Now that we’ve acquired Ok-pop ranked for the 12 months, it’s time to show the weblog’s consideration to different music markets. First up is J-pop — a scene I write about each week on Sundays (and infrequently different days if a observe catches my consideration). In comparison with final 12 months’s glorious slate of music, I discovered J-pop fairly underwhelming general this 12 months. As with Ok-pop, there are just a few persistent developments I’m not significantly keen on for the time being. Nevertheless, whereas compiling this listing I spotted simply what number of nice tracks got here out in 2024. My listing feels extra rock-focused than regular, with even most of the pop tracks having robust guitar affect. I hope you’ll browse the picks and discover one thing new to obsess over!
SONGS 50-31
SONGS 30-11
SONGS 10-1
2024 YEAR-END MASTERPOST
10. A.B.C-Z – Hiri Hiri Sasete
Since their rebranding, Starto Leisure jettisoned most of what I beloved about their music, which means I misplaced main curiosity within the firm this 12 months. Nevertheless, Hiri Hiri Sasete revives a mid-90’s excessive vitality dance sound that cast one of many company’s most colourful constructing blocks. This fashion of track is tacky as hell however that’s why I am keen on it. Pump your fists within the air and give up to the high-octane beat.
9. &TEAM – Koegawari
Koegawari sounded nice on first hear however simply stored getting higher because the summer season wore on. It’s the right mid-tempo groove, brass-kissed in all the suitable locations and buttressed by a playful melody that’s as rhythmic and addictive because the instrumental. It’s the unlikely pinnacle of &TEAM’s discography up to now. (full evaluate)
8. One Love One Coronary heart – Aise, Shigoku Sanzan na Bokura no Hello wo
One Love One Coronary heart’s music hasn’t veered within the route I’d hoped, however even this easy J-pop idol sound feels larger and bolder with their suite of personality-rich vocalists. The refrain blooms with bursts of aural confetti, kicked off with a collection of sky excessive energy notes. (full evaluate)
7. Hiromitsu Kitayama – COMIC
Hiromitsu Kitayama appears to have stolen all of the oomph from his former group with a solo profession that feels daring and unrestricted by style. COMIC strikes by means of a number of distinct segments, every extra frantically highly effective than the final. In a sea of subdued releases, its bombastic nature stood out in the easiest way. (full evaluate)
6. NCT Want – Songbird
The Korean model of this track might need extra streams, however the Japanese model got here first so that is the countdown it lands on. Regardless of the language, Songbird is a bounding, bountiful marvel. Its dynamic rhythm guitar and thrilling vocal runs body a whopper of a refrain. (full evaluate)
5. ONE OK ROCK – +Matter
I’ve needed to get into ONE OK ROCK’s music for a few years however even when I appreciated a track or two I by no means fairly related with their general sound. +Matter adjustments that in a giant method, going full-on stadium rock with a surplus of emotional resonance. The track is downright shifting in its scale and execution, feeling like an instantaneous traditional the second it premiered.
4. Bullet Prepare (Chotokkyu) – Steal A Kiss
Bullet Prepare aren’t any stranger to this countdown, churning out hits for a few years and in a number of distinct group configurations. That is their finest track in a protracted whereas, streamlined but quirky and boasting among the best choruses of the 12 months in any music market. It appears like an previous good friend returning with a brand new lease on life. (full evaluate)
3. Queen Bee – Tremendous Memorial
Queen Bee’s fifteenth 12 months was comparatively modest when it got here to new music, however this celebratory single was sufficient to energy my playlist for months. It’s concurrently unhinged and euphoric, like the very best hidden rave you by no means knew you wanted. Avu-chan stays essentially the most participating vocalist in pop music, bringing grit and tenderness to Tremendous Memorial‘s dancefloor freakout. (full evaluate)
2. Sakurazaka46 – I Need Tomorrow To Come
The key phrase right here is “ambition.” In an period of two minute TikTok tracks, J-pop is likely one of the few music markets nonetheless churning out mini-epics. I Need Tomorrow To Come unfolds like a track suite from a musical, shifting from ballad to banger and again once more. Every second builds upon the final in compelling trend, in the end climaxing in a shifting finale that takes full benefit of the group’s big configuration. Sakurazaka46 had a really robust 12 months and this was their masterpiece.
1. Ryugujo – Deep Wave
No Japanese track managed to each thrill and confound me in the identical method Deep Wave did. This time final 12 months, I had a sense Ryugujo may be a frontrunner for the highest of this countdown. Their charismatic efficiency coupled with Avu-chan’s visionary manufacturing makes for an unstoppable match. Deep Wave is sort of experimental in kind and execution, but it’s tied to such a potent pop method. This duality makes for my favourite type of music: accessible and enjoyable but unusual and otherworldly. The track’s undulous breakdown segues into an exhilarating construct that in the end incorporates components as surprising as police sirens to create an amazing collage of sound. It knocked me off my ft in a disconcerting method the primary time by means of, however pulled me again many times because the 12 months went on. (full evaluate)
