E15: Pop Culture Round-Up: 20 Must Know Bites Going Into February

🚀 January flew by, and it's time to break down the hottest pop culture moments as we step into February! I’m serving up 20 buzzy updates — starting with these must-know moments:

• 🔥 Tom Holland graces Men’s Health and opens up about his sobriety journey. Major respect! 💪❤️
• 🎭 Traitors Season 3 is on fire! Carolyn as a traitor? Chef’s kiss! 🔥😈
• 👗 The Golden Globes Red Carpet brought style moments from Zendaya, Timothée, Michelle Yeoh, and more! Who nailed it? 💃🕺
• 🎥 Britney Spears' biopic is in the works—and she’s involved! Who should play her? 👀✨
• 🎶 BLACKPINK’s Jisoo is back! A new acting role in “Newtopia” and a solo album on the way! 🎬🎤

…Just wait until you hear the other pop culture moments in this episode!

Don’t forget to subscribe, follow, and share BibimPOP with Sean! 🎧💕 #PopCulture #BibimPOP

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Episode 15
• 7:23 Tom Holland, Traitors, and More
• 12:40 Flo Rida & Enhypen, J-Hope's Tour, and More
• 15:38 Taylor Swift Dragged Into The Drama, and More
• 19:25 Arden Cho Becomes A K-Pop Idol, and More
• 22:07 Subscribe, Follow, Like, & Share

Transcript

Hello Pop tarts, and welcome to this episode of BibimPOP with Sean where pop culture ate. I hope everyone had a great Lunar New Year last week. I am so grateful to live in close proximity to so many of my cousins. On my Chinese side, we celebrated Lunar New Year together, which was so much fun. We saw a lion dance performance, watched a fireworks show, and ate Chinese food for dinner.

Kind of. We ate dinner at the. We ate dinner at P.F. Chang's, but it was still really delicious. Even though oh my gosh, you will never believe the literal comedy of our dinner that night. Okay, well, our waiter, super nice guy, very kind. He brought our Coca-Cola drinks out and forgot which ones were regular Coke. Diet Coke and Coke Zero, which I can totally see myself doing that.

Like grabbing the drinks, bringing them to the table and then being like they all look the same. I can't remember which one is which. Anyway, he proceeded and asked us to taste test them all to determine which one was which, and then just to give it to the correct person. And I have literally never been asked to do that before in a restaurant.

I don't know, why wouldn't he just bring them back to the kitchen and refill them? Has anyone else ever had this experience? I was thinking like, what if someone at the table was diabetic and accidentally got the regular coke with all that sugar? Anyway, it was really strange, but definitely one of those you got to laugh it off moments and roll with it.

I was just happy to be with my family celebrating Lunar New Year. For those of you who might be a little unfamiliar with Lunar New Year, I will give you a quick little rundown. Lunar New Year is one of the most significant celebrations across many Asian cultures. It marks the beginning of a new year based on the lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon.

The date varies each year because of this, but generally falls between January 21st and February 20th. This year it seemed to come really early because I feel like in recent years it was in more mid February. The celebration typically lasts for several days, with traditions emphasizing family reunions, good fortune and warding off evil spirits. The origins of Lunar New Year date back thousands of years to ancient China.

The festival was initially linked to agricultural practices and honoring ancestors, and according to legend, a horrific mythical beast called neon, which means year in Chinese. And I might be saying that incorrectly. So I apologize if I am, but this mythical beast would terrorize villages at the start of the new year. It would eat innocent villagers, their livestock, and their hard earned crops, and people discovered that loud noises, red decorations and firecrackers could scare this beast away, leading to many of the modern customs that are seen today.

Over time, the festival evolved into a major cultural event focused on renewal and prosperity. Going into the new year and different countries celebrate Lunar New Year differently. Let's first talk about China. The duration of the Chinese New Year is around 15 days, and some of the key traditions are family reunions, where families gather for a big, large feast, giving out red envelopes, or hung bao, which is a practice where elders give children money in decorative red envelopes for good luck.

And another tradition is firecrackers and fireworks and lion and dragon dances, which symbolize the expulsion of evil spirits. Homes are decorated with red lanterns and popular foods during the festival are dumplings, fish and rice cakes. Let's now talk about the Lunar New Year in South Korea, the duration of the South Korean lunar new Year is around three days, and key traditions include a ritual honoring ancestors with food offerings, giving a deep bow to elders in exchange for blessings and money, eating a rice cake soup which symbolizes the aging of another year, and playing traditional board games with the family.

Let's talk about the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Lunar New Year is around three days, but it's often celebrated for around a week, and some of the key traditions are sweeping and cleaning the home to get rid of any sort of bad luck. It's also popular to display kumquat trees and peach blossoms. As far as food, these square and cylindrical, sticky rice cakes, which are filled with pork and mung beans, are very popular during the Lunar New Year celebration, and the Vietnamese also have red envelopes that are given to children for good luck.

Malaysia and Singapore also celebrate Lunar New Year. Their Lunar New Year celebrations typically last around 15 days, and their key traditions are reunion dinners where families gather together on New Year's Eve. They eat a raw fish salad, which is tossed for good luck, and they also have a large scale multicore cultural parade that takes place. And other countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia, they all celebrate Lunar New Year as well, with some very similar traditions that we just talked about.

What's interesting is that Japan does not celebrate Lunar New Year officially because Japan historically celebrated Lunar New Year until around the 1870s, which is when the country started to primarily follow the Gregorian calendar, meaning New Year's Day is celebrated on January 1st. However, some of the influences of traditional Lunar New Year can still be found in certain regions and communities, and even though these various countries celebrate Lunar New Year a little differently, it's interesting to note that many Lunar New Year traditions emphasize family reunions, ancestor worship, festive meals that symbolize prosperity, red decorations and envelopes for luck, and fireworks and performances to drive away evil spirits.

I love lunar New Year in 2023 and 2024, Matt and I celebrated Lunar New Year at Disneyland's Lunar New Year Festival, which was so fun because they had all these amazing kiosks with different Asian foods, great decorations, Asian performers, and a Lunar New Year parade led by none other than Mulan. So I would love to know. Do you celebrate Lunar New Year?

And if you do, how do you celebrate and what did you do? Please let me know. I would love to hear more. All right, pop Tarts, I am so excited for today's episode. For today. I am just going to recap a lot of pop culture news over the past few weeks. My last two episodes I interviewed guests and the two episodes before that, I did deep dives into two of my favorite K-pop groups, zero based one and Aespa.

So let's just take some time for this episode and do a quick review of 20 pop culture moments from the last few weeks. Here we go.

Right, okay, pop tarts, these are really in no particular order. Just the things that I think would be great for us all to cover and be aware of. Now that January has wrapped up and we are, well, moving into February, I will group these segments into groups of five. So our first update is number one, Tom Holland on the cover of Men's Health magazine.

First of all, these pictures of Tom are giving fitness goals. He looks so good. Okay, but what I love about this article is that he talks about his health, identity, and specifically his sobriety journey. Men's health magazine says, quote, he adjusted to sobriety without formal treatment. Quote from Tom. Now I'm quite strong willed. When I decide to do something, I'm really going to do it.

I leaned on those close a lot of family, friends, old colleagues, new colleagues, people that reached out that I didn't know who were also sober. Close quote. The article goes on to say, and Tom talks about his lawyer that was speaking with him and Tom says, quote, he gave me a really poignant piece of advice that helped me get through everything, which was, you'll never wake up the morning after a night out and wish you had a drink.

That piece of advice really rang true to me, because my problem was that I would have one drink and be fine, and then I would just go too far. And the article goes on to say, quote. Now, more than two years sober, he has emerged as a champion of sober living, an avatar for the broad swath of young adults who have stopped or limited their drinking.

Close quote I love that, and I'm so happy for Tom and all the success he has experienced, and continue to wish him all the best. Number two Traitor's Season three is now airing on Peacock. Are any of you watching traders? If not, you should. Traders is like one giant game of mafia except the mafia are called traitors and the townspeople are called faithfuls.

The traitors try to secretly get out the faithfuls while the faithfuls try to banish the traitors. And this season is so good it is heating up and it is heating up fast. If you don't want to hear any spoilers, just fast forward the next like minute or so. Okay, I want to say I am so sad that Wells is out already.

I was really looking forward to watching him play. I also love having Sam, Britney Spears, his ex on the show. He really doesn't contribute very much, but one of my favorite moments is when he comes into the room and they're all eating breakfast and he's wearing a headband, and I think someone asked him or said, like, they like his headband, and he goes, thanks, it's Britney's and Dolores.

I think one of the real Housewives. She looks at him, he goes like Britney Spears, like, that's Britney Spears. His headband. And he looks he realizes that she's thinking that and he's like, oh no, no, no, no, Britney. Which is or who is another contestant on the show. I just thought that was so funny. I also want to say I'm really sad that my survivor family members, Jeremy and Toni, are already out.

I really wanted to see them play more. And let's talk for a moment about Caroline, why she's a traitor and she could not be more perfectly cast. She is amazing, I love her, she just is completely who she is, and I have so much admiration for her and I just can't wait to see what she does next. All right, number three, the Golden Globes red carpet.

Let's just break down a few looks that I really liked. Timothee Salomé looked great in a dark Tom Ford suit. Although I have to say I was hoping for something a little more style forward from him. Zendaya shimmered in this beautiful orange Louis Vuitton gown and looked amazing. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were in tow together and looked really cute.

Michelle Yeoh kept it classy in a black Balenciaga gown. Viola Davis had this sparkly note black Gucci dress, Angelina Jolie looked like a silver queen wearing McQueen, and Glen Powell looked very dapper in Armani. It was a great year on the red carpet for the Golden Globes number four director John M2 says Britney Spears will be very involved.

Close quote in the filming of her upcoming biopic movie. Okay, now this is a biopic movie I really want to see. Although the conservatorship years just make me so sad, it makes me sad to think she was forced to do things that she didn't want to, and that she didn't have access to her own money that she was making through her music and performances all those years.

I am interested to see who will play Britney in the upcoming movie. I feel like Sabrina Carpenter could be a very great pick and who knows, maybe that's why she had so many Britney references in her MTV VMAs performance last year. Was that just one big Easter egg for us? Question mark. We'll see. Number five Blackpinks. Jisoo has some news.

She's going to be making an acting comeback in New Topia, which is a series about a zombie outbreak. It is going to premiere soon on Amazon Prime this month. Also, she signed with Warner Records for an upcoming solo album, I Cannot Wait. All right, Pop Tarts, if you're liking this content and discussion, please remember to subscribe, follow, like and share BibimPOP with Sean.

All right, let's get right into it and continue with the next five. Number six J-Hope of BTS's announces an upcoming world tour with ten shows in the USA across five cities. This is his first solo world tour. Hope on the stage. Close quote. Following his discharge from the mandatory military service in October 2024, the tour is set to commence with three consecutive performances in Seoul, South Korea from February 20th 8th to March 2nd.

The North American leg of the tour will begin in mid-March, featuring two night performance in these cities Brooklyn, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Mexico City, Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, Oakland, California, and Los Angeles, California. He will then make his way across Asia with performances in Manila, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Macao, Taipei and Osaka, and more, concluding on June 1st, 2025.

If you're planning on going to J-Hope concert, please let me know. I would love to hear all about it. Number seven makeup brand ColourPop announced a new Twilight New Moon collection. I am already loving the title of this one. It's Bella. Where the hell have you been? Loca lip Kit? It's just too good and I know my husband loves the Twilight shout out number eight!

The weekend tells variety in an interview that he is considering retiring his stage name. The article says, quote, after hinting in the interview that the final trilogy installment would represent a broader chapter, Close the Weekend clarified that the chapter in question is my existence as the weekend. It's a head I've got to get into that. I just don't have any more desire for.

You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race. More accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards, and more number ones. It never ends until you end it close. Quote. He continues to go on and say, quote, it's getting to a place in time where I'm getting ready to close the weekend chapter close.

Quote. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens next. Number nine Flo Rida dropped a song with K-pop idols from the group, and hype in the song is called confessions and it's definitely a bop. Give it a listen if you haven't yet. I have really been enjoying this one. Number ten Macy Gray was on UK's The Masked Singer competition show.

She was voted out by the judges and upon hearing she was voted off, she immediately turned around and walked off the stage, which is an unprecedented first for the show. Usually, contestants are expected to take off their masks and reveal who they are. After some time, Macy eventually came back to the stage, but she looked incredibly unhappy, making for a very awkward live on TV moment.

Are you ready for the next five? Number 11 Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt House sadly burned down and the Los Angeles fires. And as a result, the Speidi fandom started streaming songs from her 15 year old album superficial, which then launched it to number one on the iTunes charts. Just so you know, I never stopped listening to this album.

I love this album. I always have. Remember in my very first episode of BibimPOP with Sean, how I reviewed my Spotify Year in Review, Heidi Montag was definitely name dropped. Number 12. Maybe we're getting some new music coming from our favorite pop stars Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and Rihanna. They all seemingly hinted at new music, not together all separately, but to find out more about how they might be dropping hints, follow me on TikTok Instagram X because I post daily pop culture updates to keep you all in the loop @bibimpopwithsean on TikTok and Instagram, and at @bibimpopsean on x number 13.

XO Kitty season two on Netflix. It was so cute. I loved it so much. Did you watch? It seems like many viewers appreciate the show's engaging blend of romance, drama, and character development. Screen rant notes that the season quote hits the ground running with more swoon worthy romance, shocking twists, and heartfelt arc. Close quote, similarly paced magazine praises it as a, quote, more confident and self-assured creation that leans into the relationships among its charming ensemble.

Close quote did you watch? XO, Katie season two and if so, what did you think? Number 14 we can't go through this list without talking about the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal drama, because it just does not end. It clearly does not end with us, because I think every single person in the world is going to be getting involved.

It seems. It looks like even Taylor Swift's name has been drugged into the mess, and she has remained pretty silent. Some are suggesting that maybe Taylor is trying to distance herself from Blake's drama. Just in the last few weeks, a video leaked of Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively filming together. Then some audio messages leaked of Justin apologizing to Blake for his behavior.

And Justin published a website where the timeline of the legal drama and text messages were posted. What will happen next? Number 15 Dylan O'Brien from Teen Wolf and Maze Runner had a film called Twin Lis premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, aka my backyard. The story follows two young men who meet in a support group for individuals who have lost their twins.

They develop an unlikely friendship as they navigate their shared grief and personal challenges. Twin lis received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. It was praised for its unique blend of dark comedy and exploration of grief and codependency. Dylan O'Brien's performance, where he portrayed both Roman and his twin brother Rocky, was highlighted as particularly compelling. The film won the Audience Award in the US Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival.

Additionally, Dylan O'Brien received a special Jury Award for acting for his role in the film. I really like Dylan O'Brien as an actor. I wonder if Twin List will come out in theaters or streaming any time soon. I guess we'll have to see.

All right, we have made it to the last five pop culture updates, and I'm going to be going through these lightning speed number 16, the upcoming 2025 Grammy Awards will have performances from Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and more. Number 17 Blackpink's Jennie Surprise hit us with the drop of the Zen music video. The visuals in this music video are stunning.

If you have not seen this music video, hop on YouTube right after listening to this podcast, look it up. It is so cool! And the video grew over 2 million views in just five hours. Number 18 Timothy Shalom did a great job as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He performed Bob Dylan songs that weren't even featured in the movie, A Complete Unknown.

The songs he performed were Outlaw Blues and Tomorrow Is a Long Time number 19 Arden Show of partner track and Teen Wolf. Wow, who knew that I would have two Teen Wolf references and today's podcast episode alone? I love that so much. Anyway, Arden Cho will star as a lead in a new psychological thriller, Perfect Girl. The movie is about a new K-pop group that is ready to debut to the world when all of the sudden a new girl is introduced to the group and things start to go wrong and get very suspicious.

I am so intrigued and I am so excited for this movie. And number 20, Joshua Hong of 17 shares details about the new tattoo that he got, which is a Gemini symbol representing the group's debut day. His openness dispels fans theories that he wanted to keep the tattoo private. In fact, even on social media, there were posts that were coming out saying please do not talk about Joshua Hong's tattoo.

Or actually it was even more vague than that. It said, please do not talk about the incident involving Joshua Hong at the concert. And I think it was the Philippines because it was saying essentially respect his privacy. Well, a fan on a fan call asked him about it, and he was very open and sharing about it. So it seems like he's okay with talking about his tattoo.

Oh, right. Pop tarts. There you have it. 20 quick pop culture moments from January. And look at that. We covered a 20 moment in around 23 minutes, which is pretty impressive. You are all caught up now. And now we're all wondering what will February have in store for us?

All right, Pop Tarts, that is a wrap on this episode of BibimPOP with Sean. Thank you so much for listening. Stay tuned for the next episode and please remember to subscribe, follow, like and share BibimPOP with Sean and if you have a moment, I would love if you took a second to do a quick rating or review of my podcast, BibimPOP with Sean.

That would be so fantastic! And just as a reminder of the schedule, episodes right now are going to be releasing once a week. Most likely sometime in the middle of the week. I will post on social media when you can expect those episodes to drop. And as a reminder, if you live in the Salt Lake City area, please come to K-pop Club Night at Sound Well on Saturday, February 15th in Salt Lake City and follow me on social media for updates @bibimpopwithsean on Instagram, Tick tock, Facebook and YouTube, and @bibimpopsean on X, formerly Twitter and go to my podcast website bibimpopwithsean.buzzsprout.com.

Thanks for listening once again to BibimPOP with Sean where pop Culture ate.