In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in what’s new in J-pop.
With that in mind, here’s where you come in: I’m one person with one set of musical preferences, so please embed any other new J-pop tracks you’ve enjoyed in the comments so we can get a fuller spectrum each week.
*And just like I do with my reviews, I’ll wait until full versions of songs are available before posting them in this round-up. This will mostly apply to Starto groups, who still limit the majority of their YouTube uploads to shorter, edited versions.
2023-2024 Index
2025 Index: Dec 29 – Jan 11 // Jan 12 – Jan 18 // Jan 19 – Jan 25 // Jan 26 – Feb 1 // Feb 2 – Feb 8 // Feb 9 – Feb 15 // Feb 16 – Feb 22 // Feb 23 – Mar 1 // Mar 2 – Mar 8 // Mar 9 – Mar 15 // Mar 16 – Mar 22 // Mar 23 – Mar 29 // Mar 30 – Apr 5 // Apr 6 – Apr 12 // Apr 13 – Apr 19 // Apr 20 – Apr 26 // Apr 27 – May 3 // May 4 – May 10 // May 11 – May 16 // May 17 – May 24 // May 25 – May 31 // Jun 1 – Jun 7 // Jun 8 – Jun 14 // Jun 15 – Jun 21 // Jun 22 – Jun 28
Ballistik Boyz – Stardust Forever
I wrote about this already but now it has a music video.
ENHYPEN – Shine On Me
This is a pretty innocuous rock ballad. I assume it’s just a b-side?
Fantastics – Candy Blaze
Their music continues to lose me and I absolutely hate that. This is just boring.
Frederic – Akuma (song of the week!)
This band has a great track record and this is another sprightly highlight. I like the energetic chorus.
HKT48 – Hasodetenshi
A pretty generic summer offering. Does what you expect it to.
INI – Pineapple Juice
This is so much better than their recent singles, even if it’s still pretty generic summer fare.
Lienel – Chozetsu Summer De Bakaninare
Um… yeah. So this happened.
Momoiro Clover Z – Event Horizon
I like this in theory. In execution, not so much.
Mrs. Green Apple – Carrying Happiness
Is there any band better suited to a Disney theme? I don’t know if I mean that as a compliment or not, but this is pretty fun.
MYNAME – Bad Bad Higher
It’s crazy to see them back with new music! This is a fun new jack swing dance track. Nothing extraordinary, but enjoyable.
Nogizaka46 – Same Numbers (song of the week!)
Ooh, this is a strong single from them. It’s exactly the sound I like most from Nogizaka46.
Takanori Iwata – TORICO
I like the energy of this track. It’s very summery and celebratory.
TOMOO – Lucky
Quintessential indie J-pop. Not my thing, but if you like this sound this is worth checking out.
TWS – Hajimemashite (Nice To See You Again) (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I liked it and it’s already grown on me more!
Wednesday Campanella – Monster Island
This is quirky fun but doesn’t amount to much.
Younghoon (ORβIT) – Lovestruck
Pretty hazy and downtempo.
