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 // Jun 29 – Jul 5 // Jul 6 – Jul 12 // Jul 13 – Jul 19 // Jul 20 – Jul 26 // Jul 27 – Aug 2 // Aug 3 – Aug 9
Billy Boo – Shake It!!
I wish this had a bit more energy but I’m all for the new jack swing revival.
BoA – Good For U
I wrote about this here. I thought it was okay.
Galileo Galilei – Aobishio
You can always count on these guys for some sprightly, satisfying indie rock.
ILLIT – Topping
A cute little dance track. Pretty inconsequential, though.
Juice=Juice – Shi no Go no Iwazusa tto Wakarete Ageta
For those of you who like your girl group music on the jazzier side.
Kana Nishino – Magical Starshine Makeup
Yawn. It’s the same subdued, Afrobeats-adjacent sound everyone’s doing.
King & Prince – I Know (song of the week!)
Wow, this is a really different sound for them! I love the 90’s dance beat during the chorus. I wish the song was longer/more developed, but this is still a big standout and very addictive. The video’s great, too!
Kis-My-Ft2 – A CHA CHA CHA
Sigh. Things were going so well with Glory Days. This song brings us back to the forgettable fluff they’ve been mired in for too long now.
Koda Kumi – Cube
Meh. At least this is a bit different than her last few singles?
Mrs. Green Apple – Summer Shadow
They are just constantly releasing new songs. Striking while the iron is hot, I guess. This is no better or worse than most of their material.
Naniwa Danshi – Asymmetry
This reminds me of an old Arashi track. It’s so late-2000s coded. It’s not as successful as those songs were, but I appreciate the homage.
Number_i – U.M.A.
This is a chore to get through.
Ruki (JO1) – Meguriboshi
Pretty standard J-rock sung by someone you might not expect to deliver it.
