[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 Love Songs (51–60)
Moon DropsRUI
Tsuki no Shizuku (Moon Drops) is a song featured in the film Yomigaeri, serving as both an in-film song and the main theme.
In the story, it’s performed by the singer RUI, played by Kou Shibasaki.
Lyrics by Satomi, composition by Ryoki Matsumoto, strings arrangement by Aoi Yuu.
It also drew attention when Hideaki Tokunaga covered it in 2007.
It’s a very heartrending love song about yearning to see a precious person, pledging eternal love even while knowing that wish cannot come true.
MissingKubota Toshinobu
While Toshinobu Kubota is hugely popular for his soulful, groovy tracks, “Missing” is a gently soothing ballad.
They say a good song never fades with time.
His vocal power, expressive range, and depth of tone are highly acclaimed—and a big part of his appeal.
Under a romantic night sky, looking up to the heavens, it makes you want to reflect on everything from the past to the future.
HOWEVERGLAY
Released in 1997 as GLAY’s 12th single, “HOWEVER” was used as the ending theme for the TBS drama ‘Ryakudatsuai: Abunai Onna’ and became GLAY’s first million-selling single.
Famous as one of GLAY’s signature songs, it’s a classic ballad that’s also a staple at weddings.
like; to like; fond ofNishino Kana
Kana Nishino, the queen of love songs.
She’s now an indispensable figure when it comes to talking about love songs.
In this track, the romance she sings about is the kind where you suddenly realize you’ve fallen for someone.
Haven’t you ever thought you didn’t feel anything special, only to notice—wait, maybe I like that person! You start paying a little extra attention to your hair when you’re going to see them, or time feels longer when you can’t meet… Ordinary days change with a fleeting shift in feelings.
This song captures the beginning of a pure, sweet-and-sour romance.
[For when you want to cry] Ballad love songs. Heartrending love songs (61–70)
Until the day I can no longer rememberback number
A poignant ballad by back number that quietly sings of lingering feelings and a sense of loss for a former lover.
Released in October 2011 as their third single, the song is also included on the album “Superstar,” which came out the same month.
The lyrics portray the emptiness of days that keep going even after losing the most important person in the world, and the deep bond in which the two formed halves of each other.
Fear of memories of the other fading intertwines with the resignation that they will eventually be forgotten, and the realization that the time spent with the person was part of oneself wells up with aching tenderness.
A song that offers comfort to anyone who has lost someone dear.
GraduationMy Hair is Bad
A track by My Hair is Bad that tells the story of two people sensing changes in their relationship amid the bustle of a station and the cityscape.
It was included on the EP “Jidai o Atsumete,” released in May 2016, and was produced as a kind of sequel to the previous song “Makka.” From the perspective of a timid, awkward young person, the song vividly portrays the growing distance between former lovers.
Its theme is a farewell as a rite of passage—putting a period on a relationship and moving on to the next stage.
Driven by a fast-paced 8-beat and dynamic arrangement, Tomomi Shiiki’s husky voice conveys the ebb and flow of emotion.
It’s a song that stays with you when you want to put an end to an ambiguous relationship with an ex and need the courage to face forward and start walking.
Romance and LoveSandaime Jē Sōru Burazāzu fromu Eguzairu Toraibu
A gem of a ballad by Sandaime J SOUL Brothers from EXILE TRIBE, told from a male perspective about the resolve to part ways.
Included on the album “FUTURE,” released in June 2018, the song was also used as the theme for Nippon TV’s “Sukkiri” and in commercials for the job site Baitoru NEXT.
It portrays the adult, heartrending choice of parting ways because of the difficulty in moving from infatuation to true love, and the feeling that one cannot make the other person happy.
Even though his feelings haven’t faded—in fact, precisely because he cares—he chooses to leave, and his emotions resonate deeply.
A beautiful piano- and strings-driven melody is layered with the heartfelt vocals of Ryuji Imaichi and Hiroomi Tosaka, moving listeners to tears.
It’s a piece that offers comfort to anyone who has experienced parting from someone dear.