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
BE:FIRST – Stare In Wonder
I’ve been enjoying their music lately and this is no different. Great beat and a few interesting structural shifts.
Chanmina – I Love You
A much softer sound than I was expecting.
Charisma.com – Metallic Negative (ft. Mo Moma) (song of the week!)
The production is so addictive. This is such a club banger!
ClariS – Connect
A classic J-pop sound, as expected from them.
Fujii Kaze – I Need U Back
I haven’t listened to his new album yet but maybe I should based on this. I love the stomping beat and guitar solos. It’s got such a fun throwback energy.
Galileo Galilei – Amadeus
Very sprightly! I love the orchestral flourishes.
Genic – Ender
This is much rockier than their normal fare. I’m not quite sure what I think of it yet, but I like that they’re experimenting.
GNJB – Paranoid Rendezvous
This is a lot of fun. Its fitful, jazzy pulse captures the group’s charm well.
Hey! Say! JUMP – Ghost
This is good for Halloween, but I’ve never been a big fan of this sound for HSJ. It’s very gimmicky.
ITZY – Rock & Roll
I wrote about this here. I thought it was okay.
Kid Phenomenon – Black Flame
Pretty cut-and-paste boy group fodder, but a nice example of it.
MADKID – Mad Pulse
They’ve gone full-on rock with this one. It’s got a good chorus.
Matsuri – Agabeno Hana
This very retro sound is fun. However, it’s not really for me.
NAQT VANE – Visions (song of the week!)
I would have never pictured this group recording a Kamen Rider theme, but it actually works very well. This is another great song from them.
Novel Core – DiRTY NASTY
A big, barreling rocker.
One Or Eight – My Lil’ Heart Attack (song of the week!)
I’m a bit confused because their new EP is pitched as a live recording, yet beyond some crowd noise pumped in here and there the songs all sound like studio recordings. Whatever the case, most of them are strong and this one is especially fun.
Ryugujo – Egure Mekure / Yohaku (song of the week!)
Sugar seems to be the track they’re promoting from the new EP so I feel like I’ll probably end up writing about that eventually. For now, I want to focus on my two favorite new tracks. Both are heavy rockers with the quintessential Ryugujo spirit.
Snow Man – True Love
A very sweet, saccharine J-pop track. These songs usually grow on me but I can’t say this is a favorite at the moment.
timelesz – Steal The Show (song of the week!)
The chorus feels like a placeholder and this isn’t even the full song, but I’m so desparate for this sound that I still enjoy it a lot.
Wild Blue – Kimi no egao to ano sora
There are some nice melodic twists to the chorus. Not their strongest single, but I think it will grow.
Yoasobi – Gekijyo
I wrote about this last week but now it has a music video.
