Hidden gem tearjerker songs. Recommended popular tracks
There are times when you just can’t shake off a gloomy mood—even when you know the cause, it still feels hazy and unsettled.
If you’re a music lover, you might choose songs that make you cry and let yourself sink deep into them.
Here, we introduce plenty of “tear-jerking hidden gems”—tracks you’ll want to listen to when you feel that way.
They’re not singles, and they tend to be overshadowed by so-called masterpieces or signature songs.
Is your worry about love? Relationships? Or is it something more vague?
Find the one song that fits your mood.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- A hidden gem among tearjerker songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- [Just the Lyrics Make Me Cry] Tear-Jerking Songs That Touch the Heart
- Hidden gems among tear-jerker songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- A hidden gem known only to those in the know. A great J-pop/Japanese song.
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- Popular Tearjerker Song Rankings [2026]
- Tears for a heartrending story… Tear-jerking songs by women recommended for the Yutori generation
- [Hidden Gem] Japanese Songs You'll Want to Share with Someone Right Now
- [Moving] Tear-jerking cheer song. A roundup of popular motivational anthems that resonate with the heart!
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for men in their 40s: classic and popular Japanese hits
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for men in their 60s: classic and popular Japanese hits
- Hidden gems of inspirational songs. Recommended popular tracks.
Hidden gems of tear-jerking songs. Recommended popular tracks (1–10)
Promise in Madder Redikimonogakari

It was released in 2007 as Ikimonogakari’s seventh single.
The song was used in a commercial for au’s “LISMO!” and is themed around weddings.
It was performed at vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka’s brother’s wedding, making it a moving number that resonates as a wedding song.
Wonderful worldindigo la End

Enon Kawatani, now known for his prominent activities in many bands like Gesu no Kiwami Otome and JENNY HIGH, has long been a member of the band indigo la End.
He’s often seen as a musician with eccentric lyrics and tricky compositions that are insanely catchy.
However, their early song “Subarashii Sekai” (“Wonderful World”) is a rock ballad that could change that image for those who don’t know indigo la End.
Savor the bittersweet melody carried by his vocals at least once.
I miss youHayashibe Satoshi

It was released in 2016 as Tomofumi Hayashibe’s debut single.
The lyrics were written by Hayashibe himself, and it won the Newcomer Award at the 58th Japan Record Awards.
The song was used as the theme for the 2016 drama adaptation of “Sabu and Ichi’s Detective Tales,” and it powerfully conveys the feeling of “I miss you.”
Hidden gem tearjerker songs. Recommended popular tracks (11–20)
the same storyHanbaato Hanbaato

Humbert Humbert is a married duo of Ryonari Sato and Yuho Sano.
Heavily influenced by folk songs of the ’60s and ’70s, the two perform with folk instruments such as acoustic guitar and fiddle.
Their signature song, “Onaji Hanashi” (“The Same Story”), is simple yet powerful, warm, and never without humor.
The way the song unfolds like a dialogue between a man and a woman is intriguing on its own, and it gently seeps into your heart as if you were reading a novel.
It’s a track that quietly keeps you company in everyday life and makes the ordinary just a little more beautiful.
The reason I was bornTakahashi Yuu

It was released in 2016 as Yu Takahashi’s 14th major-label single.
The song was created in response to the marriage of a staff member who had worked with Takahashi since before his debut, and from the groom’s perspective it reflects on meeting people, marriage, the birth of life, and happiness.
A rolling rock, morning falls upon youASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION

The rock band ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION’s 2008 track “Rolling Stone, Morning Falls on You.” I remember being struck by its rather long title.
As for the song itself, it gives off the vibe of guitar rock with a calmer feel.
Unlike their signature song “Rewrite,” which spits out words with emotional intensity, the lyrics here are delivered slowly, almost as if in self-questioning, and that’s part of their appeal.
When you’re feeling down, I think it’s absolutely fine to draw strength from the rock music you listened to back then.
setting sunToukyou Jihen

The third track on Tokyo Jihen’s 2005 single “Shuraba,” “Rakujitsu” (Setting Sun).
This is truly a hidden gem.
A gritty, hard-edged ballad sung by Ringo Sheena—at this point, she’s the only one who could deliver this song with that timbre.
It seems like a calm, slow-tempo piece at first, but as you’d expect from Tokyo Jihen, it unfurls a succession of dynamic contrasts, and with Sheena’s superb vocal technique, your emotions end up shaken before you know it.
It’s an intense ballad that hardly feels like a mere B-side.


