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.

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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 // Aug 23 – Aug 29 // Aug 30 – Sep 5 // Sep 6 – Sep 12 // Sep 13 – Sep 19 // Sep 20 – Sep 26

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THIS WEEK: September 27 – October 3

BE:FIRST – Dead Eyes Everywhere (ft. ATL Jacob)

Please destroy all machines capable of adding these awful effects to vocals.

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Chanyeol (EXO) – Song For You

A decent rock track, but ultimately too generic to stick.

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Generations – Vibe (song of the week!)

A little annoying in spots but overall I’m so happy they’ve returned to this big, energetic EDM sound. It feels like a blast from the past.

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Girls² – Easy

A solid retro club track. The chorus is a buzzkill, though.

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Hinatazaka46 – Soredemoitsuka

A decent ballad.

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Hiromitsu Kitayama – Backlash

Another bombastic rocker from him. Not as strong as past songs, but this is very much the sound where he thrives.

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JO1 – Animal

As soon as I heard that “incoooomming,” my eyes glazed over. And sadly, the song is actually worse than I expected. I can’t believe this is the same group that gave us Born To Be Wild.

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Kis-My-Ft2 – Escape

It has its moments, but overall this feels like a lesser version of past glories.

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Let Me Know – Ai to Highball (ft. pH-1)

A very solid version of their laidback, retro synth-rock sound. It’s a great vibe.

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LiSA – Sophilia

A much slower, stripped back sound for her. Vocals on point as always.

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MAMA. – -10994m

I don’t know if I even like this, but I find it interesting.

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MAZZEL × STARGLOW – Nameless MythS

I don’t know why, but the random capitalized “S” in that song title is taking me out. The song itself is a non-event.

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Mrs. Green Apple – A Posteriori

It’s nice to hear them go a bit rockier. Not sure this is for me, though.

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n.SSign – Dance On The Earth

A pretty good re-creation of current J-pop trends. Not my favorite sound, but this is solid.

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OCTPATH – Zutto Sukideshita

A sweet, well-performed J-pop track. I’ll always enjoy this sentimental sound.

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One N’ Only – Golden Sun (song of the week!)

This is quite a splashy production. It reminds me of News circa 2015. Not a bad thing at all.

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Ryuki Koike (Genic) – Cipher

He’s a great songwriter but this just sounds like Mrs. Green Apple to me and one of those is already more than enough.

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Sakurazaka46 – Jishou Ballet Dancer (song of the week!)

The song is just okay but I love the heavy production for them!

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SE7EN – 7

There’s something to be said about seasoned performers. This is fun and upbeat.

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STU48 – Fuyufuku ni Kigaetara

A generic 48-style track.

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Takanori Nishikawa – Zankyo Blaster (song of the week!)

God, I love him. It’s cool to hear him do something with a bit more of an electronic edge this time. This is a massive blast of energy.

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Takara – Time Is Money

If time is money, I’m owed a refund for the time I spent with this.

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Wild Blue – Hayabiki Blues

It’s got a nice vibe.

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XngHan&Xoul – High Beam

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