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 // Aug 4 – Aug 10 // Aug 11 – Aug 17 // Aug 18 – Aug 24 // Aug 25 – Aug 31 // Sep 1 – Sep 7 // Sep 8 – Sep 14 // Sep 15 – Sep 21 // Sep 22 – Sep 28 // Sep 29 – Oct 5 // Oct 6 – Oct 12 // Oct 13 – Oct 19

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THIS WEEK: October 20 – October 26

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ANGERME – Hatsukoi, Hanabie

The chorus has a great, driving energy.

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Fantastics – Got Boost?

Not feeling this song at all, which sucks because I love Fantastics.

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IMP. – BAM-BOO

My favorite IMP. song in awhile, though still nowhere near as good as their debut.

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IS:SUE – The Flash Girl

I don’t know if I’ll ever enjoy this specific kind of girl group track, to be honest. This is very dull with a terrible chorus.

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iScream – Harujion

Kind of a boring song, but they sound nice.

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Jet Boy Bangerz – Unbreakable

Their best song in some time. I really like the driving rock beat and strings in the chorus. The melodies could be stronger, though.

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Let Me Know – Boring Days

This isn’t boring, thank goodness! It’s quite a burst of joy, actually.

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M!LK – Everybody Good Job

I really don’t understand what M!LK have become. Every song is different and feels like they’re cosplaying other groups.

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Morisaki Win – Never Never

I like the uplifting energy of this. I wish it had a better chorus, though.

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Nissy – Wish

A very pretty ballad. His voice is always stunning.

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ONE OK ROCK – Dystopia

Really solid rock song. It’s a little generic, but it’s got a great chorus.

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OWV – TRVCKSTVR

The title of this song is also the sound I make when I hear this racket.

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Phantom Siita – Zoku Zoku

This is fun twist on their burgeoning sound. It still feels very Ado, which is to be expected.

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Ryugujo – Urashima  (song of the week!)

I don’t dislike this and they’re still the most exciting group active right now, but after a long wait I’m not thrilled that this is basically an extended album intro instead of a complete song (1:59?! C’mon!). It’s still an easy highlight this week, though, and I can’t wait for the album.

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Seiko Oomori – Lovely Lonelyness

This is oddly addicting (and yes, “lonelyness” is intentionally misspelled).

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Sooyoung – Unstoppable

This could have easily been released during SNSD’s heyday, which makes it very nostalgic. It’s nice to hear Sooyoung do her thing as a soloist.

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SPYAIR – AO

Solid rock track.

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Taisei Miyakawa – Night Step

I like the groove.

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Taiyu Fujiwara – Lucky Dance

Another pleasant groove.

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Travis Japan – Crazy Crazy

The song is fun but the music video is the real star of the show.

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7ORDER – Step On Step

This is very upbeat – almost cloyingly so.

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&TEAM – Jyuugoya

I find this pretty boring and it’s got those whiny HYBE-sounding vocals that don’t do much for me.

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This week’s old favorite:

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Flame – What Can I Do (2002)

I love seeing how J-pop (and K-pop) responded to the teen pop boom of the early 2000’s in the West. Boy group Flame’s music has a bit of a BSB/Nsync sound to it as filtered through a J-pop prism. This song’s more Eurodance, though.