100 Favorite Idol Songs of 2019

Favorite idol songs of the year from Burst Girl, Maison Book Girl, E-girls and more

19 min readDec 8, 2019

One of the most exciting developments of the idol scene this decade has been the evolution of what an idol song can sound like. Many groups have brought their own idol-pop take on metal, punk, rap, trance, emo, math rock, jazz, shoegaze — or multiple of these genres at once. Dance-pop idols expanded their list of influences too, borrowing from retro styles like city pop and disco but also current trends like future-bass. All the while, the twinkling synths and strings of more traditional groups have yet to wane in popularity.

That genre dive, however, has also become the norm. A strategy of juxtaposition no longer feels impressive with so many combinations of personality and sound that have already been done. An interesting sound won’t necessarily guarantee a long run of success either. A group still needs the tried-and-true idol-group foundations of a drawing narrative and a line-up of likeable members.

That’s if they want to stick around for long. Many acts will continue to be a flash in the pan, and that’s fine: I still think idol groups aren’t designed to last a decade, and it takes a lot of resources, perseverance and luck to go on for even half of that time. But this decade, we’ve also seen the lifespan of an act grow a little longer. It has not necessarily become easier to navigate — in fact, it might be even harder now with so many around — but the scene has proven to be more established with more potential markets if you can get a little creative.

Adapting to change and tracking that growth has been a key element to idols this decade. Following the evolution of the group’s music has been exciting, but also witnessing individual idols find their own identity in real time has been the most rewarding. This won’t change going into the next decade, and perhaps more crucial, especially as it becomes harder to introduce a sense of novelty: it’s going to be more important to convince others to follow the ride than try to be the next big thing right away.

I wonder what next thing will sound or look like in the coming years as we go forward to a new decade. Will idols need to be a jack of all trades, a master of a different style from single to single? Will they include a multimedia facet to their work, so a song also feels like a video and a live show all at once? Or will their stubbornness to buy into this everything-at-once vision bring a new lane where strictly following a single style has been the right choice all along? It can go any way, and some groups in this list hint at each possibility.

Here are my 100 favorite idol songs of 2019. Here is a Spotify playlist and a YouTube playlist of the 100 (or what is available). If you want the full YouTube archive of every single I kept tabs on, here it is as well. Hope you find something new!

1) BiSH: “I Am Me”

A signature song by a WACK idol group often deals in absolutes. They take losses far more than victories, but their luck might change by putting everything on the line for this one shot. Or at least that’s the hope they hold on to as the world continues to crumble around them no matter how many times they try and try again. The drama lies instead in that all-or-nothing gamble more than whether or not they actually win, and they’ve got a series of anthems honing in on that ruthless internal battle.

But what happens when they actually take home the gold? BiSH is by far the most successful out of WACK, selling out arenas, appearing in many TV shows and winning the love of celebrities. While they still don’t exactly live a glamorous life as the six work grueling hours without much of a break between tours, that life-or-death scream of “Deadman” to be loved and be popular — “uretai! motetai!” — is now an actual reality.

“I Am Me” reminds that the battle still continues even if you make it over the hump. It’s a WACK song that sees life as not a single obstacle to overcome but as a long, endless stretch full of constant clashes. The music doesn’t sound like a dramatic emotional breakdown. The guitars are instead breezy and pared back to sound as mundane as life can be during its turbulent ride. The six are still scared of the future, still uncertain of their purpose, but aren’t we all at all times? BiSH see their issues as just another everyday thing to confront, and “I Am Me” is just what it’s like after we’re done screaming only to realize there’s another day left to live.

*See also: “Freeze Dry the Past”; “More Than Like”

2) Dempagumi.inc: “Taiyoukei Kansatsuchuu Seimeitai”

H ZETT M’s scribbled jazz wriggles about in a rhythm as unconventional as the self-proclaimed aliens of Dempagumi.inc, who follow an entirely separate beat than their earthling subjects when it comes to logic and instinct. Their curiosity toward everything about Earth leads to a variety of punchlines: “I heard they like to sing and dance,” Nagi Nemoto share with shock about their very audience, further establishing their divide as a species.

That same cluelessness gives way to the most gut-punching lyric. “Why are you crying?/ What meaning is there,” they ask such a pure yet infinitely complicated question, and they can ask it so matter of fact because, well, of course: these aliens don’t know about this thing called emotion. Despite it being centered on such a bleak matter, “Taiyoukei” is ultimately driven by fascination, wonder and the thrills of seeing things in a whole new light. As H ZETT M tirelessly strives and finally succeeds to reach transcendence on the music side, Dempagumi, too, lands upon a poetic moment of epiphany: “A beginning and end/ you’re dark and you’re light/ oh, you’re so like…/ you are just like outer space.” I guess we were the aliens this whole time.

*See also: “Bon de Festa”

3) GuGu-Lulu: “Picked”

The house music of “Picked” unfolds as a chilling storytelling device for Gugu-Lulu’s tale of heartbreak. It initially serves as the backdrop for the group’s search of city thrills, the EDM pulse tapping into their sleepless nights looking for love, but its bittersweet tone foreshadows something more sinister. Indeed, the nights turn less and less glamorous, and the transition is subtle yet clever: the hook gradually changes from “you and me” ultimately to “our end scene” before the song fades to black.

Gugu-Lulu utilizes the slow burn of the production to draw out the immense devastation at the end of their story. Listening to “Picked” is to witness a naive young soul lose her innocence with the clock ticking at half speed. Between the moments “you and me” turns into “our end scene,” they sing a series of bleak details outlining a crumbling relationship: “this is like a doll getting controlled/ in any way you wish/ you, becoming so selfish/ get bored/ and then I finally know,” they sing, and it spirals deeper from there. The end mirrors the beginning with them hoping for the morning to not come, but by then, we know too much to understand it as just a simple wish for the fun to continue.

*See also: “Kairo”; “Mi Se Te!”

4) The Dance for Philosophy: “Heuristic City”

The somber metropolitan R&B of “Heuristic City” sets an emotionally vivid sense of place, tying the song’s break-up tale specifically to the city. “It has the scent of a memory/ Our old meeting place,” Hinata Haru starts her verse, and the urban streets soon becomes haunted by the ghost of a past relationship. The deeper the song gets, it begins to carry more history, both through its retro musical roots and personal experience with every bit of the narrative’s landscape informed by a bittersweet memory. The break-up seems amicable, or at least that’s the lie they tell themselves — “a goodbye/ there’s sometimes a love where that’s not so bad/ ha, or maybe I’m fooling myself,” they sing in the chorus. “Heuristic City” feels unstuck in time in many ways with one foot in the past as they transition into an uncertain future.

*See also: “Free Your Festa”

5) Atarashii Gakkou No Leaders: “Koi Geba”

H ZETT M contributes a piece of risque drama that frankly skirts the line of idol-pop in terms of theme. “Koi Geba” is pinned by intense sexual tension, a drive H ZETT M feeds into through a more aggressive, more self-indulgent take of his jagged jazz-rock. The narrator dances around the feeling, sometimes her choice in figurative language reading more taboo than it should: your mileage may vary on the student-teacher metaphor, made more literal through the very fact it’s sung by a teen idol group cosplaying as high-school students. However, the flowery, poetic euphemisms — “love is a storm in spring/ the rain wets the asphalt/ a red flower blooms” — and the overall adult tone presents a unique voice not so often found in other idol records.

*See also: “Mayoeba Toutoshi”

6) Angerme: “Yume Mita Fifteen”

Despite it being full of references to the star’s own past — the title alone nods to the group’s debut single — the graduation single of Angerme’s last original member prefers to ponder about her life after her departure. Her accomplishments won’t be forgotten, but the song also acknowledges that nostalgia can only hold one back from moving forward. Angerme may have been a big part of her life, but it won’t be her entire identity, “Yume Mita Fifteen” seems to remind; what she will achieve after graduation will be even better than what she did as an idol. A send-off message like that coming from a legacy institution such as Hello! Project resonates with a sense of deep, genuine support for its flagship stars.

*See also: “Zenzen Okigararenai Sunday”

7) Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku: “Donten”

It doesn’t take long to realize the teenage innocence that informed Ebi Chu’s previous records is no longer present in “Donten,” or “Overcast.” Even before it gets washed over by the heavy reverb of its downtrodden guitar riff, the song introduces an emotionally ambivalent scene reserved more for romance between young adults: “During dusk/ We hold each other on the sofa/ If we turn off the lights/ the window pane/ cuts a piece of the gloomy world.”

Throughout “Donten,” the idols’ voices individually take on a different personality than usual as they sing about a situation that they haven’t previously explored. Youngest and most pumped-up member Riko Nakayama sounds surprisingly stately; the wholesome purity of Kaho Kobayashi feels a bit tainted when she sings the chorus. Even the music written by Kayoko Yoshizawa is a lot more grounded in a bleak state of reality than any of her pieces of storybook pop. “Donten” is a story of innocence lost told in the language of young adults, one who marks closeness through shared interests more than shared experience. Awkward, maybe, but it’s the perfect in-transition moment for Ebi Chu.

*See also: “Anata No Dance De Sawagashii”

8) Lyrical School: “Tokyo Burning”

Anticipation slowly builds in “Tokyo Burning.” The music video finds the rapper-idols of Lyrical School hailing a cab late at night to meet up with the one they adore. The glowing beat provides the quiet intimacy of looking out from the backseat window and daydreaming about all the things they’d like to do once they get there. “This sleepless night/ the two of us/ a love so hot/ hold me again ’til it burns,” they rap under a hushed breath. They speak about their bashful yet passionate crush like a lovely secret, and holding it tightly makes the journey as precious of an event as actually reaching the destination.

*See also: “Last Dance”

9) Hinatazaka46: “Kyun”

Kyun, kyun, kyun, doshite is a question I want to ask this group for making me return to their innocent debut single more than any other idol release this year. What they lack in depth — they don’t offer much more than the title and the aforementioned titular hook repeated ad nauseum — they make up in pure sincerity. Hinatazaka appeal their shyness as an irresistibly sweet personality, and their inhibition gives way to cute scenes of a girl too emotionally flustered to get a little closer. “To like/ is a reflex,” they sigh about how they didn’t necessarily choose to have this crush, but they’re delighted how things turned out anyway. That’s more or less how I feel about this group too.

*See also: “Konnani Suki Ni Natchatte Iino?”

10) Burst Girl: “Nancy”

A few direct references to the relationship of Sid Vicious and the titular Nancy Spungen make their way into the song — “stabbing in the knife of love” —but “Nancy” is driven entirely by Burst Girl and their signature ramshackle charm. The street-tough/pop-sweet mix of simple punk-rock chords and girl-group harmonies provide the perfect music for their messy-as-fuck yet sincerely devotional love. It’s the brand of love where “fuck you” expresses a snappy anger as much as it does a love and affection; where they sing about “kill for love” in the most literal sense.

*See also: “Cho Kakumei”; “Gishiki”

11) “Salem”

Necronomidol

Necronomidol’s fantastic 2019 EP kicks off with this six-and-a-half-minute metal epic that highlights the chops and imagination behind the musical hand driving the group’s songs. Of course, “Salem” wouldn’t be complete without the idols, all engrossed in the song’s underworld romanticism.

*See also: “Children of the Night”

12) “69”

Migma Shelter

Migma Shelter embrace the chaos raging from the thrash-metal loop — a more aggressive take on their stoned-out “psychedelic trance.” “I’m just trying it out/ Consume it to the bone/ I want to mess it all up,” the idols scream, absorbed in the wild sound as they break through the monotony.

*See also: “Names”; “Parade’s End”; “Tokyo Square”

13) “Nippon No DNA!”

BEYOOOOONDS

From that obnoxious ranting intro to the second verse — an abrupt shift from pop song into a rooftop confession skit — the new Hello! group dares to be audacious for their first single, but they focus on fun and humor at all times while joking about the Smartphone-obsessed society of today.

*See also: “Megane No Otokonoko”; “Atsui!”

14) “My Treasure”

M!LK

A huge pop-punk riff launches an even bigger chorus about a love that’s warm as the shining sun. The boys charmingly head-bang to the riff, try out a little hip-hop, shout out from the top of the mountain, and ultimately thanks you for your smile — it’s everything you can possibly ask for in a boy-band hit.

*See also: “Kasukani, Kimi Datta”

15) “Potsurito”

Juice=Juice

Juice=Juice’s intense sensitivity gives way to some over-the-top moments in response to, say, a crush being friendly to someone else other than them, but their overly dramatic rendition of harboring obsessive feelings of first love is what precisely makes this stand out against the equally pensive music.

16) “Yami Iro No Asa”

Maison Book Girl

A mysterious darkness threatens to ruin a tranquil atmosphere accompanied by close-mic’ed guitar-plucking and sounds of nature. Like any MBG track, the threat remains ambiguous, only understood through series of evocative of imagery, but what’s clear is that they ultimately seem to be at peace.

*See also: “Kujira Koujou”

17) “Nobody”

Keyakizaka46

The horn section adds theatrical color to Keyakizaka’s woe-is-me melodrama, changing the tone in which the group go about their self-loathing. They still sound fatalistic about being unlovable, but they turn their fate into a big, sick joke for our bemusement, and they seem to have fun doing it themselves.

*See also: “Kuroi Hitsuji”

18) “Moonlight Tokyo”

Kai

For her first solo track, Kai delivers an homage to ‘80s idol singles. She figures big, shiny keyboards is a must, but more importantly, she nails the wistful melancholy hidden underneath the glamor. “This city doesn’t know a thing,” she sighs while hopelessly daydreaming about her city crush.

*See also: “Himitsu No Tobira”

19) “Pierce”

EMPiRE

The real-life context of Yuka EMPiRE’s imminent departure from the group deeply informs the song. A WACK signature move, the bombastic strings play up the the funereal mood. The chorus is even more intensely strained as each of the six shout about moving on to their own separate ways.

*See also: “Success Story”

20) “Watashidatte Idol!”

Rino Sashihara

AKB48’s top star ensures she’s remembered just how she wants in her graduation single. She looks back at both the highs and the lows — the former literally centering her as the focal point of the group’s hit success and the latter brushed off with a laugh like it didn’t leave a scratch on her legacy.

*See also: “Monika, Yoakeda”

21) Passcode: “Projection”

It’s not hard to see where the director for the music video of “Projection” was going: visuals of virtual reality meshes well with the boot-up synths wiring Passcode’s digital metalcore. But like the group’s other hits, “Projection” thrive when the idols channel the earnestness of metal more than the shininess of electronic pop. While the song’s core desire to break free from a painful reality is another easy link to VR, it’s also simply a vital emotional core of Passcode’s music that transcends the surface gloss of new technology.

22) Sakuraebis: “Nee, Loafer”
A bittersweet slow-number about a classic high-school romance: the girl shyly yet desperately tries to catch the attention of her boy to no avail.

23) Yufu Terashima: “Last Cinderella”
Yufu Terashima invites you to enjoy some late-night funk together, escape with her into the night, and maybe share a unseen side of her in the process.

24) ZOC: “Chu Pre”
A meta-idol song? ZOC at least shows off a lot about meticulous self-maintenance while aggressively pining for your attention.

25) Sora Tob Sakana: “Knock! Knock!”
Sora Tob Sakana departs from their tightly defined sound — a jagged math-rock embellished with glittering synths—but still brings the same wonder and fascination that made their past singles so magical.

26) CY8ER: “Spotlight Theory”
CY8ER greet the beautiful “now” — a precious moment summed up by the sound of ebullient synths and an epic future-bass drop.

27) Yukueshirezu Tsure Zure: “Odd Eye”
The metalcore idols continue to experiment in style and structure, incorporating hip-hop-influenced twists to their brutal breakdowns.

28) Zenbu Kimi No Seida: “Romancesect”
Zenbu Kimi No Seida consistently dropped quality pop-metal this year, but the taunting cadence in the verses as well as the winding chorus put this a hair above the rest.

29) Gang Parade: “Last”
Sweeping strings once again express glory as much as the tides of misfortunes crashing against Gang Parade, but the nine gives a familiar music new life as they continue to rise to the challenge.

30) Koutei Camera Girl Drei: “Changes”

Koutei Camera Girl Drei’s music has been a thrilling push and pull between rap and electronic music. “Changes” catches the idols in full hip-hop mode, meditating upon their very reasons for crafting music and performing over an equally moody boom-bap loop. For a group who had a graduation due to creative differences, this may be the most honest look into KouteCa Drei as a creative unit and how their freewheeling genre explorations might not be without compromise.

31) Flower: “Kurenai No Dress”
The E-girls subunit take a stylistic detour, switching from their usual R&B to a regally arranged ballad, and they hint at an exciting alternate direction full of emotional drama.

32) Super Dragon: “Don’t Let Me Down”
The Stardust boy group went down diverse avenues in search of new identities, and the edgy future-bass pop was their most thrilling venture yet.

33) Mellow Mellow: “Dear My Star”
The retro-funk unit sharpen their beats as well as delivery to rewrite their image as a stylish hip-hop dance trio.

34) Tsubaki Factory: “Sankaime No Date Shinwa”

At this point, Tsubaki Factory have a complete handle on their unique voice that’s obnoxiously dramatic yet slightly self-aware of their ridiculousness. To remind, they previously delivered a hyperbolic thought about all-consuming self-obsession such as “I’d like to shower twice before I go out on a date” with full commitment to the bit. The idea of “the myth of the third date” and this supposed deadline when a couple has to make it official is a rich, if a little silly idea. As if that wasn’t entertaining enough, the group take it even further by drawing the most out of the impatience and self-induced anxiety that comes with trying to read the other’s feelings.

35) E-girls: “Cinderella Fit”
A touching lyric such as “it’s funny, when I’m with you, it feels like I’m born anew” is too good to accompany a chorus of a bubbly summer jingle (to promote Mister Donuts’ tapioca tea, no less).

36) Yanakoto Sotto Mute: “Cry Out”
The trio goes lighter with their emo rock, more softer around the edges as well as more swift in feel, but produces a screamer that’s just as moving as their heavier cuts.

37) Morning Musume ’19: “Seishun Night”
Morning Musume go out and dance to retro-funk to live the best night — because it’s not worth sulking at home thinking about what-ifs.

38) NMB48: “Yakebokkui”
Theatrical pop made for such an “only in the movies” dilemma: a friend introduces you to her great new boyfriend only for him to turn out to be your ex.

39) Ototoy Friday: “Spring Fever”

The end of the world begins with not a scream but a shrug in “Spring Fever.” “Is it true a missile was fired?/ According to the news, it happened Sunday,” Ototoy Friday sings, and the duo narrate the course of the bomb overhead throughout the song like it’s just another mundane online article. Their bigger concern is the lack of time they seemed to now have to run into a memorable romance. But that worry, too, drifts off with calm in this laziest of Lazy Sunday soft-pop.

40) Negicco: “I Love Your Love”
Negicco go full-on disco, singing about a precious love over a glossy funk loop that can groove all night long.

41) Rukatama A Go Go: “Runaway Girl”
The Melon Batake member revels in woe-is-me misery, singing hard-rock melodrama about being left for dead by both her lover and family.

42) Kaede: “Kaede No Enkyori Renai”

“Kaede No Enkyori Renai,” or “Kaede’s Long-Distance Romance,” plays with a classic feel through its homely folk-rock sound but also the well-worn thematic trope of the changing seasons. The Negicco member patiently looks forward for the winter to turn into spring so she can reunite with her lover once again— a timeless yearning found in countless J-pop singles from a not-so-distant past— and her brief, charming phone-call interlude is just the cherry on top.

43) Gunjo No Sekai: “Nonstop”
More than the awe-inspiring synths, what lights up brightest is Gunjo No Sekai’s sense of ambition, which the new group sings about like they’ve been here for years.

44) CYNHN: “Wire”
A banging metal riff and an arena-rock chant provide a powerful finish to CYNHN’s singles campaign.

45) Emiri Kanou: “Just a Feeling”
The solo idol boots up her signature drum-machine disco to get a little closer to the one she set her eyes on.

46) Carry Loose: “Carry Loose”

Carry Loose is a second chance for some of the members with its initial beginning as a new trio consisting of former BiS idols Pan Luna Leafy and Yuina EMPiRE as well as former Idol Renaissance member Yumeka Naukana. Their debut track bears a familiar feel of a WACK release with its amateurish punk sound and an urgency to make the best out of their life in the present. While they are down for the cause as if it’s their first go, what separates them from their peers is that they also sound less afraid to fail, risking it all with the knowledge that the end of something isn’t always so bad.

47) RAY: “Butterfly Effect”
The new trio embrace the mesmerizing bliss of shoegaze and tap into the rock subgenre’s potential as an fine outlet to express blooming love.

48) Blacknazarene: “Obsidian”
Blacknazarene own up to their weakness to the tune of equally sensitive yet nevertheless rugged emo rock.

49) Toricago: “Kuchibashi”
The group channels the fury of the dagger-like guitars toward their desire to rebel and break free from their inhibitions.

50) Kamiyado: “Zenshin Zenrei Rhapsody”
Kamiyado ditch their usual cutesy synth set-up for guitars to get serious. The one-time rental of punk-rock realness isn’t just for show, though, as the five-piece shout out loud in earnest about climbing to the top.