Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe - What's Happenin' - artwork-440x440

Published on March 1st, 2025 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

Turning to J-Pop with Psychic Fever While BTS is on Hiatus

It’s now approaching 3 years since BTS originally announced their hiatus, so if you’re feeling the void they left in the K-pop scene, you’re not alone. As it stands, this Korean boy band doesn’t have a date set for their return but is expected to do so sometime in late 2025.

In the meantime, it may be time to set your sights, or hearing, on something new. If you agree with us, then we’re happy to introduce you to your possible next favorite group, this time coming from Japan – Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe.

Asia’s Global Pop Culture Influence

In recent years, you may have noted how Asian pop culture has been on a major global rise. This can be attributed to the lack of geographical borders found in the digital space, allowing easy access to everything from anime and manga to music and fashion. And these trends have even impacted seemingly unrelated industries, with a great example coming from the world of online casinos.

Nowadays, if you scroll through the available online slot games, you’ll find plenty of options that follow Asian-inspired themes like Lucky Rabbit Fortunes and Floating Dragons. Even the musical aspects match it accordingly, showcasing that there is plenty of space for the colorful and energetic vibes found in Asian, or, to be more specific, K-pop music.

The popularity that has seeped into such sectors and various countries is very much thanks to famous K-pop groups like BTS, EXO, and BLACKPINK. And while the whole world has seemingly collectively jumped on the K-pop bandwagon, some people are only now discovering its cousin – J-pop. This is a fun sort of plot twist, as originally, K-pop was heavily influenced by J-pop until it deviated in the early 2000s.

Similarly to K-pop, Korean popular music, J-pop is an abbreviation that means Japanese popular music. However, where K-pop chiefly focuses on idol groups, J-pop tends to go beyond that and centers more on non-idol groups. Plus, J-pop acts more as an umbrella term, with a myriad of musical genres under it that typically have a less “refined” quality to them than K-pop.

Reasons to Listen to Psychic Fever

As the ARMY is already aware of, the reason behind BTS’ hiatus is due to the mandatory military service in South Korea. But while they’re away, Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe can fill the BTS-sized hole in your life. While they may not have released an album that replicates the popularity of Take Two yet, you’ll find their vibes quite similar.

If you haven’t heard of Psychic Fever, well, this would be quite surprising if you’re a heavy social media user. After all, one of their songs, Just Like Dat, has gone viral on TikTok back in 2024. This has led it to top various international charts, which is somewhat surprising as J-pop tends to stay popular in Japan or is only known about by various niche groups globally.

What differentiates them is the diversity of not only their music but also their group members. While most of them are Japanese, two of their members are mixed. Here, we have Jimmy, who is Japanese-Nigerian, and Weesa, of South Korean and Moroccan descent. As they say, music is a universal language that everyone speaks, and this diverse group acts as a great role model for the otherwise mainly homogenous industry. They reflect that regardless of where you’re from, you can still succeed as a group.

Apart from their viral hit, they have plenty of other unique songs with fun dance beats and catchy lines that will linger with you, even if you don’t speak Japanese. One such song is Love Fire, which features a softer background tune, and Temperature, from the same album as Just Like Dat, which has heavier beats.

Final Thoughts

Psychic Fever may be a relatively newer group, but it offers a fresh sound and has managed to bring J-pop to global audiences. So, it’s time for you to open up your favorite music app and start streaming their songs. And if you haven’t hopped on the J-pop already, then prepare your ticket – you’ll definitely enjoy the ride.

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Tags: BTS, Psychic Fever

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.