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 // May 11 – May 16
THIS WEEK: May 17 – May 24
Da-iCE – Black And White
I wrote about this a few weeks ago but now it has a music video. I still don’t care for the song.
Hi-Fi Un!corn – Game
I’m not sure what the plan is for this band, but churning out a series of anime-esque rockers like this seems like a good idea.
Hinatazaka46 – Umikaze To Wagamama
A pretty typical summery idol track.
Hiroko Moriguchi – Eternal Wind (Hohoemi wa Hikaru Kaze no Naka)
This is not a new song, but it’s given an orchestral makeover this week.
IS:SUE – Starstruck (song of the week!)
I’ve ragged on pretty much everything IS:SUE have released so far, so I feel obligated to post this new b-side that’s actually quite good. Can they just go in this direction from now on?
J Soul Brothers – New Page
Pretty boring.
JamsCollection – Flame
With a group name like this, you’d better bring the jams! Luckily, I think this song qualifies.
Kento Nakajima – Hekireki (song of the week!)
This might be Kento’s best solo single yet? It still has its issues, but the synthwave sound fits him like a glove and keeps the energy (mostly) high and satisfying.
King & Prince – What We Got
Happy and jolly but quite uneventful. It’s a Disney commercial and sounds like one.
Kis-My-Ft2 – Half Baked
For the first time in awhile, I was pretty satisfied with the promoted tracks from Kis-My-Ft2’s new album. The b-sides sound less exciting, as evidenced by this groovy but forgettable album track.
MA55IVE The Rampage – Kimi No Toko Made
Not my kind of song at all, unfortunately.
OCTPATH – Let’s Go Back To Summer
A subdued take on the tropical house sound that was so popular a decade ago. I wish it was more of a banger.
Orange Range – Majide Sekai Kaecyau5 Byoumae
I wrote about this one already, but now it has a music video.
PassCode – DESTINEX
An energetic blend of rock and electro.
PG – If I Could
What is it with co-ed groups always splitting into gendered unit tracks? What’s the point of being a co-ed group, then?
Polkadot Stingray – Mamono
The vibes are strong with this one. I like her breathy vocals.
Takanori Nishikawa (T.M.Revolution) – Heroes
I’ll always love him, but his recent music is much more hit and miss for me. This one’s pretty generic. I like its big, anthemic nature, though.
Tani Yuuki – Koukaishi
This starts a bit slow but grows into a nice, chugging energy as it goes. It sounds a bit like The Lumineers.
Tokyo Gegegay – Gee Gee Train
I appreciate this from an artistic standpoint, but the drastic shifts in energy make it a bit challenging to enjoy with as much passion as I did his last album.
Yoasobi – Watch Me!
If you like their music, you’ll like this. If you’re more of a casual fan (like me), it may be an acquired taste.
This week’s old favorite:
SixTONES – Telephone (2020)
Starto is putting SixTONES’s discography on streaming in drips and drabs. The superior “ST version” of Telephone (with the extra electric guitar!) isn’t up yet, but the original version is. I’ve always loved this song. It reminds me of Y2K boybands in the best way.