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 Starto 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 // Mar 30 – Apr 5 // Apr 6 – Apr 12 // Apr 13 – Apr 19 // Apr 20 – Apr 26 // Apr 27 – May 3 // May 4 – May 10
THIS WEEK: May 11 – May 16
Ae! group – Chameleon
It’s so weird how little Starto Entertainment sounds like Johnny’s Entertainment did. They’re really aiming for a more indie sound and it’s not to my taste, unfortunately. I can hear this kind of song anywhere else in the J-pop industry.
Chanmina – Work Hard
Sigh. This is not for me.
Hinatazaka46 – German Iris
There are some lovely melodies here.
Hiromitsu Kitayama – HAMON (song of the week!)
I’ve loved Kitayama’s solo work so far. I’m not as sure about this one. It’s got the big rock sound of his earlier tracks, but the melodies aren’t hitting me in the same way yet. It’s still better than pretty much everything in this week’s round-up, though.
imase – Planet Romance
I like the sprightly chorus. The rest is business as usual.
INI – Potion
I already wrote about this, but now it has an mv. It’s still shouty boy group slop.
JO1 – Be Brave
For a second, I thought this might be another Born To Be Wild. Unfortunately, it never reaches those heights and slows far too often.
NiLUNLOCK – Champion
For those of you who like your girl groups with a heavy rock edge.
Psychic Fever – Gelato
I could really go for some gelato right now. The song is fine too, I guess.
SEVENIC – Turn It Up
I appreciate the high-octane dance sound this is aiming for, but it’s a bit rough around the edges.
Sota (BE:FIRST) & Riehata – Back On The Stage
I was not expecting to like this, but the production is a lot of fun and the song is quite catchy. I hate the second verse tempo shift, however.
SUPER★DRAGON – Dark Heroes
I was so excited up until the chorus. Way to completely derail an excellent verse…
TK from Ling tosite sigure – Orbit
This is a real slow burn and rewards patience.
XG – Million Places
A typical, pleasantly forgettable fan song.
Yuta – Twisted Paradise
I wrote about this here. I liked it.
20th Century – NEBAGIBA (Never Give Up!)
Well, it’s certainly sprightly!
This week’s old favorite:
lol – Trigger (2018)
Unfortunately, mixed gender group lol recently announced their disbandment, but they left us with a lot of good music. Trigger is one of my favorites.