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

---

THIS WEEK: Apr 21 – Apr 27

---

AliA – Emotion

I’d never heard of this band, but this is a great rock track. I love the backing vocals.

---

BE:FIRST – Masterplan

Sigh. Another BE:FIRST single that does nothing for me.

---

BenchWeLeo – Freesia

That’s a strange band name, but I really like the singer’s voice and the anthemic feel of this song.

---

BEYOOOOONDS – Hooke’s Law

Funky and filled with bounding brass. It’s a nice combination.

---

BRADIO – Party Head

This is a lot of fun. I love the groove.

---

Bump Of Chicken – Kaikou

I always feel I should be obsessed with this band, but I’ve never quite found the right song/album. Still searching, I guess…

---

Doberman Infinity – Dancing With Yes Man

The autotune’s a bit much, but this is a really atmospheric rock-tinged groove.

---

DXTEEN – Good Luck

I love the chiptune influence in the production. The rest feels like ‘boy group by numbers’.

---

East Of Eden – Judgment Day

Hmmm… I don’t like this as much as their last single. Still love the violin, though.

---

Ganmi – Age (ft. Aile The Shota & eill)

I mostly follow this guy because he’s a choreographer for Ryugujo, but this song is also quite good.

---

Go!go!vanillas – Heian

Catchy alt-rock.

---

Kep1er – Straight Line

I wrote about this here. I thought it was alright.

---

Kid Phenomenon – One Day

Much poppier and more melodic than their usual stuff. I like this.

---

Kis-My-Ft2 – I Miss You

I think I just need to make peace with the fact that Kisumai’s music won’t be going back to the sounds I used to love. This one is boring.

---

Lienel – Melty Flowers

Quirky boy group pop. It’s okay.

---

Lyrical School – Ultimate Anthem

Yeah… not sure about this.

---

M!LK – Blue Shower

M!LK’s new music continues to sound like subpar King & Prince. Bring back the old sound, please!

---

Macoto – Alien Rockstar (ft. Daichi Miura & Riehata)

This is really satisfying. Lots of drama.

---

Man With A Mission – I’ll Be There

I’m always happy to hear a new song from Man With A Mission! (I swear I’ve heard this before, though…)

---

Nissy x SKY-HI – Stormy

We’ve got a music video. Song is still… fine.

---

Shinjiro Atae – Upside Down (song of the week!)

He’s really on a roll! This is a super solid dance track. Great beat, great melodies.

---

Tatsuya Kitani – Preview Of Me

This is the kind of bonkers sound I turn to J-pop for. I really like this.

---

TM Network – Get Wild Continual (song of the week!)

Ah, the song that will never die. This was re-recorded for Netflix’s adaptation of City Hunter (has anyone watched it? Is it good?). The remix is actually a great update of a classic track that will always sound great.

---

Unlame – Vivid Girl

This is not very memorable.

---

This week’s old favorite:

---

Koichi Domoto – Fame (2015)

Koichi Domoto’s solo work is so different than the music he makes with KinKi Kids. I think K-pop fans (and Lady Gaga fans, honestly) would love the song. This album is also really solid.