Moody Japanese classics: recommended popular songs

NightmareSugiyama Kiyotaka

Kiyotaka Sugiyama – Nightmare (Official Music Video)

A song that feels like it stays close to you on a wistful night—that’s Kiyotaka Sugiyama’s latest work.

Its deep emotions and powerful melody blend exquisitely, leaving a quiet afterglow in the listener’s heart.

Included on the album “FREEDOM,” released in May 2023, it drew attention as his first new release in about three years.

Written by Sugiyama himself, the lyrics weave together reflections on past experiences, nostalgia for days gone by, and hope for the future.

It’s perfect as background music for spending time alone with a lover or someone special.

It’s also recommended for those who want to enjoy a relaxing night by themselves.

Wrapped in its comforting tones, this is a song that lets you feel the energy to face tomorrow.

Someday Merry ChristmasB’z

Someday Merry Christmas

A ballad by B’z that opens with richly seasonal imagery—city streets dressed for Christmas and gifts for a lover.

It’s a highly narrative masterpiece, delicately and meticulously portraying the feelings of a man who chooses a chair as a present and the poignant moment he realizes the relationship is ending.

Included on the mini-album “FRIENDS,” released in December 1992, and featured in Pepsi NEX’s Christmas commercial “Xmas Lover,” the song has become a familiar staple of holiday music heard on street corners.

It’s a track perfect for a moody winter night when you want to look back on memories with a lover, ideal for setting the tone of a grown-up Christmas with a glass in hand.

Precious LoveEXILE ATSUSHI

EXILE ATSUSHI / Precious Love

With a warm, translucent voice, EXILE ATSUSHI pens a wedding song themed around love and bonds.

Gently singing of the importance of affection felt in days walked together and vows to the future, this work carefully portrays the delicate emotions of a romance born in everyday life transforming into eternal love.

Released as a single in October 2014, it was featured in a commercial for the wedding magazine Zexy and earned the Best Vocal Performance at the 56th Japan Record Awards that same year.

It was subsequently included on the album Love Ballade, captivating listeners across a wide audience.

Whether for a moody evening spent savoring a drink while feeling the bond with someone special, or as wedding background music, it will surely stay close to your heart.

Love SongGReeeeN

GReeeeN – Love Song

A crystal-clear melody flows through the lounge.

This is a message song GReeeeN delivered in May 2007.

Its warm tones gently embrace feelings for someone dear, and its lyrics, conveying straightforward affection, quietly stir the heart.

The track was selected as the ending theme for NTV’s “Uta Sta!!” and Fuji TV’s “Ken Shimura no Daijoubuda II,” and it also drew attention as the song for Hoyu’s “Beauteen” commercial.

It peaked at No.

2 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and achieved CD sales of 300,000 copies.

A rich, resonant piece that accompanies moments spent with someone special in a calm space wrapped in soft light.

Goodbyeofukōsu

Sayonara

A gem of a ballad that gently and poignantly portrays a lovers’ parting.

Against the backdrop of a cold day when rain turns to snow, their memories and emotions are woven with delicate detail.

Kazumasa Oda’s clear, pure vocals beautifully convey the wavering heart of the protagonist who chooses to say goodbye.

Released in December 1979, the song was used as an insert track in the first season of the TBS drama “Mr.

Kinpachi in Class 3-B” and reached No.

2 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, making it one of Off Course’s signature classics.

It’s a soul-stirring piece you’ll want to listen to alone on a quiet night, glass in hand.

single bedSha ran Q

Sharam Q “Single Bed” (Music Video)

This is a gem of a ballad that strikingly portrays the poignant feelings of a heartbroken man.

Sharam Q released the song in October 1994. It was used as the ending theme for the Nippon TV anime “D·N·A²: A Girl Who Arrived?” and went on to become a million-selling hit.

It is included on the album “Rettōkan” (Inferiority Complex) and was later featured as an insert song in the 2017 film “Memoirs of a Murderer.” Furniture steeped in memories of a former lover is depicted as a symbol that highlights the protagonist’s loneliness, powerfully expressing a shift in values toward love.

This moving masterpiece is perfect for a calm night drive or for quiet moments when you think of someone dear.

Hide-and-seekYuuri

Yuuri “Kakurenbo” Official Music Video

Yuri’s debut work, which likens a heartrending unrequited love to a game of hide-and-seek, is a soul-stirring ballad that delicately portrays loneliness and the pain of parting.

In a room left behind after his live-in girlfriend has gone, the man’s feelings—surrounded by objects that still evoke her presence—are woven together by a gentle, translucent voice.

Released in December 2019, the piece is a labor of love born from street performances following the breakup of the rock band THE BUGZY.

The warm timbre of the acoustic guitar closely follows the man’s earnest emotions.

It’s a song recommended for those who wish to soothe the pain of heartbreak—perfect for a nighttime drive or for quietly sipping a drink alone at home.