Unrequited Love Songs Recommended for High School Students | Love Songs to Listen to While Thinking of Your Crush

Unrequited lovemiwa

miwa 'Unrequited Love'

Miwa’s eighth single, “Kataomoi,” released in 2012.

There’s something special about a school-days crush—the looming deadline of graduation, the chance you might have to keep seeing them even if a confession goes wrong.

This song gently stays by your side as your heart wavers and you feel unsure, a love song so aching it tightens your chest.

You can really feel, irresistibly, that feeling of loving someone from the bottom of your heart.

It’s a crush song that truly captures the meaning of “thinking about you asleep or awake.”

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

utatane

Report a problem

I long to see you now.MISIA

MISIA – Aitakute Ima (Official HD Music Video)

“Aitakute Ima” is MISIA’s 23rd single, released in 2009.

It was written as the theme song for TBS’s Sunday drama “JIN,” and it reached No.

9 on the Oricon singles chart.

In writing the lyrics, MISIA visited the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots in Kagoshima, where she read letters from soldiers heading to the front, addressed to their families and loved ones.

Reaffirming the weight of life and the depth of human bonds, she penned the lyrics.

If there is someone you feel that strongly about, please listen to “Aitakute Ima.”

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

Hamada Takuya

Report a problem

Unrequited Love Magnetmekakushe

mekakushe – Unrequited Love Magnet (Official Music Video)

Though they love each other, they can’t be honest—sticking together and pulling apart like magnets.

This song by singer-songwriter mekakushe delicately yet poppily portrays that frustrating feeling of love.

The airy vocals and bright horn sounds amplify the thrill of being in love.

But it’s not all sweetness; the lyrics also hide clashes born from being so alike, and the bittersweetness of love.

If you’re clumsily nursing a one-sided crush, this song is sure to be by your side.

Hide-and-seekYuuri

Yuuri “Kakurenbo” Official Music Video

Singer-songwriter Yuuri, whose collaboration during MY FIRST STORY’s 2019 nationwide tour drew attention, saw this song become a hit in 2020 after being performed at the show and gaining traction on social media.

This breakup song portrays the heartbreak of a protagonist who can’t accept the end of the relationship and convinces himself they’re just playing “hide-and-seek,” waiting for his lover to come back.

It’s a deeply moving track for anyone who can’t forget an ex or still finds themselves in love with that person.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

sasashina

Report a problem

mutual unrequited loveDXTEEN

DXTEEN | 'Mutual Crush' Official MV (Theme Song for the Drama 'I Joined a Group I’m Not Close With on the School Trip')

It’s a heart-tickling youth love song packed with the sweet, bittersweet flutter of the moment when love begins to move.

Released in September 2025 as DXTEEN’s 6th single, the track portrays that delicate distance between two people who like each other but can’t quite take the next step.

It also drew attention as the theme song for the drama “I Joined a Group I’m Not Close With on the School Trip.” The initial rush of romance and the thrill of feeling the gap slowly close with someone you like are vividly expressed through the members’ fresh, breezy vocals.

Give it a listen when you want to move your relationship forward.

Specter feat. HACHIMIMiNARI

Spectrum feat. HACHI / MIMiNARI: Music Video

A tender crush that changes the color of your world is wrapped in a voice full of transparency.

Part of MIMiNARI’s “turning memories into music” project, the track features singer HACHI on vocals.

It’s the lead song from their first full-length album, “freq.,” released in March 2025.

With stylish, Chinese-inspired arrangements, the sound stands out.

The lyrics capture the frustrating feelings of a girl who hasn’t quite grown up.

Give it a listen when you’re unsure where your love is headed.

Unrequited Love in the Music RoomKeyakizaka46

Keyakizaka46 'Unrequited Love in the Music Room' Short Ver.

It’s a Keyakizaka46 song that overlays the feeling of first love onto the sound of a piano echoing through a quiet after-school hallway.

It’s a unit track by Rika Ozeki, Minami Koike, and Neru Nagahama, included on TYPE-D of the single “Ambivalent,” released in August 2018.

The refined scene of someone not opening the music room door where their crush is, instead listening intently to the notes leaking out, tightens the listener’s chest.

If you’re someone who wants to cherish your current relationship without breaking it… this song will surely stay close to your delicate feelings.