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 // Aug 10 – Aug 16
A.B.C-Z – Cocktail
Very retro. The video’s funny. The song doesn’t do much for me.
The Beat Garden – Koi Tte Study?
This has a bit more oomph to it than their past few singles.
BOYNEXTDOOR – Count To Love
I wrote about this here. I liked it.
CHAMELEON LIME WHOOPIEPIE – Punks
Okay, I was just listening to the ridiculous and lovely Chicken Bone from Cowboy Bebop the other day and the overall energy of this song reminds me a bit of that absurdity. This one’s not nearly as fun, but I appreciate the irreverent sound.
Ellegarden – Carmine
Straightforward rock.
Kamen Rider Girls – Jump
I had no idea Kamen Rider Girls were still releasing music! This isn’t one of their better tracks, but I’m glad to see them again (even if their configuration has changed over the years).
Kazuya Kamenashi – The Truth
I thought Kame left Starto Entertainment but this new single is released under its subsidiary J Storm. I’m a bit confused. Regardless, this is a pretty good song. His voice is so singular.
Kid Phenomenon – Snakebite
This is so different from what its title lets on. I like the funky beat and they’ve got some great voices. Definitely their best single in awhile. Or… I guess it’s technically a promoted b-side. Given the lyrics of chorus, the dance needs to be way cheesier, though!
LUN8 – Motley Crew
Those hoping for some weird ode to the 80’s hair metal band of the (slightly) same name will be disappointed. This is another generic boy group bluster-fest.
MAZZEL – Danger
I’ve been very lukewarm on most of their material, but I like this one. Its beat feels a bit inspired by Get Ur Freak On.
n-choco loves m-flo – Elusive
The bouncy production carries a ton of nostalgia.
Perfume – Meguru-pu / Saikidousekai (song of the week!)
Perfume’s new album is solid, though not as strong as their last one. They’re promoting Meguru-pu with a music video, a song that was first released a few weeks ago. It’s okay, but I vastly prefer album opener Saikidousekai and its cool electronic textures. I’m including it here as well because it’s a song of the week for me.
Psychic Fever – Reflection
I don’t like this style of song at all.
Takane No Nadeshiko – Kono Sekai Wa Uso De Dekiteiru
Very satisfying, surging girl group pop. A formula well followed.
Twice – Like 1
This is mostly interesting because it was written by Taka and Toru of ONE OK ROCK, which is a collaboration I never would have expected. The song is just okay for me, and continues the rock sound of their single Enemy.
ZORN – War And The Girl
This song seems to be very popular right now. It’s a bit too downtempo for me.
&TEAM – Run Wild (song of the week!)
This song came out in April and this isn’t a full-on music video, but I wanted to spotlight it anyway because it’s fantastic and should have been promoted as a single right at the start of summer.
