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 // 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 // Sep 24 – Sep 30 // Oct 1 – Oct 7 // Oct 8 – Oct 14

---

THIS WEEK: Oct 15 – Oct 21

---

ATARASHII GAKKO! – Tokyo Calling

Another bonkers song and video from this buzzy group. It’s not really my thing, but I appreciate what they’re bringing to the industry.

---

Flowback – Intention (Masaharu solo)

Not a full-group release, but this is still quite upbeat and fun.

---

fripSide – Red Liberation / More Than You Know (song of the week!)

I featured this back when it was released in the summer, but now it has a video as well. It’s a great mix of rock and techno. B-side More Than You know is even better. It’s a song of the week!

---

GARNiDELiA – Akatsuki Zakura

GARNiDELiA is one of those names I see all over the place but have never really ventured further. However, I love this dramatic dance track. I may have some more research to do!

---

JO1 – Eyes On Me (ft. R3hab)

Gosh, this collaboration should be much better than it is.

---

Lil’ League – Hype Up

I wish I was feeling this new generation of Exile Tribe groups, but they all kind of sound the same.

---

Lucky Kilimanjaro – Mugensa

This beat is almost hypnotic. It’s laidback but not boring.

---

Mazzel – Carnival

Bad K-pop masquerading as J-pop. No thanks.

---

Morisaki Win – Dear

Morisaki Win has a great voice. It’s a shame this song is so dull.

---

NCT New Team – Hands Up

I wrote about this here. I wasn’t a fan.

---

Nissy – When You Were Mine

It’s nice to hear something more upbeat from Nissy again. I’m not sure why this had to be in English, but other than that it’s nice. He has such a great voice.

---

Queen Bee – 01 (Zero Ichi) (song of the week!)

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

---

Sakurazaka46 – Sukimakaze yo (song of the week!)

This is my favorite kind of Sakamichi Series song. The chugging guitar, wistful atmosphere and anthemic melodies are so satisfying. I feel like I’ve heard it dozens of times before but I eat it up every time. This is another song of the week!

---

tofubeats – Melody (ft. Aju Makita & Akari Takaishi)

This is so buoyant and infectious. Feel good vibes, for sure.

---

Wednesday No Campanella – Prince Shoutoku

Groovy and fun.

---

Yoru no Honki Dance – Pyramid Dance (ft. Kenmochi Hidefumi)

This is kind of unhinged and I like it.

---

This week’s old favorite:

---

The Beat Garden – Don’t Think, Feel. (2017)

The Beat Garden’s early work deserves more love, especially their super upbeat major debut album