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 // Feb 26 – Mar 3 // Mar 4 – Mar 10 // Mar 11 – Mar 18 // Mar 19 – Mar 25 // Mar 26 – Apr 1 // Apr 2 – Apr 8 // Apr 9 – Apr 15 // Apr 16 – Apr 22 // Apr 23 – Apr 29 // Apr 30 – May 6 // May 7 – May 13 // May 14 – May 20

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THIS WEEK: May 21 – May 27

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AI – Respect

Old school hip-hop for the win!

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Ballistik Boyz – Ding Ding Dong

I’m tired of this style, but Ding Ding Dong is a really strong iteration of it. Its chorus hits hard and begs for replays. It’s probably my second favorite single of the week.

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Bullet Train (Chotokkyu) – Call My Name (single of the week!)

This is so upbeat and summery. I really like its energy and the chorus is a total earworm. Call My Name is my favorite Bullet Train single in awhile and it’s also my single of the week.

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Da-iCE – Scene (Album)

Da-iCE’s new album is out this week. Overall, it’s a little subdued for my taste. But, there are a few standouts. Beyond Funky Jumping, which I featured a few weeks ago, I enjoy the pounding electronics of the title track.

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Girls² – Letters

There’s a light touch to this sentimental dance track that makes it quite satisfying. The chorus is soooo cheesy, though!

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INI – INItialize (b-side of the week!)

Not only is Fanfare INI’s strongest single yet, but its accompanying b-sides are also among the group’s strongest work. All three are great, but I’m leaning toward INItialize – mostly due to its propulsive chorus.

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Lead – See Your Heart

Lead have been around for so long! It’s amazing that they’re still releasing music. See Your Heart isn’t among their best, but its brisk dance sound is fun.

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Maharajan – Semi Dancefoor

This is really funky and the video is decidedly bonkers.

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Okamoto’s – Where Do We Go?

A solid rock song that takes me back to the 90’s.

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One N’ Only – Reflection

I feel like this group has released so many mvs for their newest album. My opinion has varied song to song, but this is one of the better efforts. It kind of loses me during the pre-chorus, though.

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ORβIT – Fun

I appreciate what the song is trying to do (I miss tropical house!), but it ends up coming across too generic for its own good. Even so, it’ll be nice for summer.

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Reol – Glitter

Reol is back to the style I love most from her. Glitter’s brisk, nimble beat fits her idiosyncratic vocals like a glove.

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Superfly – Heat Wave (Album)

Superfly already released her best new songs as singles last year, but it’s nice to have an album to tie them all together. Of the b-sides, the album’s stomping opener is my favorite.

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ukka – Wonder Little Love

I’m not sure about the vocals, but this has potential. I like the sweetness of the melodies.

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This week’s old favorite:

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FlowBack – Heartbreaker (2017)

Still one of the BEST retro-80’s throwbacks of the last decade — and it pre-dates the trend by a few years! I can never get enough of Heartbreaker.

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