Listening to music can lighten your heart, make you feel happy, or even make you feel accepted just as you are… Surely you’ve had moments when you thought, “I’m so glad music exists!”
And when you’re worried about something, when something great happens, or when you want to celebrate someone, you probably look for just the right song.
Besides the favorite songs you always listen to, why not try some other wonderful tracks?
In this article, our editorial team has carefully selected songs we’d love to recommend to you as truly great tunes!
We hope you find the perfect song that suits you!
- The lyrics are profoundly good. The more you listen, the more it sinks in. Masterpieces of Japanese music, recommended popular songs.
- A song with gentle lyrics that warm the heart
- [Power Songs] The best bright, energizing tracks that lift your spirits!
- [120% Empathy] A Collection of Moving Songs [Love, Friendship, Encouragement]
- Masterpieces that sing about various lives. Recommended popular songs.
- Masterpieces that sing of love. Recommended popular songs.
- [A Cheer for Myself] A pep song dedicated to you who are doing your very best
- [A Life-Affirming Anthem] An Encouraging Song to Cheer You On
- Love, bonds, parting, cheers… songs so moving they pierce the heart and make you cry uncontrollably
- [Carefully Selected] Popular Love Songs: Recommended Romance Tracks
- [Must read] Songs with great lyrics. Moving songs you’ll want to listen to while reading the lyrics
- [Classic and Contemporary Hits] Emotionally Stirring, Heart-Touching Songs
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
Good songs themed around love, encouragement, and life. Songs with lyrics you can relate to (1–10)
I LOVE…Ofisharu Higedan Dism
This song is the theme for the TV drama “Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo” (An Incurable Case of Love).
It’s a heart-fluttering love song that fits the drama’s love story perfectly.
With the signature clarity and bittersweetness of HIGEDAN shining through, it’s a track that even those not currently in love might find themselves relating to.
Myself ROCKNEW!ONE OK ROCK
A ONE OK ROCK number that teaches us the value of staying true to ourselves without being swayed by the noise around us.
Riding on a high-velocity, energetic rock sound, its fiery message—urging you to live without lying to yourself—resonates deep in your chest.
Released in April 2010 as a TSUTAYA-exclusive rental, it was later included as the lead track on the masterpiece album “Niche Syndrome.” When you’re tired of reading other people’s faces, this anthem reminds you that the lead role in your life is, after all, your own.
Put it on when you want to blow away the haze and charge up your energy for tomorrow!
If being alive is painfulNEW!Moriyama Naotaro
It’s a ballad whose shocking opening line makes everyone doubt their ears—and then captures their hearts.
Sung by Naotaro Moriyama, who frames the world from a unique perspective, this masterpiece lays bare both the pain and joy of living.
The lyrics, written by poet Ochanomizu Kazu around 1997, were turned into a song after Moriyama happened upon them.
Released in August 2008 as his 16th single, it also drew attention as the CM song for Shuto Iko, Osaka Isen, and Nagoya Isen.
Its paradoxical wording delivers a message that affirms “living,” one that should especially resonate with those carrying deep worries.
Rather than forcing yourself to be cheerful, why not listen quietly on a night when you want to face your heart with calm?
Eine KleineYonezu Kenshi
It’s one of Kenshi Yonezu’s signature songs, released in 2014.
It’s a classic that expresses straightforward love, and many listeners will likely relate to the feelings portrayed in the lyrics.
While it depicts warm, gentle happiness, it also gives voice to the bittersweet emotions that arise from loving someone too much.
Combined with his tender vocals, it’s a beautiful song that really sinks into the heart.
There’s a hole in my heart.Yorushika
Yorushika’s “A Hole in the Heart” skillfully sings about the emptiness and helplessness everyone feels, like a story.
It expresses a heart left with a gaping hole and emotions that have sunk deep.
Many people will surely relate.
It feels as if it’s speaking to someone, and it’s a song that builds to a moving finale.
Happy Endingback number
When it comes to singing heartrending love songs, no one can top back number.
Whether you’ve been through many relationships or hardly any at all, their lyrics have a way of striking a chord.
They’re a band with so many songs you can truly relate to.
“Happy End” is exactly that kind of track—one that just about anyone can see themselves in.
Spot the differenceSuda Masaki
Masaki Suda, who is active not only as an actor but also as a singer.
This song, “Machigai Sagashi,” was also the theme song for a romance drama starring Tori Matsuzaka, wasn’t it? It’s their first collaboration since teaming up on “Gray and Blue” in 2017—Kenshi Yonezu wrote, composed, and produced this track as well.
It’s a powerful yet quietly moving, emotionally resonant song.