Yami songs recommended for college students: melancholic tracks to listen to when you're feeling down

to liveMizuno Atsu

Live (feat. KAFU) – Atsu Mizuno

This is a song that gently stays close to a delicate heart that feels weighed down even by the smallest moments of everyday life.

Released in July 2021 as a collaboration between Atsu Mizuno and the Vocaloid Kafu, it has reached 10 million views on YouTube.

The conflicting emotions—wanting distance from school or relationships, blaming oneself, yet still wishing to keep living somewhere deep inside—are carefully portrayed within a simple, piano-centered soundscape.

Listen to it on nights when tomorrow feels frightening, or in moments when you feel no one will understand you.

Just being alive is admirable.ReoNa

ReoNa “Just Being Alive Is Wonderful” - Lyric Video -

When your heart feels heavy and you can’t move, there’s a song that gently stays by your side.

Included on ReoNa’s fifth single “Nai Nai,” released in May 2021, this piece—written and composed by Toa Kasamura—is a track that resonates deeply.

Carried by the sound of the piano, ReoNa’s whispery vocals speak as if softly reading a diary aloud, giving voice to your innermost thoughts.

Rather than forcing encouragement, the lyrics simply offer the warmth of being there, making it a song you’ll want to hear when you’re worn out from trying too hard.

The choral parts, inspired by hymns, envelop you and quietly convey a blessing for living through today.

It’s a song I especially recommend to anyone getting by while holding on to painful feelings.

seems like (just) my imaginationmaji musume

majiko – Kokoronashi [LIVE]

This is a song I want to listen to when I’m tired of everything.

When you can’t trust anyone and you’re having a hard time, hearing it will make your heart feel a little lighter.

Majiko’s cry-like vocals really pierce the heart…

Many singers have covered it, and it’s a highly acclaimed track.

It’s not that I want to die.Asanomachi

It’s Not That I Want to Die / KAFU

A song whose fleeting, translucent vocals almost bring you to tears.

Its lyrics—like the soft words that slip out in the stillness before sleep—gently embrace a lonely heart.

Asanomachii’s delicate production and KAFU’s crystal-clear voice blend beautifully, creating a work that deeply moves its listeners.

Released in August 2024 and included on the album “Yoi no Machi,” this track quietly stays close to those who feel life is hard or who struggle to find where they belong, and to those whose hearts are worn out by modern society.

It’s a song to lean on when you don’t want to force yourself to look ahead, but instead wish to face your feelings just as they are.

Eine KleineYonezu Kenshi

Kenshi Yonezu – Eine Kleine

This song portrays, in a very real way, the feelings of a girl who has lost confidence in herself.

It sings about emotions everyone has felt during adolescence, so there are probably many parts you can relate to.

A highlight is the moment at the end of the music video when she shows a slightly brighter expression.

RainywaySUPER BUTTER DOG

SUPER BUTTER DOG – Rainyway

When it comes to representatives of Japanese funk, it’s no exaggeration to name them—and this is their signature “dark” song.

Its strikingly poignant lyrics are sung over a rock-tinged sound you don’t hear much in their other tracks.

Things we stop thinking about as we become adults, things you can only feel with raw sensitivity when you’re young… It’s as if the song speaks on our behalf.

just a friendsalyu × salyu

salyu × salyu / Just Friends from “s(o)un(d)beams+”

The solo project salyu × salyu, launched in 2011.

In this track, the sounds layer with pitch-perfect precision, almost like sampled vocals, creating an indescribably uncanny yet comforting feeling.

Listen closely.

Who, after all, is the “you” that appears in the lyrics?