Random J Pop

Crystal Kay is doing dem Billboard Live gigs again for 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 01:30:00 +0000

It’s almost that time of year ya’ll. Don’t let the Summer and the heatwaves fool you. Christmas is around the corner bitch. I can’t believe it’s Jugustember already.

T.M.Revolution reaches into the back of his closet and pulls out his freakum dress for a performance of “Hot Limit” on The First Take

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 01:00:00 +0000

So, T.M.Revolution pulled up to The First Take to perform his 1998 number 1 hit single “Hot Limit” wearing an updated version of his iconic “Hot Limit” freakum dress. Because sometimes you’ve just gotta let everybody know that your body is still snatched and that middle age ain’t gonna stop you from serving pussy desu.

Crystal Kay shares her CK25 North American Tour performance of (yep, you guessed it) “Koi ni Ochitara”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:30:00 +0000

I did wonder if we would get full professionally shot performances from Crystal Kay’s CK25 North American tour. And BING. Now we have one. And of course it is “Koi ni Ochitara”. [Smiles and sighs]

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is back on her bonkers bullshit for her music video for “Focus Focus”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Can you believe that “Focus Focus” is the first music video that Pussy Pam has released in 3 years despite releases several singles during this time? Nope. Me neither. Prior to this, her last video was for “Isshin Doutai” in 2022 — which feels like it was WAY longer than 3 years ago. In this time Pussy Pam became Mrs. Pamyu and gave birth to Poko Pampers. Damn. Time really be flying.

Flashback Friday: Crystal Kay - Dream World | The latin pop coffee song that shoulda been a smash

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:59:00 +0000

This week marked the 19th anniversary of Crystal Kay’s seventh studio album All Yours. So let’s throwback to a music video for a song from that album. A song which really should’ve been a single — “Dream World”.

Despite being a tie-in song for Tully’s Coffee which featured in a commercial starring Crystal herself AND getting itself a music video — “Dream World” was never released as a commercial single.

Girl. You should’ve fired the management and marketing team.

“Dream World” would have made for a great Summer single, so it’s a shame that it didn’t get the chance to be, and that it got tied to coffee with a TV commercial was so cozy and wintery.

“Dream World” cashed in on the popularity of latin pop, which had become HUGE in America. And by 2007, latin pop wasn’t just a lasting trend, it was a fixture in popular music. 2007 was the year that Jennifer Lopez had released her first spanish album Mi Gente Latino Como Ama una Mujer and Beyoncé released the Shakira assisted “Beautiful Liar”. But Japan has always had a bit of a thing for latin sounds, stretching as far back as the 70s. It was a sound which regularly popped up in city pop. Junko Ohashi’s “Spanish Wind” comes to mind. And if you’re a fan of J-pop of the Heisei era, you could probably name a song that your fave did which had a latin sound to it. Hikaru Utada’s “Can You Keep a Secret?”. Koda Kumi’s “Shake It Up”. So “Dream World” never felt derivative or like it was an obvious chasing of a trend. It was just a really good song, which also showed another side to Crystal’s sound.

Crystal Kay - Dream World | Sony Music Entertainment

As a single, “Dream World” would have done a great job of showing that Crystal is more than just “Koi ni Ochitara”, the sound of which became a go to for longer than it should have. As much as I adore “Konna ni Chikaku de…”, that song really was pulling on the same thread as “Koi ni Ochitara” sonically — it just had more of a bounce to it. I also feel that “Dream World” had the potential to be a huge hit and go on to be a song that would get covered to hell and back. It just has a sound and an appeal that so easily could have attracted all types of artists to want to cover it over the years.

Sure, “Dream World” isn’t straight R&B and it may not have been the direction Crystal had wanted to go with a single. But it had so much potential to broaden her audience at a time she had their attention. And even R&B in America was dipping into Latin pop sounds. Mariah Carey’s “My All”, which she also recorded in Spanish. Usher’s “How Do I Say”. Toni Braxton’s “Spanish Guitar”. Jennifer Lopez’s “If You Had My Love”. Beyoncé recording “Irreplaceable” in Spanish. And this was something which really took off after the success of Santana’s Wyclef Jean produced smash hit “Maria Maria” in 1999. And I don’t think pushing Crystal as a straight R&B artist was what Sony wanted anyway, despite All Yours being a R&B album.

Sony really didn’t know what they were doing back then.

And BIG shout-outs to the YouTube channel Crystal Kay HD Collections. Because were it not for this channel, barely any of Crystal’s music videos would be available on YouTube. It’s absolutely insane to me that Crystal’s official YouTube channel STILL does not have all of her music videos.

Girl. Fire the whole management and marketing team.

Fujii Kaze churches up the Music Awards Japan 2026 with a performance of “Prema”

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Fujii Kaze made an appearance at the Music Awards Japan, again. Where he won a bunch of awards, again. And he also performed, again.

Sakanaction perform “Kaijū” at Music Awards Japan 2026. Fuck “Iranai”, I guess.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Sakanaction performed their 2025 single “Kaijū”, which kinda caught me by surprise, as I thought they would have performed their latest single “Iranai”. Although, the “Kaijū” featured in the intro to the Music Awards Japan 2026 and was a hit, so I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me too much. But still. So often artists will just perform a song which was popular, rather than perform their latest single which could do with exposure, and I get this just as much as I don’t.

City pop singer / songwriter EPO pulls up to the Tiny Desk to let the hoes know

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:30:00 +0000

Tiny Desk Japan brought an artist to the desk that surprised the shit out of me. Japanese pop singer EPO.

Kelela extends Pride to July with her PinkPantheress collaboration, “The Bridge”. Rise up KELELGBT+.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kelela has released her third studio album, New Avatar. And with it, we get a music video for her song which features the girl of the moment, PinkPantheress.

Shout-outs to Kelela releasing several singles for an album giving us music videos to all but one, and giving them individual cover arts on streaming. Nobody is quite doing it like Kelela. Not even that white woman with the Confessions album and the pink kneepads. Although what she is doing with that album is pretty incredible. But that’s a whole other post.

Crystal Kay talks her getting in touch with her Korean roots, her Black fans and how her record label sat one of her songs for 2 years

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 23:30:00 +0000

Crystal Kay sat down with Uprisers, where she discussed her experience of reconnecting with her Koreanness and how revelatory her experience of touring America was.

Single Review: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Focus Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Pussy Pam is back with a new song. And maybe the title is a mantra or a call to the universe. Because focus is what Kyary and Nakata need right now.

Flashback Friday: Kelela - Rewind | Run it back

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:59:00 +0000

Today marks the release of Kelela’s third studio album New Avatar. So it’s only fitting that today’s installment of Flashback Friday flashes back…or rather…rewinds back to an oldie, but still a goodie from Kelela.

f5ve cover Perfume’s “Electro World” and the spirit of Nocchi’s bob makes a brief appearance

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 03:45:00 +0000

J-pop girl group f5ve decided to get on Kawayuka’s Internet and shake things up a bit by releasing a cover of Perfume’s “Electro World”. Ever since “Underground” there have been a bunch of things about f5ve which reminded me of Perfume and felt Perfume-esque. And there is definitely an overlap of fans — most of f5ve’s fans are probably also Perfume fans. So, no doubt this cover is going to go down an absolute treat.

Single Review: D’Leesa - Healer

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Algorithms get on my damn nerves. But once in a while they will actually turn up a gem. And on this occasion the YouTube algorithm recommended me a video from somebody named D’Leesa. The thumbnail was so raggedy in a way which spoke to me, so of course I had to click on it, and I’m so glad that I did.

Single Review: Kenshi Yonezu - Karasu

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0000

“Iris Out” is still having the absolute shit streamed out of it and swept awards at the Music Awards Japan a week ago — where Kenshi also gave a performance of the song. And this song is 9 months old, having first released back in September 2025. But Kenshi’s team can’t stop the program and halt the singles because of this shit. They’ve gotta stay on the program. They have NHK coin to collect.

Flashback Friday: Koda Kumi - 2008 Kingdom Tour | A rotten pussy fluid scandal can’t keep a bad bitch down

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 22:59:00 +0000

Koda Kumi’s 2026 Kingdom tour was supposed to kick off tonight on 19th June. But due to Kumi’s pregnancy, the whole thing was cancelled. And pregnancy also impacted her original 2008 Kingdom tour, as the tour took place in the wake of Kumi’s blacklisting — following the rotten pussy fluid scandal of 2008, where Kumi made comments about older women and pregnancy on a radio show.

Kumi’s Kingdom is officially cursed.

Madonna releases Confessions II: The Film. Giving the fans new music, Easter eggs and vagilasers for Pride.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Last week Madonna released Confessions II: The Film to YouTube on 8th June after its debut at the Tribeca film festival on 5th June. The film is basically 6 music videos cut together and is part of what has been a pretty great album rollout — a great time to be a Madonna fan.

Single Review: Infinity Song - Hurricane

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 17:15:00 +0000

Infinity Song are yet to release a bad song. And it’s always a bit frustrating when a group you dig is releasing good music and releasing the right singles, but they just don’t hit the way you feel that they deserve to. And I fear the same thing is going to happen with “Hurricane”. A song which is a big departure from the sound Infinity Song are known for and feels engineered to be a hit, but probably won’t be.

EP Review: Kana Nishino - Love Beat

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 22:45:00 +0000

Kana Nishino’s Love Beat EP manages to say a lot about Kana, whilst also saying nothing about her at all. Kana has been around for quite a while now, but I don’t identify her with a particular sound, style or image. So of course Love Beat features Kana with a slightly different look to that of which she sported on her last release, with 3 songs which each sound completely different to one another and give you no sense of what Kana’s sound is.

Great.

So, let’s start with the EP title track “Love Beat”.

Single Review: Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sun, 31 May 2026 02:45:00 +0000

So, Ariana Grande has released the first single from her album Petal and…girl. [Ties imaginary hair into an imaginary ponytail]

Kelela releases a new single “linknb” and she done pissed me off

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sun, 31 May 2026 02:10:00 +0000

“idea1” is barely out the door and already Kelela has put on a new wig and released a new song and video. So, now here we are with another song with another odd title all in lowercase with no spaces, “linknb”. And sonically “linknb” carries a similar sound to “idea1” in that it features a guitar. So the gay who said that Kelela’s album is probably gonna be shoegayz, they might be on the money.

Hikaru Utada to release re-mastered versions of Exodus and This Is the One on vinyl on 24th June

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sun, 31 May 2026 01:18:00 +0000

Somebody grab the fireworks and burn it up like a gay parade. Because it’s actually happening y’all. We are getting Exodus and This Is the One on vinyl.

Single Review: Crystal Kay featuring Yoonmirae - Only One

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Sat, 16 May 2026 20:53:00 +0000

It’s been kinda rough for some of us Crystal Kay fans. Because for quite some time it has felt like Crystal’s music releases were not always reflective of her talents and the career she had built over the years. And even in the few instances where we did get something good, it came with no promo or was followed up with foolishness or something which felt like a step back. The best album celebrating Crystal’s 25th anniversary didn’t even feel like the celebration or retrospective that it should have been, because of the omission of certain songs and the humdrum re-recordings. And the damn thing releasing a year after the year of her 25th anniversary was also a mess.

Girl. Fire the whole management and marketing team.

Madonna’s “Bring Your Love” sounds a lot like Inner City’s “Good Life”. And I have something to say about it.

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Fri, 15 May 2026 16:55:00 +0000

Madonna has released the official first single from her album Confessions II. When I first heard it, my immediate thought was ‘This sounds so much like Inner City’s “Good Life”’, which is a song I adore and an absolute house classic. And lo and behold, the writers of “Good Life” are credited as writers on this song — either because of sampling or the obvious likeness. And I bet they’re making good money off of this song from the publishing split.

Single Review: Hikaru Utada - Pappa Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Random J) — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:56:00 +0000

When it was announced that Hikaru Utada was releasing a new song as part of some kids’ show, I had no idea what to expect. It could be some “Boku wa Kuma” type shit. It could be some “Hikari” type shit. It could be some “Chiaki” type shit. It could be any-fucking-thing. So, I didn’t even bother trying to guess how the song would sound or having an expectation for it. But even so, I was still surprised by what “Pappa Paradise” turned out to be. Because even if I were to play the guessing and expectation game, I never would have landed on the song being on some 60s throwback, doo-wop, Happy Days type shit.

Call Hikaru Utada a ballet teacher. Because they be keeping bitches on their toes.