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 … Continue reading
I love a cool collaboration, and producer KERENMI has delivered with new single Adult. The track brings together Avu-chan from Queen Bee (the coolest J-pop artist of the moment, btw) and BE:FIRST’s youngest member — and self-professed fan — Ryuhei. I don’t know much about BE:FIRST beyond their music, but Ryuhei has already shown eclectic … Continue reading
XG continue to make inroads into K-pop markets, most recently performing at this year’s KCON LA. I’ve struggled to connect to most of their music, but I think I’m in the minority. Their blend of hip-hop, dance and fierce attitude seems poised to make them favorites of international fans. New Dance is XG’s most straightforward … Continue reading
“Best Of” albums are far more common in the Japanese market than any other country I’m aware of, and that extends to K-pop acts. Ima (Even If The World Ends Tomorrow) (今 -明日 世界が終わっても-) is taken from Seventeen’s first “best of,” marking another stage in their successful career. And though the track was composed by … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
IMP’s Cruisin’ is important for several reasons. First, it’s the official debut of former Johnny’s Junior IMPACTors, now promoting under a slightly different name. Second, it’s the first release from Hideaki Takizawa’s TOBE company. Takizawa (or Tackey, as he’s often know), was active as one half of Johnny’s duo Tackey & Tsubasa before becoming president … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Lapone Entertaiment’s ‘J-pop that’s basically K-pop’ groups tend to release music that falls into several established archetypes. Of these archetypes, my favorite by far is the propulsive disco-funk-dance hybrid that characterized JO1’s epic Born To Be Wild. DXTEEN’s First Flight can’t touch that instant JO1 classic, but its glossy sound and surging chorus make for … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
At first, I was planning on simply including Body To Body in this week’s upcoming “New & Noteworthy J-pop” post, but I know not everyone reads those and I didn’t want fans of bombastic 80’s synthwave (like myself!) to miss out on this track. Meik debuted as a soloist in 2017 after leaving group J☆Dee’Z … Continue reading
It’s been a weird week for me. Both my favorite K-pop group (Infinite) and my favorite J-pop group (Kis-My-Ft2) returned with new music, yet I found each of these singles to be among the week’s most underwhelming material. It’s seriously like Bizarro World. To be honest, it’s been a difficult couple of years to be … Continue reading
In the lead-up to XG’s first mini album, the Japanese girl group continue to tease new sounds with their second pre-release TGIF. Prior track GIRL GVNG was a fun — if slight — nod to their hip-hop side. TGIF takes them straight to the dancefloor with a nimble beat that feels like a natural successor … Continue reading
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. July 2023 Overall Thoughts This July was characterized by several things, but on this blog it … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
There’s a small cavalcade of (mostly underrated) J-pop groups I follow extensively. You’ll find me marching alongside Fantastics, Genic, Ryugujo, XY and One Love One Heart. All have consistently released some of my favorite music of the last year. After unveiling their debut album at the start of 2023, One Love One Heart have dropped … Continue reading
Snow Man’s Dangerholic acts as the ending theme to member Meguro Ren’s newest drama Trillion Game. The series’ fast, freewheeling energy requires an equally splashy, confident song. Dangerholic delivers this energy, stuffed with brass and guitar and big, singalong hooks. The guys have performed shortened versions of this song for weeks now, so I’m not … Continue reading
Apologies for the click-bait title. I don’t often use them, but I really wanted to share this track and I wasn’t sure how to do it. I don’t write “Buried Treasures” for J-pop, nor do I feature a countdown dedicated to Japanese b-sides. So, I thought I’d attempt to catch everyone’s interest before writing about … Continue reading
There can often be a long lag between a J-pop song and its accompanying music video. I first wrote about Fantastics’ Tell Me when it came out in early June, but now that we have a video I can give it the full review it deserves. And I have to say, the wait was worth … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
The annual Bias List Legendary Songs Inauguration Ceremony has returned! Yes, I’m a few months late on this, but it’s been a busy year of new releases and I was waiting for an empty day to compose this feature. It’s exceedingly rare for me to award any song a 10-out-of-10 rating on release day. Instead, … Continue reading
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 