[Recommended for High School Students] New Graduation Songs & Classic Tearjerkers Collection

Try EverythingDream Ami

Dream Ami / Try Everything (Dream Ami version)

Dream Ami’s “Try Everything” is a song you can use to declare to your teachers and parents, “From now on, I’m going to do my best and walk toward the future!” Released in 2016, this track was chosen as the theme song for the Japanese version of the Disney film Zootopia.

It’s not only the graduates themselves who feel anxious about the days ahead—the teachers and parents who have supported them feel the same way.

Through this song, you can show those around you that you’ll be okay.

Of course, it’s also a perfect song to fire yourselves up.

Graduation ceremonies often bring tears, but this tune delivers bright smiles.

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SAKI

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By My SideOmoinotake

Omoinotake / By My Side

Here’s a youth-filled track by the stylish three-piece band Omoinotake, who made their major debut in 2021: “By My Side.” It’s the opening theme for the anime Blue Period, so Blue Period fans will know it well.

Above all, the song’s progression is soulful and cool, with a rich aroma of Black music spilling out of the melody.

The lyrics carry a “even when we’re far apart, my heart is always close to you” vibe—reassuring for high schoolers stepping into a new life this spring.

It also makes a lovely choice for graduation party BGM.

We Look Up to You with Respect

We Look Up to You with Respect

A classic among graduation songs, also selected for the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” Its gentle pace, sung in D major or E-flat major, brings many to tears.

The lyrics center on gratitude to teachers from whom we learned so much, bonds with close friends who supported one another, and appreciation for the familiar school.

It’s a song overflowing with thanks—one you can’t go wrong singing.

GRADUATIONSBACK-ON

GRADUATIONS (Theme song for V-Cinext 'Kamen Rider Gotchard GRADUATIONS')

This is a song that gently encourages you as you say goodbye to close friends and take a step onto a new path.

Holding the memories of precious friends you spent time with, it captures the wavering feelings of young people heading toward their respective futures through an emotional melody and powerful guitar sound.

The track serves as the theme song for “Kamen Rider Gotchard GRADUATIONS,” released by BACK-ON in February 2025, and stands as a supportive anthem that stays close to the major life turning point of graduation.

It blends seamlessly with the worldview of the V-Cinext production, further heightening the work’s emotional impact.

It’s a perfect song for the grand finale of a school or cultural festival and for making memories with friends.

While feeling the importance of friendship and bonds, this song gives you the courage to take your first steps toward the future.

Sakura RabbitKawasaki Takaya

Takanori Kawasaki - Sakura Usagi [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

A song released for streaming in January 2021.

The lyrics, featuring motifs of cherry blossoms and rabbits that color the graduation season, and the world of the song that portrays a bittersweet love, are enough to bring tears to your eyes.

While the overall mood is wistful, Takaya Kawasaki’s clear, transparent voice resonates deeply in the heart.

The warm tones of acoustic guitar and strings also feel like they encourage steps toward a new beginning.

Played in the background of a graduation ceremony, it can give you the strength to connect with hope for the future.

It’s a highly recommended track for the new journey that lies ahead.

GraduationKobukuro

Kobukuro “Graduation”

Kobukuro’s 2020 release bears the straightforward title “Graduation.” Given Kobukuro’s naturally beautiful harmonies, it makes for a wonderful choral piece as well.

The arrangement even weaves in school chime sounds during the interlude and ending—such a nice touch.

Since the song was written with the hope that it would be sung at graduation ceremonies, the CD single also includes a choral version performed by the Suginami Children’s Choir.

I truly hope you’ll sing this song and make it part of your irreplaceable memories.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Graduation Goodbyehaji→

Hajime → Graduation Goodbye.

If you live long enough, you’ll experience meetings and partings over and over again.

That’s what this song conveys.

Parting is very sad and lonely, but it makes me feel encouraged—as if I can face forward and walk my own new path.

It’s a song I want people to listen to when they’ve lost confidence in their future.