Melancholic songs by girls' bands. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.
This is a playlist of bittersweet songs by girl bands.
Each track powerfully captures the unique feelings and emotions of girls in an emotive way.
Perhaps it’s a hallmark of girl bands, but although the songs are sad, they don’t feel heavy or gloomy—that’s what’s great about them.
It’s the perfect list for when you want to indulge in a touch of sentimentality.
- Ballad Masterpiece Selection Performed by Japanese Girls' Bands
- Girls' band youth songs: recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.
- Cute songs by girls’ bands [popular and classic tracks]
- A special feature on 1980s girl bands: trailblazing music and distinctive charm
- Cheer songs for girl bands: recommended masterpieces and popular tracks
- [J-Pop] Dark-themed songs by girl bands: haunting masterpieces that pierce the heart
- Masterpieces of poignant anime songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- Girls’ band summer tunes: Recommended summer songs you’ll want to hear in summer [2026]
- Popular female vocal band [2026]
- Recommended Japanese bands with female vocals
- Top Girl Bands and Popular Songs for School Cultural Festivals: Rankings [2026]
- Love songs by girl bands: recommended classics and popular hits
- From cute to cool: iconic and recommended songs from uniquely individual girl bands
A girls’ band’s heartrending songs. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (31–40)
Absolute relationshipakai kouen
Akai Koen’s 4th single, by a four-piece girls’ band.
Their bizarre, destructive band sound is sure to become addictive.
The fragile yet heartrending vocals elevate the songs even more, and will blow away invisible stress and the like.
Airfuyu no dōbutsuen
This is a track included on Fuyuno Doubutsuen’s first album, “THE ZOO IN WINTER.” You could truly call them a “cool and cute” band.
The three-part harmonies are excellent as well.
The bittersweet yet forward-looking lyrics slip right into your heart.
It has a sense of speed and feels great to listen to.
You, who fell in love with wordsUNFAIR RULE
Based in Okayama Prefecture, UNFAIR RULE captivates many fans with candid lyrics drawn from vocalist Tamaha Yamamoto’s real-life experiences and guitar rock infused with the energy of melodic punk.
The track introduced here is a song imbued with the protagonist’s strong resolve to see through to the other person’s true intentions—things that can’t be grasped from words alone.
If you recreate it as a band, centering on Tamaha Yamamoto’s expansive vocals, pairing guitars that shimmer like stardust in the night sky with drums that drive a brisk, propulsive beat will make the worldbuilding stand out even more.
Released as a digital single in April 2025, this work is also narratively connected to the earlier release “Zuru-i Yakusoku” (“Unfair Promise”).
It’s a perfect challenge piece for those who want to express a dramatic arc as a band at a school festival or live show.
I hope I can be your lover.Kaneyori Masaru
Kaneyori Masaru resonates with relatable, life-sized lyrics that capture everyday moments.
Featured on their mini album “To Us Who Won’t Live Yesterday,” released in January 2025, this is a track that straightforwardly sings of an unrequited love.
It also drew attention as the theme song for the film “Yoyogi Johnny’s Melancholy After School.” With a relatively simple structure, it’s an easy song for bands to tackle.
You can arrange the guitar mainly with chord strumming, keep a rolling nuance on the snare for the drums, and lock in tightly with the bass to convey the song’s bittersweet yet forward-looking world.
The bass phrase that stands out right before the chorus may be a bit tricky, but it’s a crucial lead-in to the hook, so be sure to practice it thoroughly!
Revolveryonige
A song that gently portrays the sorrow of love and the changes of the heart strikes a perfect balance between wistfulness and resignation.
It delicately depicts two people who were once close gradually growing apart, using everyday scenes like pro wrestling and ramen as a lens.
Chosen as a theme for au’s Santaro commercial series and later included on the 2018 album HOUSE, the track is further brought to life in its music video, which features actor Ryuya Wakaba and conveys a cinematic atmosphere that beautifully captures the song’s world.
Embracing the hearts of those who try to look forward while carrying the pain of heartbreak, it resonates as a quintessential yonige coming-of-age song.
A girls’ band’s bittersweet songs. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (41–50)
Charonnegoto
A coming-of-age song that stirs the heart with its dreamlike, translucent sound and literary lyrics.
The title “Charon” is the name of Pluto’s moon, and the story projects feelings for someone far away onto the image of Charon—always beside Pluto yet never crossing paths.
Released on March 2, 2011, the track was featured in a campaign commercial for au’s music distribution service, LISMO!.
Also included on the album “ex Negoto,” this gem portrays the ache of wanting to meet someone you cannot see.
It’s a song best heard in the stillness before dawn, when thoughts turn to someone precious in the distance.
mild daysHitsuji Bungaku
A gently expressive song capturing the quiet joys of everyday life was released by Hitsujibungaku in May 2025.
Moeka Shiotsuka’s delicate vocals and the band’s soft, woven sound resonate as if tenderly wrapping around the listener’s heart.
The track serves as the ending theme for the TV anime “Silent Witch: The Secret of the Silent Witch.” In the music video, which features footage from their West Coast U.S.
tour held in April 2025, you can feel the warm moments they experienced along the journey.
It’s a song that reflects the musical maturity the band has cultivated through releases like “our hope” and “12 hugs (like butterflies).” Perfect for conversations with friends or those times when you want to relax and unwind.