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 Johnny’s groups, who still limit the majority of their YouTube uploads to shorter, edited versions.
2023 Index: Feb 1 – Feb 18 // Feb 19 – 25 // Feb 26 – Mar 3 // Mar 4 – Mar 10 // Mar 11 – Mar 18 // Mar 19 – Mar 25 // Mar 26 – Apr 1 // Apr 2 – Apr 8 // Apr 9 – Apr 15 // Apr 16 – Apr 22 // Apr 23 – Apr 29 // Apr 30 – May 6 // May 7 – May 13 // May 14 – May 20 // May 21 – May 27 // May 29 – Jun 3 // Jun 4 – Jun 10 // Jun 11 – Jun 17 // Jun 18 – Jun 24 // Jun 25 – Jul 1 // Jul 2 – Jul 8 // Jul 9 – Jul 15 // Jul 16 – Jul 22 // Jul 23 – Jul 29 // Jul 30 – Aug 5 // Aug 6 – Aug 12 // Aug 13 – Aug 19 // Aug 20 – Aug 26 // Aug 27 – Sep 2 // Sep 3 – Sep 9 // Sep 10 – Sep 16 // Sep 17 – Sep 23 // Sep 24 – Sep 30 // Oct 1 – Oct 7 // Oct 8 – Oct 14 // Oct 15 – Oct 21 // Oct 22 – Oct 28 // Oct 29 – Nov 3 // Nov 4 – Nov 11 // Nov 12 – Nov 18 // Nov 19 – Nov 25 // Nov 26 – Dec 2 // Dec 3 – Dec 9 // Dec 10 – Dec 16
THIS WEEK: Dec 17 – Dec 23
Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora – Seifukuno Mannequin
This new group does a cover of an incredible Nogizaka46 single. What’s not to love? It’s very similar to the original, though.
DXTEEN – Calendar
A fun, upbeat holiday song. It’s pretty generic, but that kind of goes with the territory.
East Of Eden – Hannabi
I haven’t checked out their EP yet, but I’m still enjoying this rock-meets-violin sound.
Fantastics x EPEX – Peppermint Yum
No! K-pop agencies, stay away from my J-pop faves! This is a very unexpected collaboration. Unfortunately, the song’s sound is more EPEX than Fantastics. The moments when they’re not just shouting are kind of fun.
Genic – Sayonara no Wake
New Genic music! This is a pretty ballad, though I’m not much of a ballad fan. I’m much more excited about their just-announced January single and March album!!
Hiromitsu Kitayama – Joker
This isn’t as strong as his solo debut, but it’s still really cool. Apparently, he directed the music video as well!
KinKi Kids – X-Day (song of the week!)
KinKi Kids’ new album is my favorite from them in many years. It opens with its strongest track, the pulse-pounding X-Day. It’s definitely a song of the week. Unfortunately, the video below isn’t the whole song, but it will give you a taste.
Koda Kumi – Vroom
I’m just not connecting to most of Koda Kumi’s recent work, unfortunately. This is really… noisy.
Lil League – FeiLong
This is probably my favorite song by them so far. Its stomping beat reminds me of Ballistik Boyz’ debut track.
Nami Tamaki – Reborn
I can’t choose this as a song of the week because the full version hasn’t been released yet, but it’s worth getting new Nami Tamaki output on your radar! She’s so good.
NEXZ – Miracle
I actually listened to this song without the music video because I’m still making my way through this season of Nizi Project and don’t want the debut members spoiled for me.
Anyway, this song is fine. Nothing new.
OCTPATH – Octave
This has its moments, but there’s not enough “song” on top of this beat. They’re basically just talking and making sound effects through much of the chorus. It’s a shame, because the production is quite good.
Oiran Dochu – Hyakkaryoran
This is kind of bonkers and I love that about it. It’s not a song to put on quietly in the background, though!
The Rampage – Soldier Love
The cheesy theatricality of the introduction is super fun, but the rest of the song is a letdown.
Riku – Stupid
Wow, this should have been his single! I love the disco sound.
Sekai No Owari – The Peak (song of the week!)
We finally got a music video for this song and it’s perfect. This is definitely a song of the week!
Travis Japan – Okie Dokie!
It’s catchy, but soooooo cheesy. Luckily, they also released the full version of the Level Up music video. I prefer that song (and video). Neither comes close to touching Candy Kiss, though.
This week’s old favorite:
Bed In – Freedom (2022)
I didn’t discover this song until this year, but it’s quickly become a favorite. Chugging guitar-driven dance music in the style of 90’s J-pop? What’s not to like?