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 // May 17 – May 24 // May 25 – May 31 // Jun 1 – Jun 7
THIS WEEK: June 8 – June 14
Ado x Jax Jones – Stay Gold (song of the week!)
I’m not sure how much this can be considered “J-pop,” but it finally puts Ado’s voice back on a club track and I’m 100% here for that. This is a very solid banger with a great hook.
Anly – Ninufabushi
A nice vocal showcase but very delicate in sound.
aoen – Circle Ring (song of the week!)
Their single The Blue Sun has been stuck in my head all week but I think this b-side might actually be better. Some very solid melodies here.
Ballistik Boyz – Stardust Forever
This is decent when it actually takes off, but is occasionally mired in lethargic trap beats.
Che’Nelle – I’ll Be By Your Side (ft. Sota Hanamura)
This is for those of you missing the big, belting pop-R&B of the mid-2000s.
fripSide – Wandering Traveler
You can always count on fripSide for a classic J-pop sound.
Fujii Kaze – Hachikō (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I loved it!
HANA – Burning Flower
Oh, I actively hate this. It feels like I’m just being shouted at. Very unpleasant.
LE SSERAFIM – Different
I wrote about this here. I liked it.
MyM – Cho Namaiki (song of the week!)
This is a ton of fun. I know nothing about this group but I’m fascinated by them and if this silly bop is any indication I need to dig deeper.
Sakurazaka46 – Make Or Break
I wrote about this two weeks ago and now it has a music video.
Snow Man – Serious (song of the week!)
The best Snow Man single in some time. I love the blatant Michael Jackson homage of the music video. The track could go a bit funkier in places, but overall I’m very satisfied with this.
Stray Kids – Hollow
I wrote about this here. It wasn’t for me.
Taiki Kudo (Da-iCE) – SFST
Funky and light on its feet. This is pretty solid and occasionally great.
UVERworld – No Map
This isn’t what I expected from them at all. It’s got some very interesting textures and structural choices.
Watson – Fashion Week (ft. Benjazzy)
The fast-paced flow of this hip-hop banger is very addicting.
7ORDER – Itsuka
A more reserved sound for them. It’s alright, but the song’s a bit uneventful.
This week’s old favorite:
Starting this week, I’m suspending this portion of the J-pop round-up to help simplify an already time-consuming endeavor. I may bring it back from time to time, but for now I’m just going to focus on new releases.