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 // Jul 21 – Jul 27 // Jul 28 – Aug 3 // Aug 4 – Aug 10 // Aug 11 – Aug 17 // Aug 18 – Aug 24 // Aug 25 – Aug 31 // Sep 1 – Sep 7 // Sep 8 – Sep 14 // Sep 15 – Sep 21 // Sep 22 – Sep 28 // Sep 29 – Oct 5 // Oct 6 – Oct 12 // Oct 13 – Oct 19 // Oct 20 – Oct 26
THIS WEEK: October 27 – November 2
Ayumu Imazu – Solo (ft. NOA, Novel Core)
Nice electro groove, but the song’s a bit underwhelming.
Bullet Train (Chotokkyu) – AwA AwA
Not a fan of these goofy sounding songs from this group. It’s a shame because their EP earlier this year was great.
Charisma.com – Around Fourty Magic
A bubbly, bright sound.
Genic – Fun! Fun! Fun!
Gee, do you think this song is fun? It’s “fun to fun,” to be exact. I wouldn’t call this a discography highlight, but we’re back on the right track after a few disappointing summer singles. The energy is very infectious.
Hey! Say! JUMP – Donkey Gongs
Oh… this is bad. I miss the day when Starto Entertainment was somewhat insulated from the worst of global trends. The chorus is awful.
imase – Outline
This song is best when the choral backing vocals really get going.
The Jet Boy Bangerz – Unbreakable
I wrote about this last week but now it has a music video. The song’s still solid.
KAZ – Hush Hush
Smooth 90’s-style r&b.
Kento Nakajima – Picaresque
This is a very stylish solo debut. The song is okay, but it’s a bit too fussy for its own good. I’ve always thought he was Starto’s best shot at a huge solo career, though. I’m excited to see where his music heads next!
Maison B – Hooligan
I like the scruffy energy of this.
MINMI – Diet
Not really sold on the song but I love her voice.
Misamo – Identity
I wrote about this here. I wasn’t too impressed.
My First Story – Akuma
Great energy. So-so chorus.
Neo Japonism – Kizuite
A little softer for them, but I like the punchy, anthemic sound.
NOA – Red Light
I wrote about this a few weeks ago. Now it has a music video.
One Love One Heart – Monogatari wa koko kara (song of the week!)
I like this a lot – especially its more rock focused elements. I just wish they’d let the entire group sing instead of mainly Miu and I-CHI. I love those two, but the group is at its best when they function like a musical theater chorus. However, this is still great and gets more addictive with each listen.
Porno Graffitti – Vivace
This song seems to be doing very well at the moment. It’s solid.
Shinjiro Atae – Kizuketa
His recent solo music has been great but this is too trendy and subdued for me.
Sooyoung – Unstoppable
I wrote about this last week and again a few days ago now that it has a video. I like it.
Tokyo Gegegay – Saikyou no sakebi (song of the week!)
I’ve not been able to stop humming “ghost-tachi” this whole week. I find this incredibly charming as both a Halloween song and an extension of Tokyo Gegegay’s great discography. The whole EP is a treat.
TVXQ – Dearest
I wrote about this here. I thought it was pretty boring.
Wild Blue – Bubbles
Not as good as their previous two singles, but the light new jack swing beat is fun and the “bubbles, bubbles” hook is already lodged in my brain.
This week’s old favorite:
Arashi – Daremo Shiranai (2014)
Legendary J-pop group Arashi just released all their music videos to YouTube yesterday, so it seems like a great time to spotlight one of their very best singles. It’s hard to imagine a chorus more stirring than Daremo Shiranai‘s. What an epic song.