A: Aside from K-pop, what were the English chart-toppers?
B: Billboard’s top three singles for 2025 were “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars, “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar/SZA and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey. Plus, pop diva Mariah Carey’s 1994 megahit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” won its 20th and 21st weeks at No. 1, becoming the longest-running No. 1 song in history.
A: How about in Taiwan? The news says nine of the 10 most-streamed songs on Spotify Taiwan were Korean.
Photo: Reuters 照片:路透
B: Yup, and the top three were: “Winter Ahead” by BTS’ V and Park Hyo-shin, “Jumping Machine” by Chinese singer LBI, and “Who” by BTS’ Jimin. “Farewell” by the boyband Bestards was the most-streamed local song for 2025 at No. 11.
A: Wow, K-pop has really swept across Taiwan once again.
A: 除了韓流風潮,西洋樂壇有哪些霸榜金曲呢?
B: 《告示牌》年終單曲榜前3名是︰女神卡卡/火星人布魯諾《Die with a Smile》、肯卓克拉瑪/西瑟《Luther》、夏布奇《A Bar Song (Tipsy)》。瑪麗亞凱莉1994年《All I Want for Christmas Is You》則獲第20、21週冠軍,而成為史上最強神曲!
A: 那台灣樂壇呢?新聞說Spotify台灣年度串流歌曲前10名有9首是韓文。
B: 對啊前3名是:防彈V/朴孝信的《Winter Ahead》、中國歌手LBI利比的《跳樓機》、防彈Jimin的《Who》,第11名理想混蛋的《離開的一路上》則成為最熱門本地歌曲。
A: 哇韓流音樂去年又再次席捲全台啦。
(By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
In 2024, the number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed 1.31 million, a 50 percent jump from 2022. This sharp rise shows a growing interest in cat ownership. But with more cats comes a type of household waste many people overlook: used cat litter. Unlike food scraps or packaging, it’s harder to manage and often ends up in landfills. While many cat owners choose traditional mineral-based litter for its affordability, this popular option comes with hidden environmental costs. Most mineral litter is made from non-renewable resources and involves environmentally destructive mining processes. Plus, because it can’t be incinerated or easily broken
A: Popular humorous Japanese manga series “Chibi Maruko-chan” and “Crayon Shin-chan” will collaborate for their respective 40th and 35th anniversaries, publishing three crossover stories in April. B: Both were made into TV animation series, becoming huge hits in Asia. What are the crossover stories about? A: The first story features Shin-chan and his family visiting Maruko-chan’s hometown, Shizuoka City, where they run into each other. B: Wow, that sounds interesting. And then? A: The follow-ups feature Maruko-chan and her family visiting Shin-chan’s hometown, Kasukabe City. I bet the interactions between the two families will be funny. A: 熱門日本漫畫《櫻桃小丸子》、《蠟筆小新》4月將合作,為紀念小丸子40週年與小新35週年,推出三篇跨界聯動漫畫! B:
Travel fever is back, and it’s contagious. After years of being kept home during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are once again eager to explore the world. Rather than just book any trip, travelers are getting smarter about how they scratch that travel itch. Microcation Defined as four days or fewer and over 160km away from home, the microcation perfectly matches the post-pandemic mindset. After long periods of remaining indoors, people are making up for lost time by taking short, frequent getaways throughout the year. These brief trips avoid the work-life imbalance that comes with long absences. With only a few days away, one’s
Many consumers are guilty of filling drawers or closets with old laptops, cellphones, fitness trackers and other electronic devices once they are no longer needed. It’s hard to know where to recycle such items, or it seems costly and inconvenient to do so. The world generates millions of tons of electronic waste — also called e-waste — each year. According to the UN’s most recent estimate, people worldwide produced 62 million metric tons of e-waste in 2022, and only about 22 percent of it was properly recycled. The US’ Environmental Protection Agency estimates that less than a quarter of e-waste is