Popular music offers a unique opportunity to study the authentic use of English within a number of different Asian cultures and societies. This common characteristic of Asian societies, however, has developed in spite of the fact that that English fulfills various functions that are not common across Asia. Similarly, the status of English — as a second language, foreign language or official language — is not the same across all Asian countries. The degree of continuity in the way that English functions within popular culture, and specifically within popular music, is unprecedented and deserves further examination. English is frequently used in Asian pop music to suggest or to project an identity that resonates and is meaningful within the community. In this way, linguistic features may be interpreted as 'acts of identity' (LePage and Tabouret-Kellar 1985). This paper will outline five basic assumptions that must be recognized when examining language in popular culture and suggest methods that may be used for the study of English in Asian popular music.