[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.
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- A poignant ballad song. A tear-jerking masterpiece of Japanese pop music.
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [Tear-Jerking] Classic and Recommended Love Ballads
- [Touching the Heart] Timeless Ballad Masterpieces. A Collection of Unfading Classics and the Latest Songs [2026]
- Recommended ballads for men: classic songs about love, encouragement, and youth.
- Songs to give to your lover or someone you like. Love songs devoted wholeheartedly to your boyfriend or girlfriend.
- [Karaoke] Classic and Popular Ballad Songs You’ll Want to Sing at Karaoke
- Today's recommended ballads: A carefully curated selection of heartwarming, gem-like masterpieces!
- Heal your heart with love ballads: A collection of pure love and heartbreak songs.
- Classic and popular karaoke songs to sing when you’re feeling lonely
- Tear-jerking songs that will loosen your tear ducts, perfect for Instagram Stories
- [Tear-Jerking Breakup Songs] A curated selection of love songs that gently comfort a wounded heart!
[For when you want to cry] A ballad love song. Heart-wrenching romance songs (41–50)
crescent moonayaka
“Mikazuki” was released in 2006 as Ayaka’s fourth single.
Centered on the theme of a long-distance relationship, it was Ayaka’s first love ballad.
The “crescent moon” referenced in the title also serves as a metaphor for the shape of a mobile phone, evoking the feeling of being connected even when apart.
[When You Want to Cry] Ballad Love Songs. Heart-wrenching Love Songs (51–60)
not enoughwacci
This is a heartbreak song overflowing with poignancy, capturing the emotional turmoil of trying to sever lingering feelings for an ex.
Featured on wacci’s 2019 album Empathy, the track stands out for its lyrics written from a woman’s perspective.
Though she still has feelings, the protagonist’s struggle to choose a clean break in order to move forward is deeply affecting.
Positioned as a side story to “Betsu no Hito no Kanojo ni Natta yo,” a one-take recording was also released in 2020.
It’s a must-listen for anyone who’s gone from mutual love to one-sided, or who wants to move on but can’t quite bring themselves to do it.
Love SongKōda Kumi
Ai no Uta, Kumi Koda’s 37th single released in 2007, is a ballad that resonates with many listeners.
She even authored a diet book, conveying the appeal of her aggressively forward‑living style.
It’s one of her signature songs—a ballad that straightforwardly portrays romantic feelings from a woman’s perspective.
It was also used in a music.jp commercial and is very popular.
forget me notOzaki Yutaka
Forget Me Not is a song Yutaka Ozaki recorded at the end of his teens.
The meaning of “forget-me-not” is “don’t forget me.” It’s said that for the recording of this song alone, Ozaki wore a suit and tie to sing.
The song portrays the anxiety and restlessness that arise precisely from happiness, and because of that, it conveys a powerful sense of deep love that says, “I won’t leave you.” It is one of the classics covered by many musicians, including Noriyuki Makihara.
The summer you gave meieiri reo
The theme song for the drama “Koinaka,” starring Sota Fukushi, Tsubasa Honda, and Shuhei Nomura.
Since the drama aired in summer, the song was created around the theme of a bittersweet summer romance.
The days of that summer you gave me, and the feelings I had for you, felt like a miracle.
Lyrics like “I’ll hide these overflowing, unrequited feelings” are achingly poignant.
The heartbreakingly tender lyrics—and vocals—pierce straight through, leaving a very different impression from Leo Ieiri’s debut song “Sabrina.”
I LOVE YOUkurisu haato
Now, it’s no exaggeration to call him an “evangelist of love songs and love ballads”: Chris Hart’s first original song, released in 2014.
His voice is endlessly sweet, gentle, heartrending, and transparent—and yet it conveys the full “power” of words and melody to the listener.
His singing, which uses mixed voice to great effect, elevates this superb ballad to the realm of art.
The exquisitely beautiful high-tone falsetto is another highlight! Even as a classic, straight-down-the-middle ballad, it’s a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that will never be buried by eras or trends.
Voice of the Seaurashima tarō (kiritani kenta)
This is an original song created for the au feature phone commercial “Voice of the Sea” in the Santaro series, in which Kenta Kiritani, playing Urashima Taro, sings within the ad.
Urashima Taro sings about his feelings for Otohime.
As he gently speaks of his emotions, the occasional impassioned shouts that break through really pierce the heart.
It’s a tender, warm, and somehow wistful song that resonates deeply.