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
THIS WEEK: Jan 28 – Feb 3
Ado – Chocolat Cadabra
I love the energy in this song. Japan takes their CM music very seriously, enlisting the ultra-popular Ado for the theme of… Lotte Chocolate’s 60th anniversary?
Akira Takano – ex-Doll
Very smooth and funky.
Ballistik Boyz – God Mode
Shrug. I haven’t connected with a new Ballstik Boyz song in ages. It’s too bad because I loved their debut.
Che’Nelle – SOS
Such a powerful rock sound. I like this.
ExWHYZ – Unknown Sense
Love that techno beat.
JO1 – Your Key
It feels like JO1’s been releasing a lot of one-off digital singles lately. This is one of the better ones. It’s bright and bouncy.
Ken Miyake – iDOLING
This is a nice continuation of his last single. It’s a little laidback for me, but I like the groove.
Milet – Higher
This is much closer to dance music than I expected.
Miyavi – Broken Fantasy (song of the week!)
He’s back! Miyavi never releases bad music, and this ferocious return is an exciting addition to his discography. I loved it instantly, and it’s easily my favorite track on this list. No surprise there!
Okamoto’s – Nothing Can Challenge This Love
Just a good, straightforward rocker.
Orbit – Bull’s Eye (song of the week!)
I featured this on an earlier round-up, but now it has a (weird) music video. It’s my favorite track from them yet.
Rei Yasuda – Ray Of Light
A powerful voice. The song takes a bit to get going, but once it does the payoff is worth it.
Ryota Katayose & Doberman Infinity – No Fear No More
This is a nice collaboration. It’s very in line with other Exile-branded tracks, so if you’re a fan of the agency/collective you’ll like this.
This week’s old favorite:
Kimeru – Starry Heavens (2006)
I’m back in my Daisuke Asakura producer obsession (it seems to come around once a year), and this is a lesser-known standout from his huge library of material.
