[Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks

Happinessback number

Happiness / back number (cover)

Back number is a rock band beloved by listeners for their love songs told from every perspective.

Among their tracks, “Shiawase” portrays a heartrending unrequited love.

It was included on the 2011 single “Hanabira.” The song is a grand ballad, its poignant yet warm piano sound resonating throughout.

The lyrics express the feelings of loving someone even while knowing they can never be your partner.

Many will relate to the words, which speak directly with a pure sentiment.

It’s a song that deeply moves the heart with its wish for the other person’s happiness, even without being rewarded.

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and/then/by/with/hand (te-form particle; meaning depends on context)Ueno Daiki

Daiki Ueno – Te

A song whose lyrics, written with unguarded sincerity, seep into the heart.

Even knowing the love won’t come true, the protagonist’s struggle to suppress their feelings is expressed in delicate words.

The more they meet, the deeper the feelings grow, yet the ache of being unable to voice them remains.

A warm, gentle melody that seems to embrace the listener is especially memorable.

Released by Daiki Ueno in December 2020, the track gained support primarily among younger listeners on subscription services.

It’s a highly relatable song that resonates with those troubled by unrequited love or those who continue to carry their feelings.

Cinderellasaidāgāru

Cider Girl “Cinderella” Music Video

Cidergirl’s songs express the feelings of bittersweet unrequited love carried by refreshing melodies.

This work conveys a heartwarming message about cherishing the small joys of everyday life and sings about the importance of having a partner to share them with.

It was chosen as the opening theme for the TV anime “Komi Can’t Communicate” in October 2021 and was included on the album “SODA POP FANCLUB 4” in December of the same year.

The exhilarating, quintessential Cidergirl sound and the delicate lyrics create a world that gently accompanies those troubled by love and gives them courage.

More than friends, less than loversAsa

ASA – More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers [Official Music Video]

“Listen to this when you’re tired of being in love.” With those warm words, ASA delivers this work, weaving the complex feelings of two people who are more than friends but not quite lovers with delicate language.

Even while saying “I don’t like you,” they can’t bear the thought of someone else taking them away.

As they grapple with that self-contradictory emotion, a portrait emerges of someone struggling with the distance between them and the other person.

Released in September 2022, the song received high acclaim on the J-pop charts and drew attention overseas, including in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States.

It’s a track that gently stays by the side of anyone whose heart wavers on the boundary between love and friendship.

A night when I want to cryAYANE

AYANE / A Night I Want to Cry (Lyric Video)

A song that vividly captures the emotional sway between a love that you know won’t come true yet only grows stronger, and the wish to keep looking forward.

With down-to-earth words, AYANE weaves lyrics that struggle through loneliness and inner conflict while yearning to “become stronger,” striking deep into hearts troubled by love with no place to go.

It’s a pop ballad.

Released in July 2022, this work became a signature piece that led into the following year’s acclaimed album, #Twenty.

On nights when a secret relationship feels like it might crush you, when the loneliness is unbearable, this song will quietly stay by your side.

You look like an idiot.Saucy Dog

Saucy Dog “Like a Fool.” Music Video (Theme song for ABEMA’s “You Can’t Fool Me, Mr. Wolf”)

It carefully portrays the delicate feelings of a woman who can’t express herself well: while harboring the desire to know the other person more and to have them all to herself, and feeling love for them, she’s already fed up, believing there’s nothing more she can do.

Chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating reality show “Don’t Be Fooled by Me and Mr.

Wolf,” the track was released digitally in August 2024, and is memorable for its emotional band sound and Shinya Ishihara’s vocals.

It’s a perfect song for those who can’t grasp how the person they like truly feels and are struggling with inner conflict.

Recommended for anyone who can relate to the sorrow of loving someone yet being unable to move forward.

bookmarkkuriipuhaipe

CreepHyp - “Bookmark” (MUSIC VIDEO)

A Creephyp song that beautifully portrays farewells in the season when cherry blossoms fall.

While cherishing past memories, it sings of the courage to take a new step forward.

Included on the album “Nakitakunaru Hodo Ureshii Hibi ni,” released in September 2018, the track also gained attention as a campaign song for FM802 and TSUTAYA.

It’s a song for those who feel the pain of parting yet want to keep holding on to hope for the future.

Its emotional rock sound and distinctive lyrical world will resonate with listeners and give them the strength to face forward.