New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (September 21, 2025)

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 Starto groups, who still limit the majority of their YouTube uploads to shorter, edited versions.

2023-2024 Index

2025 Index: Dec 29 – Jan 11 // Jan 12 – Jan 18 // Jan 19 – Jan 25 // Jan 26 – Feb 1 // Feb 2 – Feb 8 // Feb 9 – Feb 15 // Feb 16 – Feb 22 // Feb 23 – Mar 1 // Mar 2 – Mar 8 // Mar 9 – Mar 15 // Mar 16 – Mar 22 // Mar 23 – Mar 29 // Mar 30 – Apr 5 // Apr 6 – Apr 12 // Apr 13 – Apr 19 // Apr 20 – Apr 26 // Apr 27 – May 3 // May 4 – May 10 // May 11 – May 16 // May 17 – May 24 // May 25 – May 31 // Jun 1 – Jun 7 // Jun 8 – Jun 14 // Jun 15 – Jun 21 // Jun 22 – Jun 28 // Jun 29 – Jul 5 // Jul 6 – Jul 12 // Jul 13 – Jul 19 // Jul 20 – Jul 26 // Jul 27 – Aug 2 // Aug 3 – Aug 9 // Aug 10 – Aug 16 // Aug 17 – Aug 23 // Aug 24 – Aug 30 // Aug 31 – Sep 6 // Sep 7 – Sep 13

A.B.C-Z – Unrequited Love

A decent mid-tempo.

ATEEZ – Ash (song of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it!

BE:FIRST – Under The Same Sky

A perfectly fine ballad.

BUDDiiS – Dear

Bright, glossy boy group pop. I’ve heard better, but this is pleasant.

DJ Koo x BEYOOOOONDS – Saikooo De Dance (song of the week!)

I wrote about this last month but now it has an mv. It’s still a lot of fun.

Gen Hoshino – 2 (ft. Lee Youngji)

Not for me, but this is an interesting pairing.

INI – Kimigaitakara

It’s a rather generic ballad, but at least they’re not shouting and stomping around like they have been lately.

Kenshi Yonezu – Iris Out

This is certainly jaunty!

Kenya Fujita – DON MAI

I like the old-school beat of this a lot. The song could use a bit more refining, but I’m definitely bouncing along.

m-flo loves Rip Slyme – Arigatto

Old-school hip-hop.

Number_i – Numbers Ur Zone

Great video. The music is just not for me.

One Or Eight – Bet Your Life (song of the week!)

I actually like this a lot. The beat is fantastic. It has real presence.

OrβIT – Too Loud

This is taken from their first full album. It’s very K-pop in the most generic way.

The Rampage – Running Running Running (ft. Shonan No Kaze)

I wrote about this last week and now it has an mv. It’s still a strange song for The Rampage but the video helps bring it to life.

Shinjiro Atae – 262

His solo career has been quite solid. This isn’t a favorite, but the incessant beat helps.

tripleS ∞! – Password

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

XG – GALA (song of the week!)

I wrote about this here. I liked it a lot!