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 // Oct 27 – Nov 2
THIS WEEK: November 3 – November 9
Ballistik Boyz – Say It
This feels like it should have been released at the start of summer. I like its upbeat energy and tropical undertones.
BE:FIRST – Sailing
Very pleasant but not very unique.
Daichi Shiozaki (M!LK) – Macchoccho!
The M!LK guys are each doing solos. I assume all the songs will have music videos eventually. This one’s quite silly.
DXTEEN – Level Up
Still waiting for something as good as First Flight, but at least this is in the same vein. It’s quite peppy but the first half of the chorus is a bit underwhelming.
EVNNE – Keshiki
This is much more tailored to the J-pop market than their Korean work. It sounds like a totally different group. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Fantastics – Yellow Yellow
I adore Fantastics but their 2024 music has been a miss for me. I’m sad that this is another so-so track.
imase – Prism
imase is so prolific. A lot of his songs sound the same to me, though.
IS:SUE – Breaking Thru the Line
It’s a nope from me.
J Soul Brothers III – Develop
It’s nice to hear something this energetic from them again. The production’s better than the song, but this is still solid.
Mika Nakashima – Unfair
I like the vibe of this but the actual song isn’t doing much for me.
News – Acchi Muite Hoi
Not one of their best, unfortunately. It’s kind of annoying.
Psychic Fever – Talk To Me Nice (ft. TAMP)
Not really for me. I feel like I can hear this style a million other places.
Ryugujo – Urashima (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot, but they’re also one of my favorite groups active right now.
Supernova (Choshinsei) – Moonlight
Wow, this is an unexpected comeback! Supernova have some incredible songs (including one with Sweetune!). This midtempo is extremely forgettable, though.
Takane No Nadeshiko – Adrenaline Game
A blast of energy, but they have better singles than this.
TVXQ – T.R.H.M (song of the week!)
I wrote about this b-side here. I absolutely loved it.
XG – Howling
I wrote about this here. I thought it was alright.
Yuma Nakayama – Good Vibes
A bit cheesy…
This week’s old favorite:
Joker – Liar (2012)
This short-lived duo released a few solid pop/rock bangers in the early 2010’s. This has a very J-rock sound that I’m quite fond of.