Best JPop songs of 2019
 

So, as I was making my playlist of best songs of 2019, I realised how I came across very few songs from Japan this year (I explored a lot of old stuff, actually, but didn't get to hear a lot from nowadays songs).

This made me wanna create this thread for us all to share with each other our favorite Japanese releases of the year! :) Might be I even missed something from artists I already know~

I'll start with a song myself:

I've been in the same mood as you and listened to a lot of old stuff.
But this would be my favorites from this year:

Perfume - nananananairo


TWICE - Fake & True


FAKY - GIRLS GOTTA LIVE


HIYADAM - BRAIN

Kobukuro - OsakaSOUL

Their only new song release for the year but it's a great 1

Before the digital release of the song , Kobukuro debuted OsakaSOUL for the 1st time at last month's Best Hits Kayousai and they closed off the music show with it which was so fitting

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av75605238

UVERworld - Touch off & ROB THE FRONTIER

Touch off PV

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av74318407

ROB THE FRONTIER PV



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG4aY5ocnlg

I prefer Touch off more than ROB THE FRONTIER cos only the last few seconds was the best part of the song as it has saxophone

But ROB THE FRONTIER PV is great , it's super colourful and entertaining

And it's UVERworld's 1st PV not to be region block

Same thing goes for ...

Hirai Ken - #302



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNWHEvmaPU

GLAY - COLOURS & YOUR SONG feat. MISIA

2 out of 4 songs from G4・Ⅴ-Democracy 2019-

Vocalist TERU rarely composes but he did it so well when comes to COLOURS

YOUR SONG was released last year but the version found in G4・Ⅴ-Democracy 2019- is frankly way better than GLAY's standalone song

Who knew MISIA sounds so fantastic alongside with TERU

COLOURS PV

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av53801028

PV was filmed in Hawaii

YOUR SONG performance with MISIA

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av65506191

And lastly (for now)

BREAKERZ - Yamiyo ni Mau Aoi Tori

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av78003271

Not a fan of the song at 1st but after finding out the history behind it , I appreciate Yamiyo ni Mau Aoi Tori now

And Yamiyo ni Mau Aoi Tori could have been included in BREAKERZ's debut album

Also it has been years since BREAKERZ last incorporate a drama theme related concept for their PV

B-sides wise , Milky Way is gorgeous . AKIHIDE should self cover it :s

To be released next year

AKIHIDE - Hoshikai no Shounen

Short promotion movie for now

https://twitter.com/AKIHIDE_RAINMAN/...59428192874496

Hoshikai no Shounen is also the name of AKIHIDE's upcoming 7th solo album that will be released next month

A lot of people have no idea that AKIHIDE actually sounds good when he sings & I always feel all the while he's a better vocalist than DAIGO

I will not post any Johnny related songs in this post but I have to say it was worth the almost year wait for KinKi Kids to return back with new material

And KinKi Kids's latest single Hikari no Kehai was written by Sakamoto Maaya

my top 10 songs from j-pop this year:

against all gods - m-flo
icbu - taichi mukai
sekai no subete teki ni kanjite kodoku sae aishiteita - kalen anzai
corner - daichi miura
earth collection - hata motohiro
new age - faky
the gift - hiraidai
saisei - perfume
turn back - nariaki obukuro
bible - yoko hamasaki

I also like Majestic by B'z

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av54731378

It's the only ballad in their new album NEW LOVE

The other song I also like from NEW LOVE is Rain & Dream

Aerosmith's guitarist Joe Perry participated in the recording of Rain & Dream

Some of GRANRODEO's album tracks from their new album FAB LOVE are also great too

FAB LOVE is the duo's 1st album that they went overseas to record material for

And that's a big deal cos vocalist KISHOW is known to have a terrible fear of flying so this's a huge accomplishment for him xD

From FAB LOVE , I like the one & Take it easy

For some reason , GRANRODEO's really long songs tend to be better than their short songs

GRANRODEO's previous 2 studio albums also had some very long songs but I like them a lot

Lastly Matsushita Yuya made a solo comeback in 6 years and I really liked his comeback album BLACK NEVERLAND

BLACK NEVERLAND lead album promo track is Midnight Party

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av75331032

I think Matsushita & Miura Daichi should do something together cos people have said their music and dance styles are very similar to each other

This is such a good list!

__________________________________________________ __________

First off, a few songs I couldn't find on YouTube:

Taichi Mukai - Confession
My most played song from this year. Taichi sounds fantastic on this, the arrangement sounds lush and intimate, and I love how the song ends with a great bridge and then music playing us out as the confession is left hanging in the air.

JILLE - Alive and Woman
JILLE is an amazing vocalist and criminally underrated, as these power ballads will prove.

Soutaisei Riron - I'm Humanity (Live)
There's something special about this particular performance of I'm Humanity, though any version of the song is a delightful combination of quirky and epic, catchy melodies and sprawling instrumental sections.

And then the rest:


This might be my favourite song of the year. It's delightful in how it shifts from one mood to another, it has catchy rhythms and melodies abound, and the chorus is such a joy.


This is electro-pop perfection with perfect control of its atmosphere and tension and a career-best vocal delivery from Rei Yasuda.


This song overflows with catharsis and vigour, and the bridge is a strong contender for Bridge of the Year.


Such a delicate and beautiful ballad.


This song is epic and exciting, the chorus is enormous and the arrangement hooks me in from the first moment -- it's so cool to hear NakamuraEmi explore sounds and moods like this.


This song is a stand-out from iri, it sounds dark and somewhat sparse and iri's singing really delivers in the starring role


This song makes me want to put it on endless loop and just drown in the spacey atmosphere.


I think everyone brings their A-game to convey the feeling of lost connection and growing apart, but to me this song is all about LISA's performance. I tend to dislike drops in pop songs (so I'm not a happy listener in today's pop landscape, lol) but this song's drop actually feels good and effective.


This is another song with an atmosphere that I just want to explore forever. It's simultaneously calming and contagiously energetic, and I can't get enough of the combination. (Shout-out also to mio, another amazing song from the same album!)


Pure electro goodness.


THIS is what I wanted when I found out there were going to be new songs from DAI on his namesake band's new album!

^omg thank you for reminding me The fin. existence, I completely forgot about them! They’ve evolved a lot. Interesting songs on your list too

I live stuck in the past, can’t really comment here.

Vickeblanka's "Ça Va?" and m-flo's EKTO (I think it was released this year) made my 2019.

I haven't really listened to other music from The fin., but I feel like I should try some more...

thanks! love yours too! ♥

For me the best song of the year 2019 is Hibari by ASCA and composed by Yuki Kajiura.



My best album of the year is EYE by SEKAI NO OWARI :