[J-Pop] A Collection of Unrequited Love Songs That Stay Close to Your Heart

TwinkleKagamine Rin

[Tried making a PV] Twinkle [Kagamine Rin]

Sung by a popular Vocaloid, this song adorable captures a girl’s frustrating and bittersweet feelings—and the flutter of her heart—after falling for someone she never meant to like.

Many people have probably experienced this kind of unrequited love.

I want to be your lover.Abe Mao

Mao Abe – I Want to Be Your Lover [Official Music Video]

It depicts unrequited love from a woman’s perspective—regretting her own actions and agonizing over the person she likes.

The slow-tempo guitar tune further conveys the melancholy.

Mao Abe’s songs about unrequited love resonate with many women.

My cute unrequited loveOtoniriame

My Cute Unrequited Love / Onriame [Official MV]

This is a song by Otoria Candy that depicts a cute and comical romance.

The lyrics are filled with Gen Z–style killer phrases that make it especially appealing.

It vividly portrays the unique struggles of unrequited love—like losing sleep thinking about your crush, fumbling attempts to connect on LINE or Instagram, and feeling jealous of other girls.

It’s recommended not only for anyone experiencing unrequited love, but also for adults who want to reminisce about their youth.

Beyond a thousand nightsAqua Timez

Aqua Timez - Beyond a Thousand Nights

It seems this is the kind of solution for unrequited love.

If you find someone you like and don’t know what to do, listening to this song might be a good idea.

It’s not easy to be this brave, but it really makes you want to try confessing your feelings to the person you like at least once.

Someday Merry ChristmasB’z

B’z – Itsuka no Merry Christmas

It’s one of B’z’s signature rock ballads.

Tak Matsumoto’s guitar expresses a deeply aching tone, and when it’s blended with Koshi Inaba’s sweet vocals, the result is a song that powerfully tugs at your emotions.

It’s a truly heartrending piece about believing you could always be together—believing you could keep holding that hand forever—only to find that it wasn’t meant to be.

Just like the lyric “I realized what it means to love someone,” listening to this song conveys something real about love.

I recommend it both to those with unrequited feelings and to those who aren’t currently in love.

Love Has No PrideBonnie Raitt

Love Has No Pride (2008 Remaster)

Many people have sung it, but I still think Bonnie’s version is the best.

It’s a song about not being able to help loving someone even though it’s already over and the other person is fed up.

Like, when it comes to love, pride doesn’t matter at all…

Why do I want to hug you?Chara

Chara: 'Why is it that I want to hold you?'

A popular early song by Chara that was also used in a commercial.

The phrase that makes up the long title lingers in your ears for a while thanks to Chara’s distinctive voice.

The lyrics are very cute, too.

If we could hug the one we love that easily, no one would have to suffer, right?