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 // May 21 – May 27

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THIS WEEK: May 28 – June 3

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DISH// – End roll wa kanashikunai

This is a nice middle ground between their ballads and upbeat rockers. I like the anthemic feel to the instrumental.

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Hey! Say! JUMP – Dear My Lover / Uraomote

Dear My Lover is standard Johnnys-does-drama-OST fluff, but Uraomote is one of the coolest singles the group’s released in a while. I appreciate the harder edge, and the music video is also very striking.

Their b-side Villain is also very good and interesting. It would be my b-side of the week except I can’t embed it since it’s not on streaming.

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IVE – Classic

I’m not sure I’m as enamored with this b-side as most seem to be (it’s good!), but it certainly continues IVE’s strong run of material.

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Juice=Juice – Pride Bright

Lots of energy, and I love the electric guitar driving much of the track.

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Sakurazaka46 – Start Over! (single of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I loved it, and it’s my single of the week!

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Sandaime J Soul Brothers – Hand In Hand

I’m not a big fan of J Soul Brothers’ ballads, so this joins the ranks of other tracks I’m likely to skip on their albums.

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Sekai No Owari – Turquoise

I really like this song. For a band with a literal clown among their roster, I’m surprised it took them this long to do a circus-themed music video. Plus… there’s bagpipes!

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SKY-HI – Dream Out Loud (ft. ØZI)

There was a time I was super into SKY-HI’s music. That excitement has tempered with the years, and this pleasant-but-inessential track is unlikely to inspire a renaissance.

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Twice – Hare Hare / Catch A Wave (b-side of the week!)

I wrote about Hare Hare here. I liked it, and Catch A Wave is also very strong. In fact, it’s my b-side of the week!

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Yuma Uchida – 1 LOVE 1

As far as upbeat pop beats go, this is pretty irresistible. Very summery!

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This week’s old favorite:

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Dream – Private Wars (2000)

My first ever J-pop song, and likely the first Asian pop song I’d ever heard. It’s still one of my all-time favorites, bolstered by an epic instrumental that feels larger than life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L37kVUVFZF0

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