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.
2023-2024 Index
2025 Index: Dec 29 – Jan 11 // Jan 12 – Jan 18 // Jan 19 – Jan 25 // Jan 26 – Feb 1 // Feb 2 – Feb 8 // Feb 9 – Feb 15 // Feb 16 – Feb 22 // Feb 23 – Mar 1 // Mar 2 – Mar 8
THIS WEEK: March 9 – March 15
Ado – Bouquet For Me
Quite punchy and anthemic. I like this one.
Aina The End – Peerless Flowers
It’s always nice to hear her voice.
AsIs – Tejo o Kowase! (song of the week!)
I’ve never heard of this group before but this song impressed me. I love the punchy brassiness of it.
ATARASHII GAKKO! – One Heart
They’re up to their quirky tricks again. This isn’t for me, but I’m sure it’s for someone.
East Of Eden – IKIZAMA
A solid rock song with great vocals.
Fantastics – Funktastic! (song of the week!)
I love this 90’s funky house sound. The song itself could be better, but overall it’s a ton of fun.
GNJB – LLL
This is a very slick, subdued sound for them. I prefer them at their more adventurous, but the song is nice. It feels very Showa era.
King & Prince – Heart (song of the week!)
This sounds more like Koi Furu Tsukiyo ni Kimi Omou than we’ve heard in years and I’m considering that a victory. The video is also a lot of fun.
Man With A Mission – Vertigo (song of the week!)
Man With A Mission are finally back with a new EP! This is very solid rock track. I love the verses, especially.
OWV – Swish
I absolutely love the first thirty seconds. The rest is pretty good but not exactly what I’d hope to hear from the production. Then, the “swish swish” part is downright awful.
Ryosuke Yamada – Red
This is at least more interesting than his other solo tracks, but it’s still more posturing than song if that makes sense. I like the bigness of the chorus, though.
Sekai No Owari – Kohaku
I love this band so much, but I’m disappointed that this is a rather muted ballad. It’s well-written, but not what I like most about their music.
SennaRin – Reviver-Lv.1007
A slower burn for her.
ukka – Trip To The Sky
Quirky and fun.
Wolf Howl Harmony – BAKUON
I like this more in theory than execution. I wish we heard more of their vocals. It’s definitely a strange track.
XG – Is This Love
I wrote about this here. I liked it alright.
This week’s old favorite:
KIX-S – Mou Ichido Tenderness (1993)
There’s a sentiment and power to early-90’s J-pop that just can’t be replicated. KIX-S were an excellent female duo of the era and this is a total banger.