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.
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Hidden gems among tear-jerking songs. Recommended popular tracks (31–40)
Everything (It’s you)Mr.Children
Mr.Children has many hit songs, and no matter which one you pick, their lyrics feel profound, often striking at the sorest spots deep in the heart.
“Everything (It’s you)” is another masterpiece that pierces the chest and resonates with a weary soul.
It sings of inner conflict as if questioning oneself, and as you listen, you feel a prick, prick in your own heart—there’s something almost sermon-like about it.
It’s the kind of song that, when you’re exhausted, brings you to tears before you know it.
hometownarashi
It is a song included on Arashi’s 14th original album, “Japonism,” released in 2015.
The piece was created for the 61st NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen in 2010, and in 2013 it was selected as the compulsory song for the elementary school division of the NHK All-Japan School Music Competition.
I can’t turn it into a memory.Mayo Okamoto
A single released by Mayo Okamoto in 1998.
With its gentle piano tones and Okamoto’s clear, transparent vocals, it’s a song that resonates deep in the heart.
When you’re feeling sentimental and thinking of someone precious you’ve since parted ways with, listening to it will likely make it hard to hold back your tears.
Even when you throw yourself into new encounters or things you’re passionate about, there are times when those memories resurface somewhere in your heart, aren’t there? I think those days that truly existed have, at times, given you strength.
Please take care to make time now and then to remember.
If tomorrow comesJUJU
Released in 2009 as JUJU’s 10th single.
Chosen as the theme song for the Toho-distributed film “April Bride” (Yomei 1-kagetsu no Hanayome), it reached No.
2 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and became her best-selling single.
It’s a masterpiece that makes you feel how incredibly precious the ordinary fact of being alive and welcoming tomorrow truly is.
The Last RainYasushi Nakanishi
A gem of a ballad that gracefully portrays rainy scenery and the ache of parting.
Yasushi Nakanishi’s transparent vocals exquisitely capture lingering feelings for a lover and a passion verging on madness.
The dramatic piano melody and strings weave an achingly poignant world.
Released in August 1992, the song peaked at No.
16 on the Oricon chart.
It drew attention as the theme song for Nippon TV’s “Hitachi Ashita P-KAN Kibun!” and had sold a cumulative total of about 900,000 copies by 1998.
Featured on the album “Yasushi Nakanishi,” among many other releases, it has inspired numerous covers by prominent artists, including Kumi Koda.
A sophisticated track best enjoyed while quietly sipping a drink in a lounge.
On nights when you want to soothe the pain of a broken heart, its soulful voice will gently stay by your side.
Hidden gems of tear-jerking songs. Recommended popular tracks (41–50)
Maplesupittsu
A gem of a ballad that weaves a fleeting yet beautiful farewell scene with a clear, transparent melody.
Released by Spitz in July 1998 from the album “Fake Fur,” this song tenderly sings of longing for what has been lost.
It portrays the heartache that gradually softens over time and the strength to keep looking forward, carried by a warm, gentle performance.
Beginning with its use in the 1999 Fuji TV drama “Over Time” and continuing through to the network’s 2022 series “silent,” it has colored many stories.
It’s a song to listen to when your heart is deeply wounded or when you’ve said goodbye to someone dear.
Masamune Kusano’s tender, comforting vocals are sure to become a source of support for your heart.
It was all you.Yamazaki Masayoshi
A single released by Masayoshi Yamazaki in 2003.
It’s a hidden gem from an artist who has brought many masterpieces into the world with his gentle, delicate voice.
If you let your guard down, that voice slips straight into your heart—moving and tinged with loneliness—and it’s a song you’ll want to play over and over when you’re trying to look forward.
The simple band arrangement highlights his vocals, making it a tender, warm track.
