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
2024 Index: Dec 24 – Jan 6 // Jan 7 – Jan 13 // Jan 14 – Jan 20 // Jan 21 – Jan 27 // Jan 28 – Feb 3 // Feb 4 – Feb 10 // Feb 11 – Feb 17 // Feb 18 – Feb 24 // Feb 25 – Mar 2 // Mar 3 – Mar 9 // Mar 10 – Mar 16 // Mar 17 – Mar 23 // Mar 24 – Mar 30 // Mar 31 – Apr 6 // Apr 7 – Apr 13 // Apr 14 – Apr 20 // Apr 21 – Apr 27 // Apr 28 – May 4 // May 5 – May 11 // May 12 – May 18 // May 19 – May 25 // May 26 – Jun 1 // Jun 2 – Jun 8 // Jun 9 – Jun 15 // Jun 16 – Jun 22 // Jun 23 – Jun 29 // Jun 30 – Jul 6 // Jul 7 – Jul 13 // Jul 14 – Jul 20
THIS WEEK: July 21 – July 27
AiNA THE END – Love Sick (song of the week!)
Easily my favorite song from her since last year’s spectacular Red:birthmark. This one is almost as over-the-top dramatic and has a similar unhinged energy and cathartic howl. It’s very good!
ALI – Beyond (ft. MaRI)
I need to do a deep dive into ALI’s music because each new song that comes out impresses me. There’s such texture to this.
Da-iCE – Story
This song now has a music video. I still don’t think it’s one of their strongest.
Daichi Miura – Shinpakuon (song of the week!)
Ooh, I hope this is getting a music video because this is one of his best songs in awhile. I love the anthemic feeling.
East Of Eden – CROSS∞ROADS
This one brings the group’s violinist more forward in the mix, which is definitely appreciated.
Fantastics vs. Kid Phenomenon – TurquoiseSun & PinkPurpleMoon (song of the week!)
This is the third released track from the new Battle Of Tokyo series. I see what they were trying to do structurally (the song actually feels more like a “battle”) but I’m not sure it completely works musically. Still, I like all the individual pieces and love hearing Fantastics perform in this style, so it’s overall a win for me. The video is also entertaining as hell.
Fujii Kaze – Feelin’ Go(o)d
Groovy and understated. Pretty much what you’d expect from Fujii Kaze, I guess.
Golden Bomber – Line
This is fun, goofy singalong rock from one of Japan’s most popular and beloved bands.
Hitogoto (Kento Nakajima) – Hitogoto
I’m a bit confused if Hitogoto is a permanent alter ego for Kento Nakajima or just for this song, but it’s a decent solo start for him. It would definitely fit alongside material on a Sexy Zone album.
iScream – Sorry Not Sorry
Still not feeling this one, but it now has a music video for those who are interested.
Mamoru Miyano – Apollo
Light and funky. It’s not bad!
MILLENNIUM PARADE – M4D
I really like this track. The production is immaculate — all sweltering beats and scuzzy synths. It’s a vibe in the best way.
Miyavi – Eat Eat Eat (song of the week!)
I ordered the physical version of this album when it was released in the spring, but now it’s slowly becoming available on streaming with single Eat Eat Eat emerging first. I like it a lot, though it’s not my favorite song from the project.
Naniwa Danshi – Koisuru Hikari
I always write about how much I love when groups have a “signature sound,” but that also risks their music becoming monotonous. Naniwa Danshi seem to be in that stage right now. This is no worse than anything they’ve released lately, but it’s too familiar and doesn’t make any satisfying moves of its own.
Official HIGE DANdism – Sharon
We now have a music video for this single. It’s pretty much Higedan-by-numbers, but does its job well and will almost certainly be a massive hit.
THE PINK “H”CKET – Big Bang!
I know nothing about this group and they’ve got a very strange name, but I like the rock-fueled sound of this song.
Tasuku Hatanaka – It’s Time To Fly!
Tasuku Hatanaka’s music is strongest when it’s big and dramatic. This light summer sound doesn’t do much for me.
Treasure – Reverse
This is pretty good. A bit disjointed here and there, but it delivers a few new sounds for Treasure.
Tsubaki Factory – Baby Spider
It’s so interesting to hear a Hello Project group take on a vaguely reggaeton beat, especially on a song called… Baby Spider. This is pleasant, if not particularly exciting.
UNICODE – Blur
I kind of wonder if this group will end up focusing most of its attention on Japan as time goes on. This song is completely forgettable, but sounds more natural than their Korean work.
XG – Something Ain’t Right
I wrote about this here. I liked it!
Yoasobi – Butai ni tatte
This is more of a straightforward rock track than I was expecting. Not bad at all.
This week’s old favorite:
Faky – Someday We’ll Know (2017)
Pop music’s late-2010’s tropical trend resulted in some real bangers, including this highlight from girl group Faky. The chorus is absolute magic.