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: Feb 1 – Feb 18 // Feb 19 – 25

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THIS WEEK: February 26 – March 3

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Beyooooonds! – Yume Sae Egakenai Yozora ni wa

I LOVE Beyooooonds’ The Japanese DNA from 2019 and keep waiting for them to replicate that sound. The punchy 80’s synths that frame this track nearly do it, but overall the song doesn’t really work for me.

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Chemistry x Da-iCE – Sparrows

A fairly dull mid-tempo/ballad, but this pairing deserves attention. There’s a lot of talent packed into this track.

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ExWHYZ – Secret Secret (b-side of the week!)

ExWHYZ re-released their 2022 debut album with additional vocals from member midoriko who had been on hiatus. I still think most of the album is a bit undercooked, but there are a couple of tracks composed by production team Jazzin’ Park (one of my favorites). This includes new song Secret Secret, which is easily my favorite ExWHYZ track yet. It’s funky, high-octane girl group pop and I hope they promote it with an mv!

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Johnny’s West – Power (Album)

Johnny’s West’s new album came out this week and it’s a mixed bag. But at over twenty tracks, it’s a very big bag so there’s a lot to choose from. The title track is mid-grade Johnny’s West: super enjoyable but nothing revelatory. Among the album tracks, I love the pummeling rock of Strike A Blow, the retro dance of Rewind It Back, and the anthemic Guilty. That last one was composed by Bias List favorite Takuya Watanabe, who also wrote Sexy Zone’s Run (Guilty is very much in the same vein).

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NiziU – Paradise

NiziU never really caught on for me, from both a song and execution standpoint. This new one is pretty subdued. It’s nice, but not something I’m drawn to. I like the video, though.

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Secret Number – Like It Like It

Boilerplate “K-pop goes J-pop” without much that stands out to me. I’m still waiting for something as good as Got That Boom again!

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SG5 – Firetruck

I don’t like this at all, but I thought others might. And since they’re co-managed by LDH, SG5 at least deserve a mention.

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Snow Man – W (single of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot!

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STU48 – Iki wo Suru Kokoro

These 48/46 girl groups pull off this specific style so well. I really love the melodies on this one and the orchestral swell that pushes them along. The sound captures a feeling of prancing through a meadow in spring (not that I’d know how that feels! …Or would I?).

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SUPER★DRAGON – Mirror (Album)

SUPER★DRAGON’s new album is out and it’s decent. I’ve grown to enjoy Revolution more than I did last week, but my favorite b-side is probably Pretty Girl. It’s got that lighthearted, punchy power pop energy I tend to enjoy.

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The Super Fruit – Sakura Furefure

While I initially found them a bit too cloying, repeated exposure to The Super Fruit’s last single helped me embrace their upbeat energy in spite of myself. Sakura Furefure is a ton of catchy fun as long as you know what you’re getting yourself in for!

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This week’s old favorite:

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Ayumi Hamasaki – Fly High (2000)

I feel like Fly High lives in Boys & Girls‘ immense shadow, but I play it just as often (if not more!). That chorus — with its upstretched notes — is total euphoria.

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