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.
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 // Oct 12 – Oct 18 // Oct 19 – Oct 25 // Oct 26 – Nov 1
ENJIN – Day By Day By Day (song of the week!)
I absolutely love this (and probably should have written a full review)! Great, groovy beat and strong chorus. I’ve been missing this sound A LOT.
Good Bye April – Sympathy
Warm, retro AOR soft rock. I really like the sound of this.
Hey! Say! JUMP – Symphony (song of the week!)
This plays with dynamics in an interesting way and grows better as it goes. I’m curious to hear the full thing. I’ve always loved when they go big and orchestral.
IMP. – Kiss
Stylish talking over a club beat. We have so many songs like this right now.
Kiss Of Life – Lucky
I wrote about this here. I found it pretty dull.
Lienel – Daisy
Very standard J-pop idol sound. Neither here nor there for me.
MAZZEL – Only You
A decent, wintery ballad.
Morning Musume ’25 – Teka HAPPY no HAPPY!
This feels a little under-formed despite being over four minutes long. I know that sounds weird…
NCT Wish – Dreamcatcher
I wrote about this here. I hated it.
Nemophila – KAIKASENGEN
This kind of intense screamy rock isn’t for me, but if you like the genre you’ll probably love this.
Nogizaka46 – biriyani
More of the same from them. It’s a pleasant toe-tapper, though.
SUPER★DRAGON – Concealer
This has that kind of fitful, overly busy production style that has had a stranglehold on J-pop these past few years. I’m getting very tired of it, personally.
