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.

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 // May 29 – Jun 3 // Jun 4 – Jun 10 // Jun 11 – Jun 17 // Jun 18 – Jun 24 // Jun 25 – Jul 1 // Jul 2 – Jul 8

THIS WEEK: July 9 – July 15

Aimer – Resonantia

Aimer is a big name in J-pop. Her rock sound tends to be a little straightforward for me, but this song works well enough.

AliA – Animation

If we’re talking ‘big rock track fronted by a female vocal,’ I much prefer this one. It brings the drama.

Battle Of Tokyo: Code of Jr.Exile (single of the week!)

I reviewed all five songs this week. I liked them all, and loved a couple. The Generations song is one of my singles of the week.
Reviews: Generations / The Rampage / Fantastics / Ballistik Boyz / Psychic Fever

BiTE A SHOCK – Patient!!

The BiSH universe expands with this new co-ed group. I really like the energy of this track. I hope it gets a video soon.

Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora – Aozora ni Tsuite Kangaeru

I’m pretty underwhelmed by this debut. It’s not offering anything new from this style of group and the song isn’t very memorable.

BUGVEL – Summer Party

You know I’m always down for a good summer track! This one has more guitars than usual.

CLASS:y – Crack-Crack-Crackle

CLASS:y have released more Japanese material year than Korean this year. The instrumental has some cool ideas but the song is marred by too much sing-talk.

Generations – Minna no Uta

In addition to their Battle Of Tokyo track, Generations released this trap-pop slow burn.

Girls² x iScream – Rock Steady

This is okay, but this collaboration deserved a better song.

Hinatazaka46 – Mita Koto Nai Mamono

This has nice, punchy energy. Its chorus isn’t as strong as last week’s track, but it’s more consistent throughout.

I Don’t Like Mondays. – Summer Ghost

Some nice, moody retro rock for the summer.

Kanjani8 – Wolf And The Comet

Is this the first time Kanjani8 have released a full music video on YouTube? This big, brassy sound fits them well.

Little Glee Monster – Ima Kono Toki wo

Little Glee Monster’s vocals are always great and this has a nice, inspirational heft to it.

luz x Surii – Kakuriyo

I need to check out luz’s work because this is two songs in a row I’ve enjoyed from him now.

Misamo – Do Not Touch

I wrote about this here. I didn’t like it much.

Naniwa Danshi – Poppin’ Hoppin’ Lovin’ / LAI-LA-LA (single of the week!)

The group’s new album is out this week! Poppin’ Hoppin’ Lovin’ is fun, but I much prefer LAI-LA-LA. I wrote about it here, and it’s my second single of the week!

Nissy – Rendezvous

To be honest, I’m disappointed in this. It’s been awhile since we heard new Nissy music and this is way more subdued that I would have liked.

Omoinotake – Shiawase

I really like the synth accents in this soft rock track. The melodies are nice, too.

One Love One Heart – Fireworks (b-side of the week!)

My favorites are back with a summer song! I’m happy the guys get to sing more this time, but they’re still not fully capturing the charm of the co-ed harmonies that marks their best material. Still, I like this upbeat track a lot and it’s my b-side of the week.

&TEAM – Road Not Taken

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

This week’s old favorite:

Genic – JiriJiri Summer (2022)

This track is fairly recent, but it’s remained a staple on my summer playlist this year. I love Genic so much and I need them to release new music asap.