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 // Aug 24 – Aug 30 // Aug 31 – Sep 6
Ado – Cat’s Eye (song of the week!)
It seems like a cop out to call a cover of a J-pop classic my “song of the week,” but when the week gives you nothing else you’ve gotta revert to the classics, I guess. She does a nice job reinventing this song.
BMSG Allstars – Grand Champ
This is much stronger than I would have thought. I’m not crazy about the chorus, but the song’s energy is very satisfying.
Generations x Da-iCE – Grounds
This is a very cool team-up. I don’t really like the song, but again it has some decent energy. It’s also got one of those awful second verse breakdowns, sadly.
Genki Iwahashi – Bless Me
A rock-themed blast of intensity. He pulls it offer better than I would have thought.
Girls² – Let Me Dance
This is quite fun and a little silly. Very repetitive, though.
HANA – Bad Love
I know this group is popular but I just haven’t enjoyed their material so far. I feel like I’ve heard variations of this exact song so many times. The chorus is also strange in a sort of off-key way?
Hinatazaka46 – Sora tobu kuruma
The sax in the instrumental is a fun touch. Otherwise, this is pretty subdued for them.
Lead – Roller Coaster
There have been a few new jack swing tracks lately but this one gets the sound exactly right. Just listen to that introduction! It’s straight from the genre’s heyday. Sadly, the production’s better than the actual song.
Mamoru Miyano – R.P.G
More frenetic than his recent work. I like the classic video game samples.
Novelbright – Call Me
Has a surging, sing-along vibe.
The Rampage – Running Running Running (ft. Shonan No Kaze)
This is definitely… different for them?
UNiFY – RIAKO
This has its moments. I like the rock influence.
UNIS – MoshiMoshi♡
Well, they certainly went full J-pop with this one!
