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

---

THIS WEEK: Jan 21 – Jan 27

---

ATARASHII GAKKO! – Toryanse

This is pretty catchy, if a little too impressed by its own cleverness.

---

Daichi Miura – Pixelated World (song of the week!)

I wish the verses were tighter, but that chorus is fantastic. Daichi Miura should always do this kind of synth pop. He excels at it.

---

Frederic – Peek A Boo

I really like this band. This isn’t my favorite single from them.

---

Kanjani8 – Anthropos

This feels a little edgy for Kanjani8. It’s a nice sound for them and reminds me of Man With A Mission.

---

Lucky² – Zotto Zutto Zutto

Too cutesy for me.

---

M!LK – Kiss Plan

I like this much more than their recent releases. The English hook is super cheesy, but the rest of the song is funky and enjoyable.

---

OWV – Bremen

I like the rhythm guitar and overall energy. Shame about all the shouting.

---

The Rampage – Starry Love

A perfectly fine ballad/mid-tempo.

---

Sakurazaka46 – Ikutsunokoronimodoritainoka?

Their songs are always good, but this one doesn’t do much to differentiate itself.

---

Snow Man – We’ll Go Together

Feels like a fan service song. Not one of my favorites, though the chorus is nice.

---

Takanori Nishikawa – Freedom (song of the week!)

The man also known as T.M.Revolution teams up with legendary composer Tetsuya Komuro. These two have actually never collaborated before, which is surprising considering how big each were in the 90’s. I absolutely love this song. It’s so anthemic and huge.

---

This week’s old favorite:

---

Hitomi Shimatani – Perseus (2003)

Japan used to go crazy for this big, dramatic trance sound and Hitomi Shimatani had quite a few of these songs in her arsenal. This is one of the best.