A ballad song about unrequited love
There are many different styles of unrequited love songs, but I’ve put together a selection of “ballad-style unrequited love songs” that I especially recommend to those who love gentle, heartfelt romance tracks.
Some are about love that will never come true, and others are lingering-love songs about still having feelings after a breakup.
Every song hits you right in the heart, so please give them a listen.
Ballad-style unrequited love songs are also perfect for when you just want to cry.
I hope you find one song on this list that stays close to your feelings.
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Ballad songs about unrequited love (11–20)
A world without youto shiki

This is a work by Toshiki, a singer-songwriter from Hyogo Prefecture, singing about overflowing feelings for someone precious who has disappeared from right before your eyes.
Released in August 2022, the song spread on social media after a post sparked buzz as a “heart-wrenchingly divine track,” inspiring over 4,000 fan-made videos.
It depicts the painful realization, only after losing them, that the ordinary days spent with someone you can no longer meet were the true happiness.
Perhaps everyone has experienced the torment of secretly holding on to love—still being in love even after a breakup.
A masterful ballad sung from a male perspective that gently embraces such sentimental feelings.
Please take your time and listen closely to his warm yet heartrending voice.
I only know your profileHanbaato Hanbaato

Set to an acoustic timbre, this unadorned, steadily woven lyric seeps into the heart—a one-sided love song.
Just watching the person you like from afar, knowing only a small part of them… That frustrating, bittersweet sense of distance is delicately portrayed through warm male–female twin vocals.
There are no grand words, yet the protagonist’s awkward feelings come through, and many listeners may find themselves overlaying their own experiences onto it.
This track is included on the folk duo Humbert Humbert’s 15th anniversary album “FOLK,” released in June 2016.
If you listen while harboring a love you can’t bring yourself to declare, you may feel the gentle melody and voices quietly stay by your side.
Me too,YUTORI-SEDAI

A ballad that poignantly portrays an unrequited love, set to the aching timbre of a piano.
Upon learning that their crush is dating a close friend, the protagonist carefully weaves their feelings as they have no choice but to give up while keeping their emotions hidden.
The more they think about the person they love, the more the pain intensifies—an experience many share as a bittersweet memory that lingers in the heart.
Included on YUTORI-SEDAI’s major first EP “blanket,” released in April 2025, this song was also chosen as the ending theme for MBS’s Drama Tokku series “I’m Being Toyed With by a Younger Virgin.” It’s a track that gently accompanies the hearts of those in one-sided love, where simply thinking of someone makes your chest tighten.
two peopleaiko

This is a song by aiko that captures the hazy, conflicted feelings in love.
The poignant lyrics contrast strikingly with the up-tempo melody.
It portrays a strong attraction to the other person while also expressing anxiety about falling too deep and a sense of self-protection, brilliantly conveying the complexity of romance.
Released in March 2008, it reached No.
3 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
Six years later, in 2014, it was used in a Hoyu commercial, drawing renewed attention.
It’s a recommended track for those struggling with love or having trouble sorting out their feelings.
DiNAYuuri

This song by Yuuri vividly portrays how everyday memories with a lover become etched into the heart like genes.
Its delicate depictions resonate deeply with anyone who lives carrying both the bittersweetness and the joy of love.
Released in January 2025, the track drew attention after its performance on THE FIRST TAKE.
Singing of memories of love and the resolve to take a new step forward, this work is a must-listen for those who feel both loneliness and happiness whenever they think of someone dear.
habit of laughingIgarashi Haru

A song that portrays the ache of a love too deep to forget, even as time passes.
In this track, Haru Igarashi delicately captures the frustration of how trivial everyday moments turn into special memories, and the poignancy of nights spent with those memories when you can’t move on.
Even the way the other person laughed and their gestures remain vividly etched in the mind, and the feeling is so intense that you find yourself praying to God, “Please let me forget everything.” Released in March 2025, this work will gently accompany those whose hearts are filled with memories they can’t forget, no matter how hard they try, and those who are still unable to accept parting from someone dear.
A ballad song about unrequited love (21–30)
dear personShio Reira

This song focuses on the different readings of the kanji for “love,” portraying the misalignments in how love is expressed and received.
Released in August 2024 as the lead track of the 1st EP “No one,” it also drew attention for being featured as background music on ABEMA’s dating show “He and the Little Wolf-chan Won’t Deceive You.” If you’ve ever struggled with the weight of the word “love” or felt unsure about how to interpret someone’s feelings, you’ll find it impossible not to relate.
You can really feel the kindness of someone trying to accept their partner’s clumsy way of showing love.


