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 // Sep 7 – Sep 13 // Sep 14 – Sep 20 // Sep 21 – Sep 27 // Sep 28 – Oct 4 // Oct 5 – Oct 11
A.B.C-Z – DONGAKU-RUIKO
This isn’t for me, but it’s nice to see them still going at it.
aoen – Seishun Incredibles
I wrote about this here. I thought it was okay. However, b-side MXMM is better.
Bump Of Chicken – I
Pretty much what you would expect from them.
CNBLUE – Shintoya
This swing sound is actually a good fit for them. Sadly, I’m not a big fan of the song.
ELSEE – Wondrous
The production by Teddyloid and Giga is reliably great. The song is kind of aimless, though.
Fudanjuku – Frontier
Decent but forgettable. It needs a kick of energy.
GNJB – Paranoid Rendezvous
I wrote about this last week and now it has a music video.
HANA – My Body
I enjoy this more than past efforts, but it’s still missing something. Too languid, methinks.
Hiroyuki Sawano × SennaRin – Iris -BUBBLE-
Another ballad from this duo.
Jaejoong – Rhapsody
It’s nice to hear him really rock out.
The Jet Boy Bangerz – Let’s Dance
It’s got some energy, at least. The tempo/energy shifts don’t work for me. It’s trying to do too much instead of doing one thing really well. The chorus is also just shouting.
Kenshi Yonezu – 1991
People will love this, I’m sure. It’s way too downbeat for me and that squelchy instrumental loop is awful.
Mamoru Miyano – Mirror
Hmm… not sure he needs to be trying this sound.
MYERA – Data Baby
I like the instrumental. I’m not as crazy about the shouty performance and empty chorus.
NiziU – ♡Emotion
It’s nice, but definitely one of their more forgettable singles.
Porno Graffitti – The Revo
I really like the vocal performance on this and the music is suitably anthemic. I could see it growing on me a lot.
The Rampage – “BOOM” (song of the week!)
I wasn’t a big fan of the single, but this b-side is much better (and I need something for my “song of the week”!)
Sakurazaka46 – Unhappy Birthday Koubun
This one’s a bit uneven. The tempo shifts stall momentum but the chorus is quite good.
Snow Man – Boost
This actively pisses me off. They’ve got such a good song going until they drop into that “chorus.” The quality of their music has declined so much as their budget and notoriety has seemed to increase. It’s frustrating.
