Our Biggest Music Moments and Surprises of the Year

2025 was another loud year for Japanese music. Whether you're an oshikatsu-obsessed idol fan, headbanging metalhead or indie freak, there was something awesome for you this year. Let's take a look at some of the heavy hitters, big moments and surprise hits of the past 12 months in Japanese music.

By the Numbers

First of all, some hard data. A whopping 15 of the No 1 singles of the past 51 weeks since the year began (at the time of writing) were by groups with 48 or 46 in their name ー AKB48 and several affiliate groups, including NMB48, STU48 and Nogizaka46. We also saw No 1 hits from Japanese boybands like JO1, Kis-My-Ft2 and BE:FIRST.

The enduring popularity of these slightly old-fashioned, heavily manufactured idol groups feels a little surprising, especially since Japan's pop business has become more sophisticated over these past few years. But the above groups largely thrive on physical CD sales, with fans buying multiple copies of each single to support their favourite groups. That helps explain their high positions in the traditional sales charts.

By the Streaming Charts

Things become more diversified (and likely more reliable) when you look at the streaming charts. According to a report by Tokyo Weekender, the most-streamed artist on Spotify among listeners within Japan this year was pop band Mrs Green Apple, who claimed the top spot for the third year in a row. Their wistful January ballad "Darling" alone accumulated nearly 60 million views on YouTube in 2025.

Outside of Japan, the most-streamed song by a Japanese artist was "Otonoke" by Creepy Nuts. It was the theme song for the hit anime series "Dan Da Dan." While the most-streamed Japanese artist globally was Ado, thanks in no small part to her overseas tour and greatest hits album "Ado's Best Adobum." I went to see the unforgettable first night of Ado's domestic tour in November, where she gave a rare glimpse of her more vulnerable side.

Over on TikTok, the world became infatuated with newcomer idol group AiScReam, whose song "Ai Scream!" went super-viral thanks to its relentlessly catchy and cute call-and-response lyrics that spawned countless duets, covers, remixes, cosplays and parodies.

Take On Tours

Meanwhile, several Japanese artists hit the world stage this year. Notably, Babymetal continued their streak of global success with a nearly nine-month arena tour beginning in February that visited Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, various parts of Asia, and, of course, Japan. They also collaborated with artists such as Poppy and their song with Bloodywood from December 2024. featured on the Indian band's latest album this year. JAPAN Forward interviewed Bloodywood when they performed at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2022, and they spent much of the conversation espousing their love for Babymetal. So it was great to see the two unique metal bands raising hell together.

It was also a year of some truly unexpected surprises. I really hadn't expected Yumi Matsutoya to return to her 1970s artist name, Yumi Arai, and release her first new album in five years ー which was also her 40th studio album. No doubt capitalizing on the recent global popularity of city pop, a nostalgic genre that deifies music from the 1970s and '80s, her new album "Wormhole" was a surprising yet welcome and really very excellent release.

HalCali is Back

Another wonderful shock was the resurgence of HalCali, a teenage rap duo from the early 2000s produced by members of the hip-hop group Rip Slyme. I loved HalCali back in the day, after first seeing them on the British TV show Adam and Joe Go Tokyo in 2003, and interviewed them a few times in Tokyo. They disbanded sometime around 2012 and disappeared from the music scene ー so what a thrill to see their 2003 song "Otsukare Summer" suddenly go viral on TikTok this summer with some half a billion combined views. And a brand-new music video, racking up some 11 million views on YouTube. Their debut album "HalCali Bacon" is getting a vinyl re-release in February, and I'm praying for a full-blown reunion in 2026.

Moving On

Some surprises were bittersweet. Electronic pop trio Perfume announced in September that they are going on hiatus from the end of 2025 (boo!) because member A-chan recently got married (yay!). The group has vowed to return eventually. As a longtime fan of Perfume, who also interviewed them several times, and found members A-chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka to be extremely genuine and talented artists, I definitely hope their cryosleep is not a permanent one.

New from Favorites

2025 was a special year for Japanese rapper Awich. Already well on her way to becoming a household name in Japan, with high-profile advertising billboard campaigns and ever-larger concerts, this year Awich released a new album, "Okinawan Wuman" in November. It's a collaboration with legendary United States rapper/producer RZA. Awich has always included some English bars in her songs, but "Okinawan Wuman" took this to new levels, and RZA's support, guest spots from rappers like FERG and Lupe Fiasco, and a concert in New York's Central Park sent her into the Western spotlight this year.

Yoasobi had another big year, with their May single "Watch me!" soundtracking the anime series "Witch Watch" and racking up 16 million views on YouTube. Alongside that were major overseas concerts, including a spot at the Primavera Sound festival in Spain and a headline show at London's enormous Wembley Arena. Yoasobi also performed at a concert titled Matsuri '25 in Los Angeles in March, alongside Ado and Atarashii Gakko! for some 7,000 fans.

And speaking of Atarashii Gakko!, the school uniform-clad girl group continued to capitalize on the success of their 2023 breakthrough hit "Otonablue," with the March hit, "One Heart" and a string of overseas concerts. Meanwhile, lead vocalist Suzuka lent her deep voice to the protagonist in "Labyrinth," a feature-length anime directed by "Macross" veteran Shoji Kawamori, taking this rising star to all new levels of fame.

Connecting to Other Worlds with Music

Gen Hoshino is a perennial favorite in Japan, but it's been a minute since his last new album. That is, until the May release of "Gen," his first studio album in seven years. It made it to No 2 on the Oricon album charts. Hoshino also had several songs featured in the PlayStation 5 game Death Stranding by legendary game director Hideo Kojima. And, he'll perform a special performance of his song "Create" from the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto during the broadcast of NHK's staple New Year's Eve music show, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," cementing his connection with the world of videogames.

Also appearing on "Kohaku Uta Gassen" for the very first time is AiNA THE END, the ex-BiSH singer, dancer, and self-choreographer who made a splash this year with her single "Kakumei Dōchū ー On The Way," the opening theme song for Season 2 of "Dan Da Dan" and a sizeable tour. Check out my interview with AiNA THE END to learn more about this multifaceted young talent.

The China Surprise

2025 also saw difficulties for many Japanese musicians with a fanbase in China, as a wave of events was canceled in November onwards against a backdrop of choppy political waters. The highest-profile casualty was J-pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki, who spent five days setting up her November 29 Shanghai concert, only for it to be suddenly canceled at the last minute due to "force majeure." Hamasaki posted photos on Facebook that suggested she performed the set anyway to 14,000 empty seats. So, perhaps a video will eventually surface, and the hard work of Ayu and her 200 tour staff will not have gone to waste.

Either way, it may be a while until things settle down and Japanese artists can perform in China without concern.

Some Other Favs of the Year

One of my most listened to new albums this year was Haru Nemuri's "ekkolaptómenos," a beautiful blend of DIY industrial production, complex compositions, gorgeous harmonies, and lyrics filled with burning political rage. "If you know the rules, you have the option of breaking them," she said when I interviewed her for JAPAN Forward – and songs like the mesmeric "panopticon" and "anointment" will have you believe it.

Some other personal faves this year: Heavenstamp's album of acoustic self-covers titled "Listen to Heavenstamp (Acoustic)" that rendered their usually rhythmic rock sound in beautiful unplugged style. MYLK's song "Where My Wookiees At?," is a hilarious paean to Chewbacca and friends released as part of the Star Wars: Galactic Battle season of the videogame Fortnite.

Then there's the quirky album "Enryo no Katamari" by electro-rap artist xiangyu, and a run of cool singles from Bone Dawn, a new rock band featuring musician and actress Kavka Shishido on drums, whose ambition is to become big enough to play at the Nippon Budokan and then disband; the dramatic theatrics of B-movie horror themed idol group Phantom Siita; and many, many more.

And that's it for another amazing year of Japanese music. I can't wait to see (and hear) what 2026 brings!

Author: Daniel Robson

Daniel Robson is a veteran music journalist and Executive Producer of IGN Japan. Read his series Gamer's World on JAPAN Forward, and find him on X (formerly Twitter).