[Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
“Even though I know it won’t be rewarded…” Once you fall in love, it’s not so easy to stop your feelings, is it?
You tell yourself you can’t go on like this, that you have to end it, but when you see them, you just can’t hold back your love.
In this article, we introduce love songs that portray the pain of unrequited love and lay bare those unspoken feelings.
Listen to them when you’re tired of loving.
They’ll gently wrap around you, saying, “It’s tough, I know.”
- Unrequited Love Song: A heartrending love song dedicated to you who are going through a painful romance
- [Adultery Song] A forbidden song about an affair that sings of an impossible love
- [Unattainable Love] A love song about two people who feel the same way but can’t be together
- Bittersweet love songs to listen to when the person you like already has a girlfriend or boyfriend
- Tear-jerking unrequited love songs that will break your heart: timeless classics about unattainable love
- Unattainable Love: A Heartbreaking Love Song About Falling for a Married Person
- “I Want to See You”: A love song that makes you cry when you listen to it while you can’t meet
- Songs that depict a teasing, suggestive attitude | Love songs to listen to when you're in unrequited love or a painful relationship
- [Today's Unrequited Love Song] Guaranteed to Make Your Heart Flutter! A Sweet and Bittersweet Love Song
- A heart-wrenching story that tightens the chest! A Showa-era unrequited love song
- [To Those in Love] Relatable Love Songs to Listen to When You’re Crushing Hard
- A classic song about a forbidden love
- A song of forbidden love. A love song about feelings that can't be stopped.
[Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Comprehensive Introduction to Tear-jerking Crush and Breakup Songs (181–190)
Crazy for yousino R fine
Crazy for you, released under Ryoko Shinohara’s artist name sino R fine, was chosen as the theme song for the Netflix drama Fishbowl Wives, in which she stars.
The lyrics are heartbreakingly poignant—achingly so.
They earnestly describe continuing to think about a lover from whom she’s been separated, and her desperate wish to be together again.
Shinohara’s delicate, vanishingly fragile vocals make it even more tear-jerking.
If you’ve just gone through a breakup, you’ll probably relate to this a lot.
[Unrequited Love] Heartbreaking Love Songs | A Comprehensive Introduction to Tear-Jerking Crush and Breakup Songs (191–200)
wishsumika
A love where you have to step back precisely because you care deeply about that person… just imagining it makes your heart ache, doesn’t it? This is a song by the pop-rock band sumika, released in 2019 as their ninth single.
The eyes of the one you love aren’t following you, but someone else.
And so, wishing for their happiness, you decide to walk away.
With lyrics that paint a vivid story and strike a chord, it’s a winter heartbreak song.
hydrangeakyanai
A heart-stirring song where delicate first love and fragility intertwine.
Kyanai’s track portrays the fleeting nature of romance through the language of hydrangea flowers.
Written from the perspective of the one who cheated, the lyrics justify themselves—“It’s your fault for being easy to get bored of”—while simultaneously sinking into self-loathing, capturing a complex emotional state.
Released digitally in May 2022, the song went viral on social media and became one of Kyanai’s signature works.
The more you listen, the more it comforts a wounded heart—perfect for those troubled by love or looking back on past relationships.
Wasn’t it me?misaki
A bittersweet heartbreak song woven by Misaki, a singer-songwriter represented by the music creator agency muchoo.
Based on her own experiences, it’s said to portray the feeling of “being in a relationship yet still pining as if it’s unrequited love.” Those depictions of constant misalignment—of feeling like maybe you were never the right one and having no choice but to give up—will likely resonate with anyone who’s known a sad romance.
Misaki’s voice, still tinged with a touch of innocence, fragile yet pure, leaves a strong impression, wrapping a wounded heart in gentle comfort.
I can’t bring myself to hate (you/it).ren
Ren is a singer-songwriter who mainly works on TikTok, creating music around the theme of gently staying by someone’s side.
Their first original song, “KIRAI NI NARENAl (I Can’t Come to Hate You),” leaves an impression with its rich ensemble featuring delicate piano sounds.
The lyrics portray feelings that don’t fade even after betrayal or a breakup, and if you’ve been through something similar, your own memories might overlap with the song.
It’s an emotional number with a sentimental melody that tightens the chest.
Don’t disappear.Aina ji Endo
Aina the End from the girls’ vocal group BiSH released her solo debut song, “Kienaide.” It’s not only her solo debut but also the first track she wrote both the lyrics and music for.
Aina’s husky voice already tugs at the heartstrings, and the song is packed with the feelings of a girl in love.
Listeners of any generation will likely feel a wistful ache and be reminded of a past romance.
It’s a song that warms the heart just a little with gratitude toward someone who has become out of reach—yet it remains profoundly bittersweet.
balladKetsumeishi
Ketsumeishi’s heartrending track “Ballad,” famous as a “song about an affair.” It conveys, almost painfully, the feelings that swell for someone you can’t meet even though you long to, a love that just can’t come true; if you’re experiencing a similar unrequited love, it’s a song you can’t listen to without tears.
A love song for someone you’ll surely never forget, even from here on out.
The music video feels like a drama: while the lyrics are a love song from a male perspective, the MV intensifies the sense of heartbreak whether you’re a man or a woman, so I hope you’ll watch it along with the song.