New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (July 30, 2023)

Nick

Jul 30

New and Noteworthy J-pop 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 23

THIS WEEK: July 23 - July 29

Aimer – Skylight

This standout b-side from Aimer's new album has a bit of an electronic dance element that I really appreciate. It's very anthemic.

ASCA - Stellar

Speaking of dance music, I melt for this style of euphoric EDM.

Ayumu Imazu – Atari

I missed this one last week, but it's too funky and fun not to post. The chorus is a real earworm.

AXXX1S – Ability

A decent, driving boy group pop/rock track.

BUDDiis - Glow Gold

So many of BUDDiis' songs are almost there for me. This is no different. It's fine, but it's missing something.

Da-iCE - Funky Jumping

This is another one I forgot to post last week, which is funny because I watched the video the day it came out! Anyway, this song has been out for awhile but it's nice to get an accompanying visual.

DXTEEN - Dive

DXTEEN are building up to the release of their second single. This is a funky, upbeat taster.

Emiko Suzuki - Soda Pop

This is such a feel-good track! I love Emiko's voice alongside the singalong melodies and bright, earnest retro funk sound.

Fantastics – Tell Me (single of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I like it a lot, and it's one of my singles of the week!

LE SSERAFIM - Jewelry

I appreciate when they find Japanese talent to produce J-pop tracks from Korean artists. With that said, this song doesn't do much for me.

Lil League – Higher

This isn't the flashiest single in the world, but it has a few nice melodies. The chorus reminds me of the not-so-distant era when everyone was aping The Chainsmokers' EDM sound.

MAMESHiBA NO TAiGUN – Mame Thunder

The vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, but I love the energy.

MeseMoa. – Gingakei Classic

MeseMoa are such an odd group. They've got that classic J-idol sound, but there's something just a little offbeat about them.

One Love One Heart – Fireworks (single of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I like it a lot, and it's another single of the week!

The Rampage – Everest

The Rampage's early hip-hop tracks are some of my favorites, but I'm not really feeling this one. It just doesn't have the hooks or groove of their best work.

Rikimaru – Talkin' Bout

We're never getting new material from WARPs Up, are we?

Shinjiro Atae – Into The Light

This song is too on-the-nose to really work for me, but I applaud Shinjiro for coming out and bringing much-needed LGBT+ visibility to the J-pop industry.

Snow Man - Dangerholic (single of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I like it a lot and it's my third single of the week!

Utada Hikaru – Gold (Mata Au Hi)

I have to admit I'm a bad J-pop fan in the sense that I have no huge connection to Utada's music. Much of it tends to be a bit mellow for my taste, but I love how this new song gradually builds into an atmospheric dance track.

Yuma Uchida - Shot (b-side of the week!)

This is very much my style! I love the punchy 80's synths (they're like Jonas Brothers' Waffle House with bite) and infectious chorus. It's my b-side of the week!

X Japan - Angel

We have some real J-pop legends coming back this week! This is X Japan's first new single in years, and it's everything you'd expect from a Yoshiki-penned rock ballad.

24emotions - Mia Mia

Rough around the edges, but I enjoy this EDM-influenced pop sound.

This week's old favorite:

Mrs. Green Apple - Boku No Koto (2019)

I've been diving back into Mrs. Green Apple's discography lately and have become obsessed with this song. They recently performed it on Ongaku No Hi with a choir of 200+ high school students and the result was quite moving.