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.

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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 // Apr 21 – Apr 27 // Apr 28 – May 4 // May 5 – May 11 // May 12 – May 18 // May 19 – May 25 // May 26 – Jun 1 // Jun 2 – Jun 8 // Jun 9 – Jun 15 // Jun 16 – Jun 22 // Jun 23 – Jun 29 // Jun 30 – Jul 6 // Jul 7 – Jul 13 // Jul 14 – Jul 20 // Jul 21 – Jul 27

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THIS WEEK: July 28 – August 3

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Ayumu Imazu – Superstar

Groovy and laidback with a nice pre-chorus.

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Ballistik Boyz – Good Day Good Night

A pleasant – but inessential – ballad.

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Batten Girls – Trijin

This sprightly, upbeat energy is quite fun. I especially like the chorus.

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BiTE A SHOCK – Locus

This group has gone down a much softer musical route than I would have expected.

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Bump Of Chicken – Strawberry

Japan loves this kind of soft, pensive rock track.

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DASEIN – Kagerotatsu Yuyaminimoya

I just featured DASEIN as an old J-pop favorite but didn’t realize they’re still making music. This is quite good!

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ExWHYZ – Night Coaster

This is my favorite kind of ExWHYZ song.

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flumpool – Summer Lion

There’s a nice anthemic heft to this.

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Galileo Galilei – SPIN!

Super upbeat indie pop/rock with a great beat and euphoric chorus.

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Genic – LiFE!!

Every favorite group seems to have one single I can’t get into. I’m a massive Genic fan but this is not doing it for me. I wish Avex would just let them write their own music more regularly instead of giving them cheesy stuff like this.

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Hiraidai – Summer Dreamin’

I’ll always love a sunny, upbeat summer song. The chorus has great punch.

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Koda Kumi & Tetsuya Komuro – Jump To The Breeze

I can spot a Komuro melody a mile away and this feels very classic in a satisfying – if familiar – way.

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Lead – Gravity (song of the week!)

This group has been releasing some great music over the past few years. Gravity can definitely be added to that list.

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Lil League – Youth Spark

Not sure about the brass, but otherwise this is quite exuberant.

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m-flo loves Maya – HyperNova

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from m-flo! This song doesn’t do much for me, but I’m happy to have them back.

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Maki Goto – Clap Clap (song of the week!)

She’s back! It’s been a long time, and Clap Clap doesn’t disappoint. This is a very catchy, fun track.

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MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE – Planetarium

Not a fan of this sound.

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ME:I – Hi-Five

I heard this a few times at KCON before it was released. It’s okay, but its repetitive hook borders on annoying.

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Nogizaka46 – Anohikari

Very pretty.

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Ocha Norma – Chihayaburu

I like the powerful vocals. The song is just okay.

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OWV – Sleepless Town

This group has been on a roll lately but I’m not feeling this song.

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Philosophy no Dance – Liar Girl

Reliably funky and upbeat, this is a solid offering from the girls.

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The Rampage vs. The Jet Boy Bangerz – Goodest Baddest

This year’s Battle of Tokyo has been a mixed bag and this collaboration is not one of my favorites. Too little melody and some frustrating production choices.

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RIIZE – Lucky (song of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot!

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Super Eight – Kakatteko-ze

Super Eight (formerly Kanjani8) are now on streaming and this is a decent introduction to their charm.

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Taiyu Fujiwara – Cool

There are so many of these subdued, groovy summer tracks. This one doesn’t really stand out.

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TRENDZ – Rebirth

I’m surprised how many J-pop singles these guys are releasing. This is not the sound I prefer for them. It could be performed by anyone.

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WATWING – Let Me Kiss U

Funky, but extremely generic.

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This week’s old favorite:

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SHINee – Password (2013)

SHINee have so many excellent J-pop tracks, but I wanted to spotlight a non-single. Password is incredible pop music with an unexpected psychedelic twist.