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 // Jul 28 – Aug 3

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THIS WEEK: August 4 – August 10

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Aile The Shota – Odorimasen ka

Decent and groovy.

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Bullet Train (Chotokkyu) – Memorial x Hashire!!!!Chotokkyu (Mashup)

This is a mash-up of a song from their newest album and a single from a few years back. The two work pretty well together, actually.

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Chanmina – NG

Not my thing but I’m sure others will enjoy.

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Daichi Miura – Shinpakuon (song of the week!)

This very solid song now has a music video.

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Dannie May – Dancing Mania

I don’t know anything about this guy (band?) but I love the energy of this. Really fun!

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go!go!vanillas – Lai Lai Lai

Solid rock track.

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IVE – Crush

I wrote about this here. I liked it, though it’s starting to fade a bit with time.

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Kenshi Yonezu – Red Out

Pretty good. I like the pre-choruses.

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Legit – Move Move Move

Turning a “fake” anime group into real people turns out to be a pretty cool idea. This is a lot of fun.

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MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE – X Mind

Posted in case anyone’s a fan, but this definitely isn’t for me.

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Miyavi – Running In My Head (song of the week!)

It took three months, but this great song now has a music video!

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Mrs. Green Apple – Familie

I’m beginning to think 2023’s Magic was a bit of a fluke for me because I haven’t loved anything they’ve released this year.

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Nissy – Soushiyouka

This is a return to a funky sound I really enjoy from Nissy. Not his best, but very solid.

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Nogizaka46 – Cheatday

This was released a few weeks ago but now has a music video.

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One Love One Heart – Bokura No Road Movie

I’m so happy to hear every member singing in this. I wish the song wasn’t so boring, though. I need them to get back to the epic stuff they were delivering in 2022 and 2023.

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Phantom Siita – Just Wanna xxxx With You

I had no idea Ado was producing a girl group. This has a very interesting instrumental.

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Sandal Telephone – Allegro (song of the week!)

This song was on their album released earlier this year but now has a video. They’re an underrated group and this is very solid.

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Spancall Good Timez – Universe

I don’t even know how to begin to understand this group name, but the song is funky and silly.

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The Super Fruit – Dopamine-mine Adrenaline-line

I really enjoyed their debut album (“I My Me Meow” for the win!) but this is a bit too cutesy-quirky for me.

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Tsubaki Factory – Kodou OK?

This has a very classic J-pop sound that I enjoy. It’s a great match for summer.

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WayV – Go Higher

I don’t know if WayV’s J-pop debut will get a music video or if this is even the title track, but nothing on the mini album really stood out to me.

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WEST. – Maa Ikka

My least favorite kind of WEST song, tbh.

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xikers – Tsuki (Lunatic)

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

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&TEAM – Aoarashi (song of the week!)

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

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This week’s old favorite:

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Keyakizaka46 – Fukyouwaon (2017)

It’s about time to feature a Keyakizaka46 song, right? Most J-pop fans have probably already heard this modern classic, but in case you haven’t I’m happy to be your gateway into the awesomeness that is Fukyouwaon.