Songs that Gen Z feel are 'emo'—tracks that stir their emotions.
Have you recently come across a song that felt “emoi” and truly moved you? Among Gen Z in particular, “emoi songs” are a major topic and are widely shared on social media.
Perhaps you’ve felt healed—or even moved to tears—by melodies that evoke nostalgia, bittersweetness, and an indescribable lingering afterglow.
In this piece, we’ll introduce a selection of highly popular tracks described as “emoi,” songs that deeply resonate with many listeners—especially Gen Z—and stir the emotions.
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Songs that Gen Z find 'emo'. Emotionally stirring tracks (11–20)
more than wordsHitsuji Bungaku
Hitsujibungaku captivates with their unique sound that blends inorganic coolness and warmth, along with poetic, delicate word choices.
Released in September 2023, this track was selected as the ending theme for Season 2 of the TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen, the Shibuya Incident arc, and has surpassed 100 million streams.
Incorporating a four-on-the-floor beat and programmed sounds for the first time, the piece is an ambitious work produced by Moeka Shiotsuka after a year of studying DTM (desktop music production).
The lyrics, which reflect on how to convey feelings that words alone can’t express and on how to navigate one’s own life, really resonate.
The transparent vocals meld into the expansive soundscape, making it a song you’ll want to savor on a quiet night.
cold; curt; blunt; unfriendlyRADWIMPS
A song that captures the frustration of an ambiguous relationship and the ache of unrequited feelings.
The delicate emotions that sway with the other person’s attitude and the uncertain distance where neither can read the other’s heart are carefully woven with the distinctive word choices of Yojiro Noda.
Although it’s a track from the 2018 album ANTI ANTI GENERATION, the music video featuring Nana Komatsu and Fuju Kamio also created a big buzz.
In August 2020, it was chosen as the theme song for the ABEMA show Who Is the Wolf?, once again resonating with many listeners.
Unfolding at a relaxed tempo, this piece is a gentle companion for nights troubled by love or quiet moments of contemplation.
unravelAdo
This track by Ado was released in November 2023 as part of her cover project album, “Ado no Utatte Mita Album.” The original song, crafted by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, is widely known as the opening theme for the anime Tokyo Ghoul.
With arrangement by Naoki Itai, it has been transformed into a rock number with a vast emotional range, fusing dramatic vocal expressions that shift from whispers to shouts with layered guitar sounds.
Reconstructing the original’s worldview—centered on identity and inner conflict—through Ado’s signature dynamism, this rendition is sure to encourage anyone who wishes to break out of their shell.
Love is litrokudenashi
This is a ballad that gently stays close to the hearts of those who feel lonely or anxious.
Performed by ROKUDENASHI, the music project fronted by Ninzin, it was released in February 2023 as a collaboration with Vocaloid producer MIMI.
The simple, piano-centered arrangement highlights Ninzin’s delicate vocals.
The lyrics, which evoke the warmth of someone’s presence lighting a candle in your heart, resonated with many listeners.
The song is also included on the album “Ai ni Saku Hana,” and it has gained strong support among younger audiences on social media, with over 27,500 videos posted on TikTok.
It might be a good one to listen to when times are tough and you need encouragement.
Q / tenjoōbachi
Queen Bee radiates a singular presence with their original worldview and visuals.
The title track of their 2017 album Q and the title track of their 2019 album Ten function as mirror images that reveal the band’s polar extremes.
The former is a song with bleak lyrics that evoke abuse, symbolizing the resolve to rise from it.
The latter is a magnificent, strings-centered ballad that depicts escaping an abusive home and, though worn down, striving to live—sad yet brimming with hope.
Performed back-to-back during their audience-free livestream in 2020, the two songs vividly highlighted contrasts—attack and defense, light and shadow.
While each stands independently as a single track, they are often performed as a pair live, and their lyrics are clearly connected; thus, I’ve chosen to present them here as a single work.
Memento moriŌmori Motoki
A song themed around life and death included on the EP “French,” released in February 2021 as a solo work by Motoki Ohmori of Mrs.
GREEN APPLE.
As its Latin title—meaning “remember death”—suggests, it contemplates the finiteness of life through motifs such as parting, departures, and memories, yet delivers a warm sense of affirmation rather than fear.
The piece was adapted into a picture book in September 2021, and further expanded beyond the realm of music with a stage adaptation as a reading play starring Mone Kamishiraishi set for December 2024.
With serene, lyrical soundscapes that seep into the heart, this ballad reflects on the farewells that will one day come and teaches the importance of living in the present.
Songs that Gen Z finds 'emo': emotionally stirring tracks (21–30)
SoranjiMrs. GREEN APPLE
Is there any other song that sings of the preciousness of life with such tenderness and strength? Released in November 2022 as Mrs.
GREEN APPLE’s first single in about three and a half years, this piece was written as the theme song for the film “From Siberia With Love,” starring Kazunari Ninomiya and Keiko Kitagawa.
In step with a story that upholds love for family against the harsh backdrop of a Siberian labor camp, the lyrics—like reciting by heart one’s feelings for a beloved—etch themselves into the soul.
Its grand arrangement featuring strings wraps unspoken everyday emotions and hope for tomorrow into a sweeping ballad.
It’s a song that gently stays by the side of anyone choosing to believe in the future, no matter how difficult the days may be.