As per tradition (albeit a very infrequent tradtion), here are my top 5 Jpop boy group releases of the year for 2023! It's a little late, I've literally had this draft saved on my computer for months oop. Looks like the list is all...underground groups this time. Maybe the title of this post should be My Top 5 Underground Male Idol Releases of 2023. Who is Johnny's? Never heard of them.
1. ED∞EN - Forbidden Fruits
I bet no-one saw this coming. Since coming to Japan, ED∞EN quickly became my favourite group. The other original song they released last year, "Magic Parade" (which - fun fact - reached number 1 on the iTunes Jpop charts in the UK literally just because of me lol) is also a banger but I went with "Forbidden Fruits" because it just holds a special place in my heart. It was the first song they performed during my initial introduction to the group at JOL Harajuku and I absolutely fell in love. It was their very first song to receive a music video as well so I'm sure you can imagine how happy I was when it was seeing it unveiled at their first solo live back in October. That's a lot of firsts, haha.
2. AromaFancy - Bergamot
This song is also somewhere in the top 10 Jpop ranking on iTunes in the UK because I listen to it about 20 times a day, no kidding. It's such a fun and upbeat song and I fell in love with it the very first time I heard the group perform it. Even now the magic hasn't worn off and it's still the song I get the most excited for at their lives. Everyone around me - even if they have no idea who AromaFancy are - know this song simply because I cannot stop singing "Motto motto berugamotto~" on a daily basis, haha.
3. 8motion - Kimi Dake no Tensai Influencer
This song is just so cute bruh. It's basically about each of the members wanting to become your oshi, urging you to show your support for them online and acting jealous if you support anyone else. When Kouhei says "Doushite hoka no ko wo mite iru no? Boku dake wo mitete yo!" (Why are you looking at other guys? Look only at me!) it's so silly but my heart melts every time.
4. Love Sick - Danshi Koi
I think you've figured out by now that I like groups and songs with cute concepts. "Danshi Koi" is the debut song from new group Love Sick produced by RINDO Entertainment who are also responsible for various other popular groups such as Yumekui NEON and Beardored. The song is about the members wanting to enjoy soft and cute things despite being boys, so right up my alley then lol. I'll give you five seconds to guess who my oshi in this group is.
3. Poltergeist - POPPING DOLL
Poltergeist are another new group from RINDO Entertainment, this time with a 'haunted doll' concept and "POPPING DOLL" is their debut song. This is really just your typical cutesy, 'TikTok-able' idol song but it's still very catchy and adorable in my opinion.
