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 // Aug 17 – Aug 23
BABYMETAL – From Me To U (ft. Poppy)
They released three new music videos this week from their recent album. This is my favorite. I could do without the shouting from Poppy, but it’s got a great chorus.
BE:FIRST – Secret Garden
A summery mid-tempo that probably should have been released two months ago.
Exile – Get-go!
A pleasant, light funk track.
Fantastics – BFX
There’s a lot I like about this but it just doesn’t quite get there for me. As with most songs these days, it needs stronger melodies (especially a stronger chorus). The production’s cool and I like how Yusei’s using his voice, but what starts out promising grows tired by the time the song’s over.
FTIsland – Monochrome
It’s definitely an FTIsland song!
Girls2 – Momoiro Kataomoi (ft. Gorie)
This is… something?
Hinatazaka46 – Onegai Bach! (song of the week!)
Very predictable for them, but definitely one of their stronger recent singles. I really like the brightness of the beat.
KJRGL – TipToe
This has a very classic, melodic J-pop sound. It’s a bit saccharine.
Kosei (XY) – 20
XY continue to do anything but release group music.
Man With A Mission – Against The Kings And Gods
A reliably solid rock track from this great band.
Max Changmin (TVXQ) – My Bad
It’s nice to see him release new solo material, though this song doesn’t feel very notable.
Official HIGE DANdism – Rashisa
I wrote about this earlier and now it has a music video.
One Or Eight – Young & Reckless
Definitely better than their last single. The song itself is pretty meh, but I like the beat.
Party Party – Knock Me On (song of the week!)
This is a supergroup of sorts. It sounds like a knockoff version of a better song I’d rather hear, but the upbeat EDM energy makes it an easy standout for me this week.
Ryubi Miyase – Gravity
A pleasant, softly anthemic pop track.
Snow Man – Charismax
This feels like a parody of a Snow Man song and I’m embarrassed that it’s the one they chose to perform on M Countdown.
UN1CON – Genki
This has promise, but the sing-song nature of the verses is annoying and it doesn’t really have a chorus.
Yurina Hirate – I’m Human
Very moody. The song itself is just okay.
