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 Index
2024 Index: Dec 24 – Jan 6 // Jan 7 – Jan 13 // Jan 14 – Jan 20 // Jan 21 – Jan 27 // Jan 28 – Feb 3 // Feb 4 – Feb 10 // Feb 11 – Feb 17 // Feb 18 – Feb 24 // Feb 25 – Mar 2 // Mar 3 – Mar 9 // Mar 10 – Mar 16 // Mar 17 – Mar 23 // Mar 24 – Mar 30 // Mar 31 – Apr 6 // Apr 7 – Apr 13 // Apr 14 – Apr 20 // Apr 21 – Apr 27 // Apr 28 – May 4 // May 5 – May 11 // May 12 – May 18 // May 19 – May 25 // May 26 – Jun 1 // Jun 2 – Jun 8 // Jun 9 – Jun 15 // Jun 16 – Jun 22 // Jun 23 – Jun 29 // Jun 30 – Jul 6 // Jul 7 – Jul 13 // Jul 14 – Jul 20 // Jul 21 – Jul 27 // Jul 28 – Aug 3 // Aug 4 – Aug 10 // Aug 11 – Aug 17 // Aug 18 – Aug 24
THIS WEEK: August 25 – August 31
A.B.C-Z – Jigsaw
Ooh, it seems A.B.C-Z inherited Sexy Zone’s 2022-23 synthwave schtick. I like it!
B.O.C (Sam & DJ Koo) – Nariyama Night
I don’t know what to make of this, but there are too many J-pop stalwarts involved to ignore it. I could’ve done without the vocal effects, for sure.
Chanmina – NG
I wrote about this earlier in August, but now it has a video.
Galileo Galilei – SPIN! (song of the week!)
This is my kind of instrumental! I love its pulsing energy. I really need to dive into this band’s back catalog if there are other songs this good.
Hinatazaka46 – Yuhi Dance
Ooh, I like the disco influence here.
Hiromitsu Kitayama – COMIC (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I loved it! The album’s EDM closer Delight is also very good.
iScream – Jelly Fish
I wrote about this last week. Now it’s got a video!
m-flo loves Maya – HyperNova
I don’t have the m-flo nostalgia many longtime J-pop listeners do, but I still enjoy the throwback elements of this track.
Mashiho – Be Mine
Much more of a slow burn than his last single. The vocals are lovely.
Miyavi – We Stay Up All Night
Miyavi continues to slow-drip the digital version of his spring album. Luckily, for us who already have it there will be new tracks included when the full thing is out in October. This is a good track, though not my favorite from the project.
My First Story – Boyfriend
This is one of those bands I keep meaning to get into. I like the vocalist’s tone.
NAQT VANE – Nowverse – NV
A version of this song was already released on their debut album but now the group has two vocalists and they’ve re-recorded a version with both singers. The track remains awesome.
natori & imase – Melodrama
A powerhouse team-up, though I wish the song had more bite.
NGT48 – Namidaga Karerumade Sobaniiro
A super solid, but unsurprising, example of this 48 sound.
≠ME – Gomen, Majide
Not bad, though I prefer when they delve into edgier territory.
Phantom Siita – Devilish Girl
Ado’s girl group continues to chug along with this off-kilter track. I like their voices and the overall mood is pretty compelling.
Ruki (JO1) – Himawari
Very different than what you’d hear from JO1, and self-composed/produced, too!
Sekai No Owari – Shiori
There have been a few tribute albums out lately. This one is for the group CreepHyp, who I’ve honestly never heard of. I’ll listen to anything Sekai No Owari puts out, though.
Shazna – Natsu Magic
A new Shazna song! They’ve still got it.
Wednesday Campanella – Charlotte (song of the week!)
The production on this is very addictive. I love the tropical influence and splashes of celebratory brass. It becomes more addictive the more you listen.
This week’s old favorite:
D-Date – Catch A Train! (2012)
I featured this track in a “when Sweetune went J-pop” post a few years ago, but it’s still worth bringing up again because there’s nothing better than a Sweetune-produced track from their imperial phase.