Random J Pop

Album Review: Madonna - Confessions II

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 22:59:00 +0000

When Madonna started teasing that she was doing a sequel to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, I rolled my eyes and I sighed. For three reasons. One. It felt like such a shameless and desperate nostalgia play for a hit album. Two. It felt like Madonna had a complete inability to move forward. And three. I wasn’t a huge fan of Confessions on a Dance Floor — blasphemous, I know. But that’s a whole other post. So when the announcement came that the album was officially going to be titled Confessions II, I rolled my eyes, scoffed, huffed ‘n’ puffed, sighed — did all the things to visibly show to an audience of nobody that I was not liking any part of this choice. But I was always going to listen to this album, because bitch, it’s Madonna. And upon listening to the album, I was ‘gagged’ as the kids say. Because Confessions II might just be one of Madonna’s best albums.

Okay bitch. You better shut my ass up.Sighing with all my judgement and expectations.

Flashback Friday: Perfume - Spring of Life | Dancing for joy in the Amuse HQ basement

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 22:35:00 +0000

Today marks the 13th anniversary of Perfume’s 4th studio album, LEVEL3. So of course, I had to flashback to a song from the album. Without even a second thought, I said ‘This post obviously has to be “1mm”’. Which is not only the hero song of LEVEL3, but a standout song on the album. But after thinking about it for a bit longer, I decided that “1mm” is such an obvious choice of song. Not that there’s anything wrong with obvious. But it made me think about how the LEVEL3 singles wound up getting overshadowed by album cuts. And how one song in particular got the short end of the stick for whatever reason — “Spring of Life”.

Fujii Kaze busses down in Seoul for his 7th Prema music video, “You”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:30:00 +0000

So, here we are nearing the end of 2026. With yet another music video for a song on Fujii Kaze’s third studio album, Prema. How many music videos is this man gonna shoot for this damn album!? It’s great though. I think Japanese music acts dragging the shit out of their albums and still giving them videos a year after release is a good thing. It should become more of a regular thing actually. The promo for Japanese albums pretty much ending once the album drops just doesn’t fly as well now.

Remix: Mariah Carey - All My Life (Channel Tres Remix)

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000

With the release of the 25th Anniversary edition of Glitter on the horizon, Mariah has released a second remix — this time of the Rick James penned “All My Life”. And the remix comes courtesy of Channel Tres.

Atarashii Gakko!! release their sweets tie-in song, appropriately titled “Sweet Memories”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:30:00 +0000

Atarashii Gakko!! only released their fifth studio album From Tokyo with Love at the end of July. But we know the pace at which J-pop moves. So already they’re moving on with a brand new single, “Sweet Memories”.

I’m not sure if it’s an error on the metadata which has been submitted to DSPs, but the phonographic copyright for this single is not 88 Rising — as has been the case with Atarashiii Gakko’s previous releases. “Sweet Memories” appears to be released under Atarashiii Gakko’s own label / imprint, which is pretty huge if this turns out to be the case.

I’m a sucker for these types of songs.

Despite sounding ripe for the theme of an anime, a J-drama or a Sonic the Hedgehog game, “Sweet Memories” is a tie in with Bourbon’s Fettucine Gummi sweets — which explains the song title and why the first 20 seconds of the video is basically a commercial for the sweets.

Atarashii Gakko!! featuring Aina the End - Sweet Memories | Atarashiii Gakko

As soon as the video started I wanted to know where it was shot, because I like checking out retro, Showa-era looking-ass places in Japan. So shout-outs to whoever’s decision it was to list the location in the credits at the end of the video. “Sweet Memories” was shot in Joyful Minowa, which is a shopping street (or shotengai) in the Arakawa ward of Tokyo.

Unfortunately, many shotengai are dying due to a lack of business, rising rent costs and many of the local store owners being elderly. So, there are shotengai up and down the country which are like ghost towns. And this could well be the reason that Joyful Minowa was featured in the credits, in the hope it’d raise awareness of the location and draw fans to it. The shotengai that continue to thrive (or at least survive) tend to be the ones in hotspots — i.e., Shinsaibashi in Osaka, Ginryu in Tokyo or Osu in Nagoya. Not only do they benefit from always having high footfall from locals and tourists alike, but the stores are a healthy mix of independently owned / local businesses and chains.

Whenever I pass a shotengai and it’s not crazy busy, I’ll almost always walk through. They’re a cool clash of time periods and also cultures, as you’ll usually find non-Japanese folk with stores and restaurants there. I cannot think of a single time I walked through a shotengai and did not see non-Japanese owned restaurants and stores.

HENNYWAY.

This Atarashii Gakko! song and video are cute.

Crystal Kay to hit F5 on some oldies with a new remix EP, Refresh: One

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So, Crystal Kay has announced a new EP titled Refresh: One, which is a remix EP. This announcement caught me off guard, because I thought we were doing new singles and a run up to a new studio album. But I guess not.

What Time Is It (MXXWLL Remix)
Teenage Universe (Jersey Girl Remix)
That Girl (Starlight Remix)
Kirakuni (DK Remix)

At first I was like ‘Gurl, why are we jumping back into older songs when your last single was an original song?’. But then I sat with this for a while. And the more I thought about it, the more I got excited about what the Refresh series could mean for Crystal Kay — in an ideal situation where Crystal and her team play it right.

So, here’s where I’ve landed.

It could be really cool if Crystal Kay put out a Refresh EP every year. These would not replace her studio album releases — although at this rate, I wonder if Crystal will ever release a follow a new studio album, given that it's been 8 years since her last. The Refresh EPs would just be annual releases to ensure that Crystal Kay is always putting music out. Because a huge issue with Crystal’s career right now is that her music releases have not been in any sort of regular cadence for quite some time. And the bigger the gaps between releases, the harder it becomes for her releases to do anything commercially. And between where Crystal’s career is right now and current audiences having the attention spans of goldfishes, she really needs a steady stream of releases. Refresh is a great way to do this.

From a music perspective, Refresh is a really easy way for Crystal to milk her Sony catalog. Because let’s face it, most of these refreshes will be of songs from her Sony albums. But from a creative perspective, it also gives Crystal a chance to have songs from her Universal catalog be reworked into something which marries better with her Sony catalog or into something which aligns more with Crystal’s current musical preferences. Because I still have a hard time believing that all of the songs on Shine and For You were 100% reflective of Crystal’s own tastes.

Now, if Crystal and her team are really thinking ahead, they would start mapping out anniversary releases of albums. Vinyl sales are all the rage. Sony and Universal are going all in on vinyl for Hikaru Utada, and Crystal’s discography also happens to be split between the same record labels — so Crystal’s team could and should get in on that. Re-releasing older albums on vinyl for their anniversaries and coinciding them with a Refresh release which features flips of songs from the respective albums seems like a no-brainer to me.

I don’t want Crystal to become an act who is just milking her old material all of the time, because I do think she has more to offer when it comes to new and original material. But if pimping the old shit provides Crystal a path forward and becomes something which works and connects with old and new audiences, then it’s a good thing which is better than NO thing. And I’ll take it.

My only concern is that this first Refresh drop feels like Crystal’s team still doesn’t really know what they’re doing. Because to release a brand new original single and then a remix EP of older singles just doesn’t make sense to me. We really should have be about brand new songs. But instead we’re doing flips of old songs. And let's be real. We should have gotten Refresh: One back in 2024 or at LEAST 2025 to coincide with Crystal’s 25th anniversary promo. And it’s still crazy to me that we did not get a follow-up to I Sing ready to release as soon as Crystal Kay was revealed as a contestant on The Masked Singer — I Sing also being something which could have been a series for Crystal.

Girl, fire the whole marketing and management team.

Refresh is a GREAT idea. And the first being titled Refresh: One implies that we will be getting more. I just hope that we do actually get more and that Crystal’s team are really smart and strategic with how they release them. But I am glad that Crystal is still putting stuff out. Even if the releases feel a bit higgledy-piggledy.

Side note, I think the promo image / cover art is really cool. I’mma need Crystal to stay with this theme and creative direction for each Refresh release.

Refresh: One releases on 2nd October.

Jimi Somewhere releases “Strings” — an ode to being in love / hypnotised by the pum-pum

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:30:00 +0000

Norwegian pop star Jimi Somewhere has released his new song “Strings”. And, now for the quick sales pitch. If you like Charli XCX when she’s in her pop bag, you’ll like this.

Rockstar to release the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack physically…unlike the game itself. Damn. They really walked into that one.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000

When Rockstar announced the release of Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album and I saw it was going to be available on CD and vinyl, I just knew the internet was gonna run with the whole ‘The soundtrack will be available disc, but not the game LOOOOOOOL’ schtick, and run with it they indeed did. I’ll admit…I am amused. Sony can’t be surprised at the backlash to their decision to stop producing physical games and Rockstar had to have known that the announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI being digital coming mere days after this announcement was not going to go over well. Given the insane popularity of the GTA franchise and how long-awaited this game is, if there was ever a game that gamers would want to own physically if given the choice, it is Grand Theft Auto VI.

Troye Sivan likes to “Party”, boogie-woogie, dance with his baby and make the people cum together

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Troye Sivan has released the second music video from his upcoming third studio album. And once again I am wondering if he shared a moodboard with Charli XCX. Because first we got the video for “She’s the Best” which felt very Music, Fashion, Film. He revealed the album cover for his album She’s the Best, which doesn’t feature him on it — the same way that the album cover for Music, Fashion, Film does not feature Charli XCX on it. And now we get “Party” which feels very Wuthering Heights-ey in places. Then there is Madonna announcing the “Danceteria” remix featuring Charli XCX and “Party” sampling a Madonna song. So, Troye is not ‘beating the allegations’ as the kids say.

Nintendo announce concerts to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, and my wig is sent to Skyloft

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:30:00 +0000

2026 marks the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, which kinda blows my mind. 40 years!? Somebody done played an ocarina in this bitch. Because I truly cannot believe. The Legend of Zelda is 40 years old. Wow.

Perfume’s Cold Sleep film is available on Disney+! But only in Japan. Fuck dem international fans, I guess.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Perfume’s film Cold Sleep -25 years Document- is available on Disney+! But only in Japan. Because, obviously.

Beyoncé sells Home Depot wooden boxes with a Shein bag strap for $948.01…and they’ve sold out

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 04:30:00 +0000

On 4th September 2026, Beyoncé’s birthday (her B’Day if you will) she released commemorative merch to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her album B’Day, the special edition of which was released the very same day. And amongst it was a $948.01 (her birthday…geddit?) collector’s vinyl box, in the style of a beekeeper’s box.

Watch the Mario Kart Band jam out and perform a couple of songs from Mario Kart World

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

So, Nintendo decided to remind people that they actually do remember Mario Kart World. But instead of releasing new DLC for the game (although Nintendo has released some since), they shared a couple of videos from the recording sessions of the soundtrack — which included the main theme and the absolute bop that is “Crown City”.

Remix: Madonna - Physical Attraction (Harry Romero Remix)

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:30:00 +0000

When Madonna was doing her lil’ Club Confessions events, sometimes she’d have Honey Dijon DJ for her. And on a couple of these occasions she played a remix of “Physical Attraction”. And in one video in particular you could see Madonna like (and I am paraphrasing) ‘Bitch, this remix is bussin’. Where you get dis?’, And the Internet also had questions, such as when the remix would get an official release in full. Naturally, because Honey Dijon was the one playing the remix, everybody assumed that it was hers. But upon the release of the Harry Romero Remix of “Danceteria” in August, we learned that Harry Romero is the guy behind the remix via an Instagram post.

Korean rapper Luci Gang has me in a headlock with “Headlock”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Luci Gang got me with this one y’all. This is by no means a new release. But those of you who have checked out this blog long enough know how I be on severe delays with posts and that I post on ‘old’ shit all of the time. I’ve been telling myself (and some of you) that I want to post more on cool music that I hear and like. So, this is me doing that. For now.

Beyoncé. You done lost-yo-mind.mp3 with this B’Day 20th anniversary release

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Beyoncé is releasing a 20th anniversary edition of B’Day, which is really cool. But the package is a little bit of a weird mess. Which isn’t cool. But the original release of B’Day — for those who remember it well — was a bit of a weird mess. So I guess it’s fitting that its anniversary release would be too.

Hikaru Utada gets that train money, as their new song “Intentions” features in JR’s campaign for their new Shinkansen Supreme Class Cabins

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Hikaru Utada has a new song on the way. And because Teruzane don’t play when it comes to the tie-in cheques for his child — this new song features in JR Central’s new campaign for the Supreme Class Cabins of their Shinkansen (Bullet Trains).

Justice for Glitter has been served, as Mariah Carey celebrates its 25th anniversary with a vinyl release

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

When Glitter mysteriously vanished from streaming back in February, the Lambs had suspected that a potential anniversary release of the album may have been the reason why. And…they were correct. I don’t think the anniversary release was the sole reason. But the lack of speed at getting the album back on streaming was probably because Mariah and her team knew the anniversary release was in the works. So, they may as well just make everybody wait. But now, it’s tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime.

Pull out the silk press units and red kimonos y’all. Crystal Kay has uploaded her North American tour performance of “Kirakuni”.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Members of the LGBTCK+. Let us hold our copies of Call Me Miss… in the air and rejoice. For we’ve got another official performance video from Crystal Kay’s 2025 North American Tour, and it’s of the semi-recently emancipated classic “Kirakuni”.

Ariana Grande weightgate is such a fucked situation

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 02:00:00 +0000

The Internet has been talking about Ariana Grande’s weight loss for a while, and she addressed it pretty wonderfully for the first time via TikTok 2023. Although this was at a point when I don’t think there was enough visible concern for enough people outside of Ariana’s fanbase to make a bigger deal of it. She also addressed it again 2 years later during the Wicked press tour in 2025 in an interview with Sally for Oui Oui Baguette. Everything Ariana said still very much stands. But it’s harder to argue against concerns about her appearance now, given how she looks in her music video for “Petal” and on her Eternal Sunshine tour. But this isn’t a post about how Ariana looks and a demand that she seeks help. It’s a post about the mess of trying to navigate trying to help somebody. And the ways in which this can spin out of control and become an absolute trainwreck with anybody, much less when that somebody is a public figure who is one of the most followed people on Instagram IN THE WORLD with over 360 million followers.

Dis Cover: Rachel Chinouriri - I Think I Spoke Too Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Rachel Chinouriri will be releasing her second studio album, I think I Spoke Too Soon on 10th October and she’s already shared the album cover. So, let’s get into it and discover dis cover together.

Jon Batiste talks music with video game composer legend, Nobuo Uematsu

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 19:00:00 +0000

So, Universal Japan just randomly decided to upload a series of videos of Jon Batiste and Nobuo Uematsu just sitting and talking music. [In Kevin Jz Prodigy voice ] THIS IS WHAT I WANNA SEE.

Shout-outs to the YouTube algorithm actually coming through with some good shit.

Kylie Minogue joins the MCU (Madonna Confessions Universe), with an appearance on Madonna’s “Love Sensation”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Madonna and Kylie Minogue are on a song together. This is like Avengers: Endgame for the RGB (255, 255, 255) gays. Doomsday and Secret Wars could never.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu releases a music video for “Kuru Kuru Harajuku”...a whole year after the song was first released

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000

So, Pussy Pam has released a music video for her single “Kuru Kuru Harajuku”, a whole year after the song originally released. Maybe she forgot that she did not put out a video for this song. Or maybe she finally had enough money to get one made. Either way, it’s pretty cool that she bothered.

Ariana Grande releases her music video for “Petal” and it’s a bloody mess

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Ariana Grande released her eighth studio album Petal, and with it we got a music video for the album title track and a WHOLE lotta controversy. When the video dropped in July it threw fuel on what was already a very heated conversation online. But that’s a whole other post.

For now, let’s get into the music video from a purely creative perspective.