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 // May 29 – Jun 3 // Jun 4 – Jun 10 // Jun 11 – Jun 17 // Jun 18 – Jun 24 // Jun 25 – Jul 1 // Jul 2 – Jul 8 // Jul 9 – Jul 15 // Jul 16 – Jul 22 // Jul 23 – Jul 29 // Jul 30 – Aug 5 // Aug 6 – Aug 12 // Aug 13 – Aug 19

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THIS WEEK: Aug 20 – Aug 26

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AKB48 – Idol Nankaja Nakattara

I wrote about this last week, but now it has a music video as well!

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Eill – Wanna

This is pretty groovy.

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Enjin – Dreamland

I think this is their strongest single yet. Very catchy and upbeat!

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Fujii Kaze – Workin’ Hard

This is very popular in Japan right now, as is everything he releases. It’s a bit too mellow for me, though I’m hearing some early-00’s hip-hop influences I like.

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The Gospellers – XvoiceZ (ft. Sarukani)

I had to feature this because it’s such a cool, unexpected dance sound for this a cappella group.

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Hotei – Highway Star

A bit cheesy and old-fashioned, but in a way I really appreciate. It’s like glam rock dance metal.

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The Jet Boy Bangerz – Jettin’

The first of three debuts from new LDH/Exile artists this week. Spoiler: none are great. This might be my favorite, but it still sounds like reheated K-pop.

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JO1 – RadioVision

JO1 have several musical guises, and this punchy disco pop is my favorite. Unfortunately, with a song as perfect as Born To Be Wild in their discography, I can’t help but compare everything to that. RadioVision is about 50% as great, which means it’s still quite good.

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KERENMI – Adult (ft. Queen Bee’s Avu-chan & BE:FIRST’s Ryuhei) (song of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot, and it’s my “song of the week.”

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Kid Phenomenon – Wheelie

The second of the week’s LDH/Exile debuts. I really liked their pre-release from earlier this year but Wheelie is a massive comedown. It’s just predictable. Why do all these new-gen LDH groups sound identical to each other?

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LE SSERAFIM – Unforgiven (Japanese version ft. Ado)

Ado gives this version some vocal gravitas, but otherwise this is just a translation of a song I don’t think is all that great.

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Mamoru Miyano – Sing A Song Together

There was a time (not long ago!) where I loved Miyano’s new music. This is another overly-sentimental miss for me.

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Milet – Hey Song

Boring, though I like her as a performer.

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Perfume – Moon

This is a strong Perfume single, especially when that electric guitar comes in!

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Sekai No Owari – Robo

Not even close to their best. It’s too one-note.

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Seventeen – Ima (Even If The World Ends Tomorrow)

I wrote about this here. I liked it!

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Snow Man – Da Bomb

Hip-hop Snow Man doesn’t always strike me as their most authentic guise, but this is growing on me steadily. It’s catchy in a goofy kind of way.

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TM Network – Whatever Comes

Classic Komuro sounds.

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Wolf Howl Harmony – Sweet Rain

The third LDH/Exile debut of the week. I find this track pretty boring, which is a shame because I appreciate this group’s focus on vocals.

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XG – New Dance

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

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This week’s old favorite:

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w-inds. – Super Lover (I Need You Tonight) (2003)

My favorite of w-inds.’ pre-adulthood singles. It’s such a fun, breezy teen pop track. Simpler times!