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 // Nov 3 – Nov 9 // Nov 10 – Nov 16
THIS WEEK: November 17 – November 23
Aile The Shota – Foolish
Not my vibe, unfortunately.
Akira Takano – Werewolf
Also not my vibe!
B’z – Illumination
Not my favorite sound for B’z, but they are J-rock legends.
BUCK-TICK – Raijin Fujin – Resonance
I’m into the grungy 90’s energy of this.
Burnout Syndromes x ChiCO – Xross Road
A solid rock track.
Chansung (2PM) – From Now On For You
A pretty standard ballad.
Charisma.com – Superstar
They have a new album out that I really need to give a listen. This is another solid single with a great beat.
Hitoshi Yoshida (M!LK) – Curtain
The group’s solo releases roll on with a guitar ballad.
IMP. – Michishirube (song of the week!)
Easily their best song since their 2023 debut era. It’s not perfect, but this actually sounds like old Starto/Johnny’s despite being on a different label. I appreciate that.
Juice=Juice – Konyaha Hearty Party
This is a cover of an old song and definitely retains the retro elements.
L’Arc～en～Ciel – You Gotta Run
I wrote about this earlier, but now it has a music video. It’s nice to see them back!
The Last Rockstars – Mastery
We got a long-awaited 2023 video last week and this week we get a new song. This is my least favorite of the three they’ve released, but I still like it.
M!LK – I Can Drink
The song itself is so-so, but the lyrical reference back to their debut is brilliant and quite funny.
Madkid – Dropout Heroes
This has great energy.
ME:I – Tomorrow
It’s… fine.
Miss Mercy – Aishite
Not my thing, but fans of this specific sound may enjoy it.
OCTPATH – Present
Hey, a holiday song that can be played all year round! I really like its bounding instrumental.
WATWING – Let Me Kiss U
Upbeat fluff.
This week’s old favorite:
Maki Goto – Yokohama Shinkirou (2005)
Maki Goto has a ton of great material to comb through, but this early(ish) track is one of my favorites. It’s a great blend between rock and idol music.