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 // Apr 26 – May 2 // May 3 – May 9 // May 10 – May 16 // May 17 – May 23 // May 24 – May 30 // May 31 – Jun 6 // Jun 7 – Jun 13 // Jun 14 – Jun 20
THIS WEEK: June 21 – June 27
BUDDiiS – You Are An Urban Legend
Great title and the energy is high throughout. I just don’t have a ton of fondness for this specific sound.
cosmosy – Paradise ~ I Need You ~
I do not get the appeal of this hazy, shuffling sound paired with repetitive melodic phrasing. I feel like I’ve heard this exact song a million times before.
Daichi Miura – Crave
I need him to go back to releasing bangers.
flumpool – Star Extra
The kind of surging, sentimental rock track Japan loves.
Hey! Say! JUMP – CUE CUE CUTE
NO NO NOPE.
Hiromitsu Kitayama – ICY
I need to give his full album a listen. This song is just okay, though.
IceX – Pun Jealou
Way too affected for me.
Kamenashi Kazuya – Wave
God, I love his voice. Song is unfortunately boring.
MAZZEL – So Strawberry
Pretty bland, honestly.
Monkey Majik x Takumi Kawanishi (JO1) – Unstoppable
I like the brass, but otherwise this doesn’t feel very notable.
Morning Musume ’26 – Lonely… But Not Alone (song of the week!)
Oh, I love this instrumental! Such upbeat energy. I wish there was more of a song to support it, but this gets by on sheer momentum.
MYERA – Wantcha Bad
The stop/start arrangement doesn’t quite work for me, even if this has its moments.
NCT Wish – Boy Meets Girl (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I loved it, but acknowledged that it still doesn’t beat the original classic.
NEXZ – Hellmate
I wrote about this here. I liked it.
Nogizaka46 – Zehinioyobazu
I didn’t touch on this one yet because I assumed it was getting a video, and I was right! The song is good. I love the rock influence. Sakurazaka46’s music has been better this year, however.
≠ME – First Kiss Right Here
Fun energy!
@onefive – Invincible ME mode
I can’t get over the hyper-affected vocal delivery.
Ryugujo – LOVEgurui (song of the week!)
They’re definitely going down a more classic J-pop/J-rock route. I haven’t been nearly as excited about their music since Avu-chan left as producer, but this is really fun and points them in the right direction. Their best single in awhile, I think.
Sakurazaka46 – We Got Your Back (song of the week!)
They just keep churning out new videos for this single release. That’s okay with me because there are so many great songs to choose from. I really like this one. It’s just so rousing and powerful.
Shizuka Kudo – Dynamic
Not as dynamic as the song title would suggest.
SixTONES – Dance Forever
While it’s cool to see new SixTONES music on streaming, this dance track isn’t doing much for me. It’s kind of annoying.
timelesz – Kienai Hanabi
A sweet summer mid-tempo. Pretty forgettable, though.