Ranking of Male J-Pop Singers’ Best-Lyric and Most Popular Songs [2026]

Robinsonsupittsu22rank/position

Spitz / Robinson

It was released by Spitz in 1995.

Most of Spitz’s songs are basically poppy and upbeat.

However, Robinson gave me a different impression, with its poignant main melody line, unlike their other signature tracks.

It makes you feel as if you’re reading a fantasy novel, floating softly somewhere in the universe.

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en

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Sakura (2019)Moriyama Naotaro23rank/position

Naotaro Moriyama – “Sakura (2019)” Music Video

This is the 2019 version of Naotaro Moriyama’s signature song “Sakura,” which is also well known as a graduation song.

Parting from the friends you’ve spent so much time with is truly lonely.

Believing you’ll meet again, you tuck the certain memories of your days together tightly into your heart and take your first steps forward.

It’s a masterpiece that portrays the changing of the seasons and the changes in people.

Even if we don’t know how many years it will be, it would be wonderful to laugh together again.

Be sure to listen to it while walking down a road lined with cherry blossoms like the one in the lyrics.

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KEI

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Precious LoveEXILE ATSUSHI24rank/position

EXILE ATSUSHI / Precious Love

A wedding ballad that straightforwardly expresses vows between loved ones, resonating deeply in the heart.

Written and composed by EXILE’s ATSUSHI and released in October 2014, it was featured in a commercial for the wedding magazine Zexy.

With a refined arrangement woven from a gently swaying rhythm, piano, and strings, the song delivers its words of promise with direct clarity.

It’s a perfect choice for those looking for end-roll BGM at wedding ceremonies or receptions.

Cherry blossom seasonEXILE ATSUSHI25rank/position

EXILE ATSUSHI / “Cherry Blossom Season” MV

An inspiring graduation song that accompanies the cherry blossom season.

EXILE ATSUSHI’s warm vocals gently embrace both the sorrow of parting and the hope of a new beginning.

Included on the December 2014 album “Love Ballade,” this piece was also selected as a required song for the NHK All-Japan School Music Competition.

Carried by a tender melody woven by piano and strings, it reflects on school-day memories, farewells with friends, and expectations for the future.

A heartwarming track that we hope those stepping into new surroundings with the arrival of spring will listen to.

End and Beginningkariyushi 5826rank/position

Kariyushi58 'The End Is the Beginning'

There’s a song that resonates with the question of how to live each day.

Released by Kariyushi58 in February 2010 as the B-side to the single Ame nochi Hare, the track became widely known after being selected as the theme song for Nippon TV’s The Legal Counseling Show with a Long Queue.

It later drew renewed attention as the theme song for the TV Tokyo drama The Three Old Geezers 3: Allies of Justice, Once Again!!, and it continues to be loved more than a decade after its release.

Set to a warm sound that blends Okinawan scales with rock, its unadorned lyrics sing of the value of everyday life and of living without regrets—an approach that holds listeners firmly.

It’s a song we especially recommend to those stepping forward at graduation or to anyone wanting to express gratitude to cherished friends.

Before the cherry blossoms bloomkinoko teikoku27rank/position

Kinoko Teikoku – Before the Cherry Blossoms Bloom

Kinoko Teikoku’s “Before the Cherry Blossoms Bloom” portrays leaving a familiar town to chase dreams and goals.

Released in 2015, the song is their debut single.

The lyrics depict someone who, though reluctant to part with the time spent with friends, expresses a resolve to leave this place for their own ambitions.

The words convey a strong determination and poignancy—as if saying they may never meet again—while a touch of playful phrasing still lets you feel the weight of their goal.

And the idea of leaving even before the cherry blossoms bloom gives it a cool edge, too!

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SAKI

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The Regent’s Downfallsadamasashi28rank/position

Kampaku Shikkaku – Masashi Sada

Masashi Sada’s classic song “Kanpaku Shikkaku” (“The Deposed Regent”) is the exact opposite of “Kanpaku Sengen.” It depicts the sad father who sits at the very bottom of the family caste.

It’s a very comical piece, and when he performs it, the audience is always laughing.

But it’s not just a funny song.

In the latter half, it sings of the father’s convictions as the family’s breadwinner and his love for his family, despite his low standing.

The lyrics are truly moving, so please listen all the way to the end.

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Ryo

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