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.
2023-2025 Index
2026 Index: Dec 28 – Jan 3 // Jan 4 – Jan 10 // Jan 11 – Jan 17 // Jan 18 – Jan 24 // Jan 25 – Jan 31 // Feb 1 – Feb 7 // Feb 8 – Feb 14 // Feb 15 – Feb 21 // Feb 22 – Feb 28 // Mar 1 – Mar 7 // Mar 8 – Mar 14 // Mar 15 – Mar 21 // Mar 22 – Mar 28 // Mar 29 – Apr 4 // Apr 5 – Apr 11 // Apr 12 – Apr 18 // Apr 19 – Apr 25
THIS WEEK: April 26 – May 2
Ayumu Imazu – Classic
An enjoyable throwback funk track.
Choshinsei – Hot
This group just continues to chug along, crafting very solid pop music. This song is fun, if a bit generic.
Creepy Nuts – Fright
The performance is very passionate. That’s all I’ve got.
Exile B Happy – Exile B Opapi (Kaze No Fune) (ft. Yoshio Kojima)
Fun but silly.
HATENA – Sanjo
This kind of indie pop/rock always seems to trend in Japan. It does very little for me.
H//PE Princess – Stolen
I wrote about this here. It’s kind of a Korean/Japanese hybrid. It’s okay.
Ji Blue – Keshiki (song of the week!)
I’ll always love a good cheering song.
Mika Nakashima – Look In My Eyes
A nice ballad.
M!LK – IDOLPOWER
A bit frantic. Bring me back my old M!LK, please!
Misia – The Last Dance With You
I like how classic and classy this sounds.
Mrs. Green Apple – Wind And Town
I wrote about this song already but now it has a music video.
MYNAME – Cool
Not nearly as cool as their older stuff.
Orange Range – Dramatic Heibon
Certainly not what I think of when I imagine a Kamen Rider theme.
PERKERS – Pressure Dynamite
The band name is making me giggle for some reason. Song is cute.
PG – Skyrocket
Well… they’ve certainly transitioned to a new sound…
The Rampage – Black Tokyo (song of the week!)
I already wrote about this song, but now it has a music video. I miss Kazuma!
Ryosuke Yamada – Magic Music
Very in line with his group’s occasional swing/big band moments. Not my thing, unfortunately.
SHOW-WA & MATSURI – June Bride
It’s a team-up of the retro acts. This is a nice, melodic bit of yearning.
Tsubaki Factory – Mappira datteba!
A boilerplate Hello Project song.
White Jam – I Miss You
That video thumbnail…
This group is so weird. The song’s not bad, though. The sexy gimmick is such an odd choice, as usual.
Yena – Mirror Mirror
Not as strong as her Korean work, sadly.