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: Feb 1 – Feb 18 // Feb 19 – 25 // Feb 26 – Mar 3 // Mar 4 – Mar 10 // Mar 11 – Mar 18 // Mar 19 – Mar 25 // Mar 26 – Apr 1 // Apr 2 – Apr 8 // Apr 9 – Apr 15 // Apr 16 – Apr 22 // Apr 23 – Apr 29 // Apr 30 – May 6 // May 7 – May 13 // May 14 – May 20 // May 21 – May 27 // May 29 – Jun 3 // Jun 4 – Jun 10 // Jun 11 – Jun 17 // Jun 18 – Jun 24 // Jun 25 – Jul 1 // Jul 2 – Jul 8 // Jul 9 – Jul 15 // Jul 16 – Jul 22 // Jul 23 – Jul 29 // Jul 30 – Aug 5 // Aug 6 – Aug 12 // Aug 13 – Aug 19 // Aug 20 – Aug 26 // Aug 27 – Sep 2 // Sep 3 – Sep 9 // Sep 10 – Sep 16 // Sep 17 – Sep 23 // Sep 24 – Sep 30 // Oct 1 – Oct 7 // Oct 8 – Oct 14 // Oct 15 – Oct 21 // Oct 22 – Oct 28 // Oct 29 – Nov 3 // Nov 4 – Nov 11
THIS WEEK: Nov 12 – Nov 18
Ado – Unravel
So many Ado songs lately! This one takes a bit to get going, but once it does it’s quite cathartic.
Da-iCE – Naimonedari
Feels kind of like Da-iCE on autopilot.
Faky – Departure
I’m so happy to see Faky release a new EP! I wish this had more energy, but it’s a pretty song nonetheless.
FEMM – CHERRY on TOP
This is another group I’m happy to have back, even though this is essentially their goodbye era (and I don’t care much for the song itself).
Girls2 – I Wanna Sengen
I like this punchy, guitar-driven sound for them.
Hiromitsu Kitayama – RANSHIN (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I loved it, and it’s a song of the week!
Kis-My-Ft2 – Heartbreaker
I wrote about this here. It’s okay, but nowhere near their best.
L (Kim Myungsoo) – Starting Over
Another rock ballad from Myungsoo. It’s fine. He clearly loves this sound.
Moonchild – Friends Are For
There are parts of this I enjoy, but much of it is just too chant-heavy for me.
Naniwa Danshi – I Wish / Join Us!
Both of these songs are decent. Join Us gets the edge due to its slight techno influence and bounding energy.
Nogizaka46 – Monopoly
I assume we’re getting a music video for this new single eventually? I’ll hold off on further judgment until then, but I like this very much.
One N’ Only – Freaking Happy
This is nice and upbeat, but very generic.
Queen Bee – Zero Ni (song of the week!)
Queen Bee’s new b-side is as quirky and interesting as expected. I just adore Avu-chan’s songwriting. This is another song of the week!
Ryokuoushoku Shakai – Be A Flower
We’ve got a music video!
Stereo Dive Foundation – Monogram
I like pretty much everything released by Stereo Dive Foundation. This song has more lulls than I’d prefer, but it’s still great.
Yoasobi – Biri-Biri
Yoasobi + Pokemon is pretty much a guaranteed hit, right?
&TEAM – War Cry / Dropkick (song of the week!)
I wrote about War Cry here and thought it was just so-so. However, b-side Dropkick is a jolt of fun 80’s synth energy. It should have been the single, and it’s a song of the week for me!
This week’s old favorite:
Lead – Still… (2012)
I always thought this sounded a bit like Sweetune in places and that (of course) is enough for me to go crazy over it…