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 // Oct 20 – Oct 26 // Oct 27 – Nov 2 // Nov 3 – Nov 9 // Nov 10 – Nov 16 // Nov 17 – Nov 23 // Nov 24 – Nov 30 // Dec 1 – Dec 7 // Dec 8 – Dec 14

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THIS WEEK: December 15 – December 21

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Beyooooonds -Do-Did-Done

This is silly fun.

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BMK – HEAVY!?

I like the energy but the mixing is rough.

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Czecho No Republic – Psychedelic Night (song of the week!)

I missed this one last week but wanted to feature it because I really love the bright, synth-kissed sound. It’s quite catchy, too! And, you know I enjoy a co-ed group.

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Frederic – Kirabune

This is another good track from this super consistent band.

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Genki Iwahashi – Don’t Need A Reason

This is very jaunty!

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GNJB – Abyss And The Pristine Silver World (song of the week!)

Ah, they’re re-branded under an acronym. This is definitely easier to type than their full name. This is also one of the strangest Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. I really like it, though – especially that dramatic chorus.

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HATEandTEARS – Dirty Museum

You can see and hear the budget, but this is charming.

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Hayato Sano (M!LK) – Saigo No Ame

We’re back to the solo M!LK releases. This one’s a pretty standard ballad.

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Imagine Dragons – Take Me To The Beach (ft. Ado)

This isn’t exactly J-pop but where else would I cover it? I’m not a fan of Imagine Dragons and I find the chorus irritating.

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Kis-My-Ft2 – MeraMera

I definitely like this more than their past few singles, but it doesn’t sound like Kis-My-Ft2 at all to me and that makes me sad.

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Mulasaki Ima – Meloism

Pleasant and trendy.

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My First Story – Break It Down

Meh. They’ve had better songs over the past few years.

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Novel Core – Welcome To My Brain

I like the rock influences in this.

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Official HIGE DANdism – 50% (song of the week!)

I wrote about this last week but now it has a music video. It’s still one of the best tracks they’ve released in awhile.

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The Rampage – Drown Out The Noise (song of the week!)

Stomping rock Rampage will always be one of my favorite iterations of this group. I like this a lot. Hopefully it will get an mv.

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Santa – Bet For Fallen Angel

I don’t get this at all. He’s just… talking?

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Tomonari Sora – Actor

The music video is very eccentric.

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Twice – The Wish

A pleasant holiday/fan song. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Umeda Cypher – Revenge

I appreciate the driving energy of this.

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vividboooy – Trend Killer (ft. (sic)boy)

Too bad about the overused vocal effects because this has potential.

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&TEAM – Yukiakari (song of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot and it’s really growing on me.

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This week’s old favorite:

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Miyavi – Horizon (2013)

I still remember the first time I saw this video (it was the first Miyavi song I’d ever heard). I was like… who is this guy and what is he doing with that guitar? I hope you have a similar impression. His music is incredible.