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.
2023-2025 Index
2026 Index: Dec 28 – Jan 3 // Jan 4 – Jan 10 // Jan 11 – Jan 17 // Jan 18 – Jan 24 // Jan 25 – Jan 31 // Feb 1 – Feb 7 // Feb 8 – Feb 14 // Feb 15 – Feb 21 // Feb 22 – Feb 28 // Mar 1 – Mar 7 // Mar 8 – Mar 14 // Mar 15 – Mar 21 // Mar 22 – Mar 28 // Mar 29 – Apr 4 // Apr 5 – Apr 11 // Apr 12 – Apr 18 // Apr 19 – Apr 25 // Apr 26 – May 2 // May 3 – May 9 // May 10 – May 16 // May 17 – May 23 // May 24 – May 30 // May 31 – Jun 6 // Jun 7 – Jun 13 // Jun 14 – Jun 20 // Jun 21 – Jun 27 // Jun 28 – Jul 4 // Jul 5 – Jul 11 // Jul 12 – Jul 18 // Jul 19 – Jul 25 // Jul 26 – Aug 1 // Aug 2 – Aug 8 // Aug 9 – Aug 15 // Aug 16 – Aug 22
THIS WEEK: August 23 – August 29
ENJIN – Sweet Slow Motion
This group often punches above their weight class. This song is nothing special or new, but it’s quite enjoyable.
Femme Fatale – Helter Skelter
I could see some people loving this. It’s not quite for me, even with its Lovelyz-esque touches.
FictionJunction – Kanata
Very cinematic and well-suited to an OST.
INI – You Know What To Do
INI have been on a roll lately. This is fine, but definitely not as fantastic as All 4 U was. It’s too generic.
The Jet Boy Bangerz – Budding
This is a nice sound for them.
Man With A Mission – One (song of the week!)
New music from them always feels like an event to me. I like this a lot, even if it’s just them doing what they always do.
Motoki Ohmori – Gray
This has real gravitas to it. I’m not sure when I’d be compelled to listen, but I like it.
NOCTARISM – Chase In The Night
Band names are getting so crazy. Sadly, this song left no impression on me.
n.SSign – Look At Me Now
Kind of an annoying hook, but at least this is upbeat.
One Love One Heart – Ups&Downs (song of the week!)
This song has grown on me a lot since I first covered it in this feature. It’s very addicting! That’s one cheap mv, though…
ONE OR EIGHT – Invincible
Trying their hand at a softer mid-tempo. Not bad at all.
RIIZE – Sunburst (song of the week!)
I wrote about this here. I liked it!
Rock Hyeon (100%) – First Love
A sweet, sentimental sound. Vocals are on point as always.
Snow Man – Showtime
Woah… the AI at the beginning of this mv was certainly a shock. The song is standard Starto swing/big band music. I’ve never really loved when the agency heads in this musical direction. This is no different.
SPEED – Body & Soul (Badly in Love Remix by TeddyLoid) (song of the week!)
This is kind of cheating since it’s just a remix of an old song, but I love Body & Soul and I love Teddyloid so this is an easy winner.
SPYAIR – We Are One
A good cheering song.
TAKARA – Akarui yume
Way too downbeat for me.
TRENDZ – Which Way Is Love?
Basically a theme song from a BL drama. Is it a theme song for a BL drama??
VOKSY DAYS – Blooming
Generic J-pop sound.
White Jam – I Miss You 2026
This group loves remaking their old songs.
XG – O.R.B (Obviously Reads Bro)
I’m not really convinced by the pop-punk sound on them, tbh.
X8EE – Now We Begin
Boilerplate bright boy group fare.
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I really like Man with A Mission – One and SPYAIR – We Are One, both songs are sport cheering song so its really suitable for summer. There are better songs than Showtime in the SnowMan new album, especially SAVE YOUR HEART and GO HARD.
Listening to SPEED really bring me back to 2000 era nostalgia again and the song still sounds good today. Speaking about JPOP old groups, I also enjoyed fripSide new album ‘infinite resonance 4’ last week. Even after 20 years and changing vocalists 2 times (this is their 3rd phase), they still have not lost their touch and their signature sounds. They are master at crafting EDM dance songs with strong narrative element perfectly suited for action drama or anime. KPOP could very well learn a thing or two from them.
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I need to listen to the fripSide album. They’re one of those groups that are just so reliable that their music just falls by the wayside because I kind of know how it will sound already, if that makes sense.
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Yeah its the same for me. Its actually my first time listening to them again after a long time (since phase 2 before they changed vocalists). Its like eating your favourite old school snack, you know its good already but not your ultimate choice for replay yet so you generally choose other new snack for variations.
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ENJIN – Sweet Slow Motion / It’s got great energy but the vocal production sounds kinda weak to me. Can’t quite get into it. 7.25
Femme Fatale – Helter Skelter / It’s a bit lightweight, but I really like it otherwise. 8
INI – You Know What To Do / It IS fine! Just fine enough to squeak through into the list! 7.5
The Jet Boy Bangerz – Budding / Pretty good! Different. 7.5
Man With A Mission – One / This sound, especially with all this English really doesn’t appeal to me.
Motoki Ohmori – Gray / Just kinda drones on and on.
SPYAIR – We Are One / Decent. TBD
TAKARA – Akarui yume / This could be good but the apathetic vocals ruin it for me.
TRENDZ – Which Way Is Love? / Not really for me, but it’s a pretty powerful song that I would be proud to have as part of my TV show!
VOKSY DAYS – Blooming / This is quite nice! Clean, positive, hits all the dramatic points. 8
X8EE – Now We Begin / Compared to the Voksy Days song, this is a bit more uninspired and less beautiful. But I still enjoy it enough for an add. 7.5
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