee, hamster and pororo.
29 September 2012South Korea/AmericaJay ParkJamaica dela CruzSydney, AustraliaInterview conducted backstage at Jay Park's New Breed concert in Sydney, Australia
10 October 2012South Korea/AustraliaEvoL's HayanaJamaica dela CruzSouth Korea/ AustraliaAustralian member of Korean girl group, EvoL. She talked about what she misses about Australia, her favourite food are and her favourite Aussie artist.
15 October 2012South KoreaTeen TopJamaica dela Cruz
& Mega Matt
Seoul, South KoreaConducted in wedding chapel in Seoul.
16–19 October 2012AustraliaJanice PetersenPrincess AniaSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney;SBS World News Australia presenter, Janice Petersen, conducted a series of interviews with SBS PopAsia about the then-viral YouTube sensation, PSY, in their 'Eye on PSY' series
24 November 2012South Korea100%Jamaica dela CruzSeoul, South KoreaPart of a series of interviews that Jamaica dela Cruz and MegaMatt conducted when they were in Seoul, South Korea. 100% were then a rookie group
29 November 2012South KoreaTVXQSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South Korea
1 February 2013PhilippinesKenJhonsSBS PopAsiaSBS PopAsia studio, SydneyKenJhons talked about his debut single, Matinik
14 February 2013South Korea/AmericaNS Yoon-GSBS PopAsiaSouth Korea/AustraliaSBS PopAsia asked NS Yoon-G about a typical day in her life
23 February 2013South Korea/ChinaSuper Junior MSBS PopAsiaSouth Korea/AustraliaThey were interviewed on set for their latest music video release 'Break Down'
28 March 2013TaiwanJPM's PrinceJamaica dela CruzSBS PopAsia studio, SydneyPrince was interviewed on SBS PopAsia radio ahead of an appearance in Sydney
30 March 2013TaiwanFahrenheit's Calvin ChenJamaica dela CruzAustraliaInterview conducted over Skype. Chen, along with Xander were then in Australia to film the movie 3 Peas In A Pod.
30 March 2013Hong Kong/KoreaAlexander Jamaica dela CruzAustraliaInterview conducted over Skype. Along with Calvin Chen, Xander was in Australia to film his first movie, 3 Peas In A Pod
16 April 2013Taiwan/AmericaLeehom WangJamaica dela CruzSydney, AustraliaInterview conducted backstage of his first concert in Sydney, Australia
5 May 2013IndonesiaS.O.SJamaica dela CruzIndonesia/AustraliaIndonesian girl group, S.O.S
8 June 2013Indonesia:id:S4|S4SBS PopAsiaIndonesiaIndonesian boyband
9 June 2013South KoreaCNBlueSBS PopAsiaBig Top Luna Park, Sydney, AustraliaInterview conducted backstage when CNBlue visited Australia for their Blue Moon World Tour
16 June 2013South KoreaEXOJay KSM Entertainment, Seoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea. Interview is about EXO's new album, XOXO
23 June 2013South Korea2PMJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea
27 June 2013South KoreaLedApple's HanbyulJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea. This is the second time that Hanbyul has been interviewed by SBS PopAsia
6 July 2013Vietnam365dabandJamaica dela CruzVia Skype.
9 July 2013South KoreaWonder BoyzJay KSouth KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea
15 July 2013South Korea4MinuteJay KPopAsia studios, Sydney, Australia4Minute were in Australia for the 2013 K-Pop Cover Contest at UNSW
25 July 2013,South KoreaJYJJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
28 July 2013South KoreauBeatJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
4 August 2013South KoreaT-ara N4Jay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
11 August 2013South KoreaLunaflyJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
12 August 2013South KoreaBoyfriendJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
21 August 2013South KoreaNine MusesSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaInterview about their insightful new documentary "9 Muses of Star Empire" which takes us behind the glitz and glamour of K-pop stars in the making
25 August 2013Canada/South KoreaEat Your KimchiJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
1 September 2013South KoreaLC9Jay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
11 September 2013South KoreaSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaSub-group of South Korean girl group, AOA
16 September 2013JapanPerfumeSBS PopAsiaJapan
18 September 2013IrelandJedwardSBS PopAsiaSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, Australia
23 September 2013South KoreaSecretJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
27 September 2013South KoreaXiaJamaica dela CruzSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaXia was in Australia at the time for his Incredible Tour. He was the first K-Pop start to visit PopAsia HQ
10 October 2013South KoreaYirumaJay KMelbourne, AustraliaYiruma played Ailee's 'I Will Show You' on iPad piano
14 October 2013AustraliaJustice CrewJamaica dela CruzSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaJustice Crew were interviewed on the Live@5 SBS PopAsia radio show
27 October 2013South KoreaHello VenusJay KSeoul, South KoreaInterview conducted as part of series of interviews by SBS PopAsia when they travelled to Seoul, South Korea in 2013
28 November 2013South KoreaJYJ's JaejoongSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South Korea
5 December 2013VietnamJamaica dela CruzHanoi, VietnamInterview conducted while the SBS PopAsia crew were in Vietnam for the ABU Song Festival
22 December 2013South KoreaBeastSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaSpecial Christmas greeting for PopAsians
30 December 2013South KoreaVIXXSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaNew Year's message for PopAsians
2 January 2014IndonesiaCherrybelleSBS PopAsiaMelbourne, AustraliaHoliday greeting for PopAsians
18 January 2014MyanmarMe N Ma GirlsSBS PopAsiaMyanmarA day in the life of the Me N Ma Girls
10 February 2014Seoul, South KoreaDal ShabetSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaDal Shabet talk about what inspired their new comeback, BBB
2 March 2014South KoreaC-ClownJamaica dela CruzSeoul, South KoreaC-Clown talk about the possibility of coming to Australia
4 March 2014Japan/Malaysia/AustraliaChe'NelleSBS PopAsiaJapanShout-out to Australian fans
9 March 2014South KoreaBTOBSBS PopAsiaSeoul, South KoreaBTOB take time out of their busy 'Beep Beep' promotions schedule to greet PopAsians
12 March 2014TaiwanKimberley ChenJamaica dela CruzTaiwanTalked about her favourite pop stars and what inspired her music
25 March 2014JapanKyary Pamyu PamyuJamaica dela CruzSydney, AustraliaInterview conducted while Kyary was in Australia for her first Australian concert
10 April 2014TaiwanJay ChouJamaica dela CruzSydney, AustraliaPress conference while Chou was in Sydney for his concert
19 April 2014JapanDa-iceSBS PopAsiaJapanThey explain what their name means, who influences them and see what they have to say to Australian fans
7 May 2014ThailandSlot MachineSBS PopAsiaSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaThai rockers Slot Machine performed a special acoustic version of "Kloem" in studio
10 May 2014South KoreaB.A.PSBS PopAsiaBig Top Luna Park, Sydney, AustraliaBackstage interview with Korean boy band, B.A.P, while they were in Australia for their 2014 Live on Earth tour
31 May 2014AustraliaDami ImJamaica dela Cruz & Andy TrieuSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaRadio interview with Dami Im
2 June 2014South KoreaEric NamJamaica dela CruzSouth KoreaEric nam reveals the Western pop artists he admires, what it was like to interview Miranda Kerr and a special message to Australian fans
2 June 2014AustraliaMychonnyJamaica dela Cruz & Andy TrieuSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaAnswered questions from hat submitted by PopAsians on SBS PopAsia radio show
23 June 2014South KoreaG.NaJamaica dela CruzSouth KoreaTalked about how she likes to change concepts & how she ran into Dami Im recently in Korea
20 July 2014AustraliaJeremy YongSBS PopAsiaSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaRunner-up on Australia's Got Talent Series 6
31 July 2014AustraliaElly OhJamaica dela Cruz & Andy TrieuSBS PopAsia studios, Sydney, AustraliaInterviewed on SBS PopAsia radio
12 August 2014South KoreaHenry LauJamaica dela CruzSouth KoreaHenry talks about how his new album, Fantastic, differs from his first, what Western artist inspires him and he explains the most FANTASTIC thing that's ever happened to him
20 September 2014South KoreaB1A4Jamaica dela CruzBig Top Luna Park, Sydney, AustraliaInterview backstage at their 2014 Road Trip concert in Sydney, Australia. They were asked what they would really do if they had a "solo day" and what they would be doing if they weren't in B1A4
9 November 2014South KoreaSuper JuniorJamaica dela CruzSouth KoreaInterview about Super Junior's new album, This is Love
18 November 2014South KoreaRoyal PiratesSBS PopAsiaSouth KoreaRoyal Pirates talk about their new single, Love Toxic, which artists they would most like to work with and how they would survive a zombie apocalypse

Crayon Pop
Block B

JJCC's Prince Mak

Presenters and staff

PresenterBiographySocial media
Andy TrieuAndy Trieu is the current host of PopAsia TV and radio. He is a martial artist and aside from SBS PopAsia has appeared on other Australian TV shows such as Kitchen Whiz. His favourite Asian Pop band is Sistar.
Jamaica dela Cruz Jamaica dela Cruz was the original host of SBS PopAsia TV and PopAsia radio show 'Hashtag Hits'. She was born in the Philippines and came to Australia as an international student. She has an MBA in arts and entertainment management. Her favourite Asian Pop star is Wang Lee Hom whom she was able to interview in 2013 while he was in Australia for his Music Man II World Tour. In 2012 and 2013 she was a co-host for the ABU TV Song Festival. She left PopAsia in 2016.
Jay KPopAgent and VJ, Jay K gives a 'PopAsia 101' on a different Asian Pop artist every week. Also popular are his Anime Minutes which are audio tracks which compromise of an approximately minute-long summary of an anime. Occasionally, he interviews Asian Pop artists such as in 2013 when he went on a PopAgent mission to Seoul, South Korea where he interviewed K-Pop groups such as EXO, Lunafly, uBEAT and 4Minute. His favourite Asian Pop band is Girls' Generation.
MegaMattMegaMatt is the producer and button pusher at PopAsia. He co-hosted with Jamaica dela Cruz on the 'Live@5' show before it was replaced with the 'Hashtag Hits' show. His favourite Asian Pop star is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
Kitty EmKitty Em is the host of the SBS PopAsia Radio show, J-Pop Nation, which airs 7pm on Wednesdays. Her favourite Asian Pop band is Babymetal and her favourite food is edamame.
Dr. JJamie or 'Dr. J' is PopAsia's Resident DJ and Music Guru. His favourite Asian Pop band is Girls' Generation and his favourite anime character is L from Death Note.
Shay ShayShay Shay is PopAsia's resident Asian Pop guru. Her favourite Asian Pop group is Big Bang and favourite anime character is Sailor Moon.
Maddy FryerMaddy is the Executive Producer of SBS PopAsia. She sometimes appears on YouTube videos on the PopAsia channel such as for SBS PopAsia Reaction videos.
Kevin KimKevin is an Australian member of Kpop Group. He is a song writer, singer, rapper and dancer, and also a former Arirang broadcaster.

Guest programmers

Prizes and Competitions

SBSPopAsia regularly hosts competitions which can be found on their . Competitions can be won through entering on their website or through phoning their radio show. Prizes include concert tickets (such as to BAP, 2K13 Feel Korea Festival, signed albums and merchandise and overseas trips to Asian destinations.

Concerts and events

SBS PopAsia continues to be involved in the promotion of Asian acts coming to Australia. In 2011 SBS PopAsia was the official Australian media partner of the 2011 Sydney K-Pop Music Fest which features artists such as SHINee, Girls' Generation and TVXQ. PopAsia has gone on to support acts such as CNBLUE, 4Minute, J-Pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and the inaugural KCON in 2017.

Coverage of concerts

SBS PopAsia has provided coverage and interviews for the following Asian Pop concerts in Australia:
SBS PopAsia have participated in events such as the Campsie Food Festival in 2011 and 2012.
Also, they are regularly involved in events relevant to Asian culture.

Lunar New Year

SBS PopAsia has been giving awards yearly since 2012. Most awards have been awarded to Korean artists.

Best Male Group/Boy Band

Best Female Group/Greatest Girl Group

Best Rookie Group

Best Solo Artist/Star

Best Album

Best Song of the Year

Best Music Video of the Year/Hottest MV

Best Debut of the Year

Best Fan Group

Impact

The show is a mainstream acknowledgement of Asian popular music which was previously marginal in Australia due to an emphasis on Western music. As it is an SBS program, it has opened up the channel from a traditionally older multicultural audience to Australian youths of all backgrounds.
The show has impacted the accessibility of Asian Pop in Australia. Australia is seen as a small market to consume Asian pop but the program has been able to prove the growing demand for Asian Pop in Australia. This is evident through the increasing number of Asian pop concerts, especially K-Pop concerts in Australia.
As of January 2020, SBS PopAsia has over 1.3 million likes on Facebook, 31 million views on YouTube, 136.9K followers on Twitter, 104K subscribers on YouTube and 43K followers on Instagram.
These platforms have also become an avenue for Australian Asian Pop fans to interact with each other.
SBS PopAsia contributed to the creation of the radio apps, SBSDesi and SBSPopAraby.

Controversy

Despite promoting itself as an Asian Pop TV and radio show, the majority of music played is from South Korea and specifically from male groups. PopAsia has responded by stating that Korean pop is the most requested genre of music. This has polarised the Asian Pop audience. A Facebook group called "SBS Pop"Asia" Sucks" was formed several years ago, which has 7000-8000 members to criticise the radio station's predominant focus on K-Pop. Although the group itself has generated backlash and deemed hypocritical as the administrator focuses exclusively on J-Pop. It has also been pointed out that PopAsia directly violates the charter of SBS.

Awards