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 // Mar 9 – Mar 15 // Mar 16 – Mar 22 // Mar 23 – Mar 29
THIS WEEK: March 30 – April 5
BABYMETAL – From Me To U (ft. Poppy)
This is a cool collaboration. I like parts of the song more than others, but overall it’s a fun shot of intensity.
BAND-MAID – Ready to Rock
I’ve always appreciated this band’s crazy concept even if their music doesn’t really appeal to me.
The Beat Garden – Happy Ender
I wrote about this last week andnow it has a music video.
BsGravity – I Am Strong
I always want this group to release better music than they do. It’s all a bit tuneless.
Exile Atsushi – Love Thang
Smooth, mid-tempo funk. It’s fine, but there are so many artists doing this sound at the moment.
Exile B Happy – Beautiful Name
If nothing else, the music lives up to their group name. This is sooooo cheesy, though.
Furui Riho – Monster
This has a pleasant, slightly retro, sound.
HANA – Rose
I get why this group has a lot of hype. The song is very internationally-minded and would definitely appeal to K-pop fans. But like pretty much everything that comes out of SKY-HI’s agency, the music just isn’t for me.
ICEx – 8COUNT
I like how they’re going for a more EDM sound with this song.
INI – Party Goes On
This is their best song in awhile but still pretty forgettable. I appreciate them doing a pop/rock track again, though.
Kiyoshi Hikawa – Party Of Monsters (with Tetsuya Komuro)
I like how unhinged this is and I’m always down for a new Komuro song.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE – Kusushiki
Well, it sounds like a Mrs. GREEN APPLE song!
Perfume – Nebula Romance
I’m always up for some new Perfume and can’t wait until the second part of their current album series. With that said, I don’t love this as much as last year’s work. It’s still good, though.
Queen Bee – High Flame (song of the week!)
This isn’t hitting me quite as strongly as I’d hoped, but Queen Bee songs always take some time to simmer so I’m excited to see how this one develops.
Ryugujo – Waltz (song of the week!)
Apparently, this is the final song Avu-chan will be producing for Ryugujo. This news feels like a gut punch in the worst way and I can’t even imagine what their music will sound like going forward. Making matters worse, I don’t think this is a particular standout in their career (though it’s still better than almost everything in this week’s round-up). This era ended way too soon and way too suddenly.
Seiko Matsuda – Shapes Of Happiness
Well, this is an unexpected return! It’s nice to hear her voice.
Wednesdsay Campanella – Summer Time Ghost
This feels like it was released a few months too early, but I’ll take it anyway.
WEST. – Big Love Song
This is pleasant enough but doesn’t do much for me.
Wild Blue – POP (song of the week!)
This is such a shot of spring/summer pop joy. It reminds me of early TXT in the best way.
This week’s old favorite:
Kis-My-Ft2 – Gravity (2016)
On the week that Kis-My-Ft2 finally uploads all their music to streaming, how could I not feature one of my favorite songs of all time??