A poignant ballad song. A tear-jerking masterpiece of Japanese pop music.
Let me introduce some heartrending ballads that tighten your chest the moment you listen.
When you part ways with someone important, when a romance fails and leaves you down, or when a sudden memory takes you back to a past you can’t return to…
In the course of life, there are moments when a quiet, melancholy mood washes over you.
In this article, I’ve gathered recommended ballad songs for those very times.
From beloved classics to recent hits, I’ve selected tracks so you can find a song that resonates with your feelings and helps you detox your heart.
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A heartrending ballad song. Timeless tear-jerking Japanese classics (41–50)
horizonback number
A gem of a ballad delivered by back number, a band that captures listeners’ hearts with poignant lyrics.
Beginning with a gentle piano melody, this song weaves a story about the pain of dreams and hopes suddenly collapsing, and the will to look forward and begin anew.
Many will find their own experiences reflected in the raw, urgent feelings—like a cry for one’s existence—born from unnoticed loneliness.
Created for high school students whose Inter-High was canceled, the song was released on YouTube in August 2020.
It’s a classic that quietly stays by your side when summer fun has passed and a faint loneliness sets in.
A poignant ballad song. Tear-jerking J-Pop masterpieces (51–60)
JulianPRINCESS PRINCESS
Just imagining wanting to see someone but being unable to is painful, isn’t it… This is a ballad by PRINCESS PRINCESS, released in 1990 as their 10th single.
It’s a message song addressed to the cat that vocalist Ms.
Nakayama had at the time.
The straightforward vocals suit the relaxed tempo perfectly.
It’s the kind of track that makes you want to really listen closely.
If you think of the person—or being—who is that presence for you as you listen, it’s sure to make you cry.
I got a boyfriend/girlfriend.My Hair is Bad
How would you feel upon learning that someone you once shared a deep connection with has found a new partner? My Hair is Bad’s 2016 album “woman’s” features a song that delicately captures exactly that complex state of mind.
Even though you’re supposed to have moved on and found a new lover, you can’t shake the lingering attachment to the one you can’t forget.
Spending time with your current partner—who’s the complete opposite type—only makes the quiet ache of your feelings for the former one smolder in the back of your heart.
Released as the album reached a peak position of No.
5 on the Oricon charts, the track’s music video also drew significant attention.
It’s a song that will deeply resonate with anyone who thought they’d stepped into a new love but still finds themselves tethered to the past, or who has felt a rush of complicated emotions upon seeing an ex looking happy.
GraduationMy Hair is Bad
A track by My Hair is Bad that tells the story of two people sensing changes in their relationship amid the bustle of a station and the cityscape.
It was included on the EP “Jidai o Atsumete,” released in May 2016, and was produced as a kind of sequel to the previous song “Makka.” From the perspective of a timid, awkward young person, the song vividly portrays the growing distance between former lovers.
Its theme is a farewell as a rite of passage—putting a period on a relationship and moving on to the next stage.
Driven by a fast-paced 8-beat and dynamic arrangement, Tomomi Shiiki’s husky voice conveys the ebb and flow of emotion.
It’s a song that stays with you when you want to put an end to an ambiguous relationship with an ex and need the courage to face forward and start walking.
NautilusYorushika
Listening to it makes you feel like you’ve just finished watching a movie.
It’s a song by Yorushika, a band led by composer n-buna and vocalist suis, included on their second album Elma, released in 2019.
The beautiful tone of the piano slowly seeps into your heart.
The dynamic arrangement seems to directly project the emotions held by the song’s protagonist.
Since the album itself is a story-driven work, it might be best to listen to it all the way through.
Under the big onionbakufū suranpu
This song, “Under the Big Onion,” is included on Bakufu Slump’s second album, Shiawase, released in 1985.
While Bakufu Slump is strongly associated with “Runner,” it’s no exaggeration to call this track one of their signature songs as well.
The “big onion” in the title famously refers to the ornamental onion-shaped finial atop the roof of the Nippon Budokan.
The lyrics vividly reflect the spirit of the era, and it’s a ballad that powerfully conveys the poignancy of a long-distance romance.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
When it comes to Chihiro Onitsuka, her signature song is “Gekkou” (“Moonlight”).
Released in 2000, it was her second single.
Many people may strongly associate it with the hit drama Trick, for which it served as the theme song.
It’s a ballad that deeply resonates with those whose hearts are tired—one that can move you to tears.
If you’re holding in your pain or sadness and can’t let it out, it might be good to let yourself sink all the way down with a song like this.