[For when you want to cry] A ballad love song. A heartbreaking love song.
Here are some ballad songs we’d love you to listen to when you feel like crying.
We’ve gathered recommended tearjerkers and full-on sob songs, including popular love songs.
If you’re hurting from love, can’t forget an ex, or you’re feeling lonely and looking for songs to listen to, this is for you.
These are all ballads that will quietly stay by your side while you cry alone.
Find the one song that matches how you feel right now, and let yourself cry as much as you need.
Crying might help you sort out your feelings, or even give you the push you need to move forward.
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When You Want to Cry: Ballad Love Songs. Heart-wrenching Romance Songs (71–80)
hundreds of millions of light-yearsOmoinotake
This song was written as the theme for the drama “Eye Love You” starring Fumi Nikaido, and it’s performed by the piano rock band Omoinotake.
Its theme is steadfast love that never fades, no matter how far apart you are—even transcending time.
While the bright, exhilarating sound makes your heart dance, the lyrics portray a poignant longing for someone you may never meet again, and that contrast really hits home.
After its release in February 2024, the song captured so many hearts that it surpassed 100 million streams at the sixth-fastest pace in history.
When you can’t easily see someone important to you, this song is sure to gently stay by your side.
tear(s)Marushii
A love ballad that portrays the ache of heartbreak in stark contrast to the dazzling summer sun.
It’s a work released in August 2025 by the rock band Marcy, known for down-to-earth lyrics that resonate.
Memories of love told in the past tense and words detailing feelings that will never reach their destination shake the listener’s heart.
Skillful metaphors—like the pain of memories lingering as sensations in the body and a future that was never opened—reflect the protagonist’s earnest emotions and are sure to bring tears.
The song is slated to be included on their third original album, set for release in November 2025, which will also feature Aozora, the theme song for the film “Youth Gestalt Collapse.” It’s a track you’ll want to listen to quietly on nights when you want to immerse yourself in unforgettable memories of love.
I just wanted to be loved.shizuku
A piano ballad by shizuku that I want those who feel misunderstood in their loneliness or simply long to be loved to hear.
This song seems to portray a pure cry from the heart—a wish to be acknowledged with a “You did your best,” when you can’t find value in yourself.
The delicate piano melodies and the calm yet resilient voice of the musical voicebank KAFU gently speak the feelings that are hard to put into words.
Released in June 2024 and included on the mini-album “Honne,” the track reached 500,000 views on YouTube by September 2025.
Listen to it on nights when you’re tempted to blame yourself or when you need warm words, and the tension in your heart will gently loosen.
It’s a song that wraps your pain in a gentle embrace.
I want to be loved.Mioyamazaki
On nights when you’re overwhelmed by an inescapable loneliness and simply wish to be loved, the ballad by the rock band MIOYAMAZAKI is there to keep you company.
This song lays bare a desperate cry to have someone acknowledge the weaknesses hidden deep within your heart and your true, unadorned self, delivered through vocals that sound as if they’re carved from the soul.
Included as the final track on the masterful album “choice,” released in October 2017, it also drew attention for its music video featuring then-popular adult actress Kirara Asuka.
The visuals, portraying her inner conflict, deepen the song’s poignant worldview.
If anyone reading this feels their chest about to burst from unspoken anxieties, this track will surely wrap your heart in gentle warmth.
I want to be loved.Oku Hanako
A song that tenderly embraces the earnest wish to be loved.
Created by singer-songwriter Okuhanako, it appears on the album “vol.best,” released in April 2005 during her indie days.
The piece gives voice, over a quiet piano melody, to a piercing question: can we keep living by clinging to the memories of being loved, even when we feel hollowed out by loneliness? Her voice—praised as one that can move you to tears on sound alone—seems to gently scoop up feelings that words can’t express.
The song distills the power of her music, which speaks straight to the heart—this is the artist who once sold 488 CDs in a single day at a street performance.
On nights when you long to be loved deeply by someone, listening alone in silence may kindle a warm light in your heart.
MetronomeYonezu Kenshi
“Metronome,” a popular song by singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu.
Like two metronomes gradually falling out of sync, it portrays two hearts growing apart.
There may be more people than you’d expect who, despite a breakup, still carry lingering feelings and pain.
The song expresses the ache of heartbreak and the helpless emotions that follow, yet it holds on to the hope and wish that someday the two will be in sync again.
It’s a track that, when you listen to it alone in tears, somehow feels warm and comforting, as if it gently wraps around you.
a hair’s breadthUru
Uru, known for her translucent singing voice, created “Kami Hitoe” as the ending theme for the anime Hell’s Paradise.
The song expresses the pent-up feelings of a woman who longs to see the person she loves.
Uru’s exceptional expressiveness adds depth to the heartrending lyrics.
The melody is simple and piano-centered, which helps highlight her vocals.
Be sure to check it out together with the beautiful music video!
