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 // Aug 20 – Aug 26 // Aug 27 – Sep 2 // Sep 3 – Sep 9 // Sep 10 – Sep 16 // Sep 17 – Sep 23

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THIS WEEK: Sep 24 – Sep 30

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AKB48 – Do The Dance

Not one of my favorite AKB songs, unfortunately. The tempo needs speeding up.

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Bullet Train (Chotokkyu) – Lesson II

It’s interesting to hear them transition to something darker while retaining their funk backbone. This isn’t nearly as good as Call My Name, but the video is downright creepy. It’s very captivating to watch.

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Daichi Miura – NODO

His new single now has a video to match, and it’s as weird as the song.

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ITZY – Ringo

I wrote about this here. I wasn’t feeling it.

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KAMIYA – GALFY4

This is delightfully weird. I’m not quite sure what I think about it, but I’m definitely interested.

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King & Prince – Itoshi Ikiru Koto

Gosh, I haven’t liked anything King & Prince have released this year. It’s not just because of the new two-member configuration, either. The music has just gotten boring. At least the agency uploaded the full mv this time!

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Kyrie (Aina The End) – Awaremi no Sanka

I fear June’s excellent Red:birthmark may be a bit of an outlier, because nothing Aina The End has released since has hit me. Here, she’s operating under the alter-ego Kyrie. The song’s a slow burn.

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Minako Kotobuki – Golden Hour

I like this a lot. It has the driving, anthemic production that always appeals to me and her voice sounds great. It feels like classic 90’s J-pop.

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Philosophy no Dance – Curious In The Morning

Funky disco city pop goodness, delivered with a catchy hook and incessant rhythm.

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Sakurazaka46 – Shoninyokkyu (song of the week!)

I like this song, and the video is (unsurprisingly) stunning. Sakurazaka46 have had a strong year, and this continues their quality run. It’s my song of the week.

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SPYAIR – Imagination (New Version)

I’m not familiar with Imagination’s original version, so I don’t have anything to compare it with. I like the energy, though.

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Takanori Iwata – Can’t Get Enough

This has a chill vibe that’s pretty nice. Could have more punch to it, though.

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TOMOO – Super Ball

Lots of groovy stuff this week.

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TONAi BOUSHO – Wanna Be Shiny Bright

The synths that open this song caught my attention immediately. It’s a great piece of quirky electronica.

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TOZ – Magic Hour

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

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Vaundy – Zero

Wow, this is like every grunge-meets-glam band that rose to fame in the mid-90s. Not a bad thing, but it’s interesting to hear in this context.

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XG – Puppet Show

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

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Yoasobi – Yuusha

I think I’m finally coming around to Yoasobi. Idol has been a deserved smash this year and this new track is also quite good. Has their music always been this cinematic?

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Zigzag – Dazzling Secret

Continuing this week’s trend, this is much groovier than I would have expected.

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Zillion – Nightmare

A good video for Halloween. The song still isn’t quite there for me, but it’s growing on me.

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This week’s old favorite:

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Every Little Thing – Someday, Someplace (1999)

How about a track from one of my favorite classic J-pop acts? You can’t go wrong with any 90’s-era Every Little Thing song, but the propulsive synths of Someday, Someplace have always stood out to me.