[Tear-Jerking] Classic and Recommended Love Ballads

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The rock band Shytone, which rose to prominence after a viral hit on social media, released a signature track in April 2023 that sings of a man’s searing emotions after a breakup.

Unable to accept parting from someone he loved deeply, he longs for an impossible reunion; the loneliness of his lover’s traces fading from everyday life is expressed through vocalist So Sasaki’s superb word choices—so moving you might be brought to tears.

The song is also known for surpassing 100 million total streams in November 2023 and is included on the album “Hors d’œuvre.” Why not entrust your heart to its somehow comforting melody that stirs up those bittersweet feelings?

Don’t disappear.Aina ji Endo

AiNA THE END (BiSH) / Don't Disappear [OFFiCiAL ViDEO]

A ballad that begins with quiet piano notes and unfolds into a grand sound as emotions overflow.

This work marks the origin of Aina The End’s solo career.

She wrote both the lyrics and music, pouring in the earnest feelings she held at eighteen—the desperate wish not to lose someone precious.

The sense of loss—like a world drained of color without you—comes through painfully through her one-of-a-kind husky voice.

On nights when inescapable loneliness strikes, this singing will be there to help you.

Love ForeverKatō Miriya × Shimizu Shōta

Miliyah Kato × Shota Shimizu “Love Forever”

The golden duo representing the J-POP scene, Miliyah Kato and Shota Shimizu, have an unmissable duet song.

While celebrating the joy of meeting, its lyrics occasionally hint at an inevitable end, making it achingly bittersweet and tightening your chest.

Told from both of their perspectives, it’s a track that powerfully conveys gratitude toward the person who saved them from lonely days.

Released in May 2009 as a single by Miliyah Kato and included on the classic album “Ring,” the song became hugely popular, with its music video winning an award at MTV VMAJ 2010.

The section in the latter half where their harmonies intertwine is a must-hear.

It’s a masterpiece perfect for nights when you want to bask in the beautiful memories and bittersweetness of love.

It feels like I’m in love.Yuika

It’s like I’m in love / “Yuika” [MV]

Woven with delicate words that capture a sweet, bittersweet longing, this ballad seeps into the heart with its beautiful piano melodies and crystalline vocals.

Yuika’s true-to-life emotional expression beautifully conveys both the ache and the joy of unrequited love, resonating with anyone in love.

Released in February 2024 and featured as an insert song on ABEMA’s romance reality show “Koisuru ♥ Shuumatsu Homestay 2024 Winter,” the track drew attention as her first major-label release.

It’s a quintessential love song that gently embraces the flutter and anxiety of falling in love, and the happiness of becoming mutual.

This is a song you’ll want to listen to when you want to cherish your feelings of love or nurture your affection for someone special.

Love is…Kato Miria

MILIYAH Kato “Love is…”

The grand ballad inspired by the classical masterpiece Canon delivers a straightforward message—no matter what happens, we’ll stay together—that truly resonates.

Even when loneliness and anxiety make it hard to see ahead, there is someone who will never give up on you and keep supporting you.

It sings of the strength and preciousness of such love and bonds.

Released in June 2007 as Miliyah Kato’s tenth single, the song also served as the ending theme for the anime Toward the Terra.

Its inclusion in the best-of album M BEST II shows how it has continued to be loved over time.

A pledge of eternal love, this work is the ultimate love song—one that makes you want to stay with the person you cherish forever.

YOU… feat. Izumi Nakasone (HY)Kato Miria

Miliyah Kato “YOU… feat. Izumi Nakasone (HY)”

Speaking of collaborations between powerhouse female singers, we can’t forget this song by Miliyah Kato and Izumi Nakasone of HY.

Based on real unrequited-love stories sent in by radio listeners, the two artists co-created this gem of a ballad.

Released in September 2014 as their 30th single, it was also included on the milestone 10th-anniversary album “MUSE.” The frustration of not being able to put your feelings into words, and the emotional wavering as you move toward confessing your love, come through poignantly in the harmony between Kato’s delicate vocals and Nakasone’s warm voice.

Chosen as the theme song for a radio drama, this track just might gently give you the push you need if you’re struggling with a one-sided love.

I want to be loved.Oku Hanako

I want to be loved.

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.