Tear-jerking unrequited love songs that will break your heart: timeless classics about unattainable love

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A song by HY that paints a picture of aching, unrequited love.

Entrusting feelings for a beloved person to a song, yet being too awkward to express them honestly—that vulnerability is deeply moving.

Featured on the album “Street Story,” this track has been cherished by fans for years, and its raw lyrics, combined with Izumi Nakasone’s powerful yet delicate vocals, resonate with many listeners.

It’s perfect for anyone caught in the swirl of one-sided love, where joy and pain intertwine.

Highly recommended for those feeling heartache or looking for the courage to confess their feelings.

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.

Kasane AiSoala

Soala – Kasaneai [Official Music Video]

Soala’s translucent vocals gently embrace the feelings that pass each other by and the wish to reunite, delicately expressing subtle emotions.

Released in January 2025 as a track on the EP “Bluem,” the song is distinguished by its piano-centered, gentle sound and memorable melodic lines.

The music video—featuring model Ryoka Orita and actor Yusei Ito—has also garnered attention, spreading waves of empathy across social media.

It’s a song I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who carries a “what if”—wondering how things might have been if you’d met in a different way.

Unrequited lovemiwa

miwa 'Unrequited Love'

A ballad that portrays a heartrending love, seeping into the heart with its translucent vocals and the warm sound of the piano.

Included on the March 2012 album “guitarium,” it was selected as the ending theme for the music information program “saku saku” in February 2012.

The lyrics delicately express the feelings of a secret, unspoken crush and the bittersweet pain of being unable to get closer the more you care.

With a heartwarming melody that gently embraces the frustration of being unable to confess and the anxiety that everyone experiences when they fall in love, this song offers solace and support.

It’s a track we especially recommend to those who are keeping their feelings for someone special tucked away in their hearts.

seesawtuki.

tuki. “Seesaw” Official Music Video

A bittersweet love song by tuki.

that overlays the delicate distance between two people in romance with the image of a seesaw.

It’s a track we hope those in relationships that aren’t progressing—and who feel that frustrating stagnation—will listen to.

When you’re struggling with the distance or mismatch in feelings between you and your partner, you’re sure to find moments that resonate.

The album “15,” releasing in January 2025 and featuring this song, is a collection of tracks she created up to the age of 15—be sure to check it out along with this track.

I’m really sorry.≠ME

≠ME (Not Equal Me) / 9th Single c/w “Gomen, Majide” [MV full]

This song beautifully captures the aching feelings of unrequited love.

The lyrics convey the struggle of staying just friends while being unable to confess your feelings.

Even knowing the person you like is drawn to someone else, you can’t hold back your own emotions—this complex state of mind tugs at the heart.

Featured on ≠ME’s ninth single, “Because Summer Has Come,” the track feels like peeking into the diary of a girl in love.

It’s perfect for anyone torn in a more-than-friends-but-not-quite-lovers relationship, or for those mustering the courage to confess.

Listen to this song, take a deep breath, and go tell them how you feel!

That’s not fair…arekunn

That's not fair... / Ale-kun [Official Music Video]

Arekun’s song, which beautifully captures the ache of unrequited love and the pain it brings, has been moving many listeners.

While harboring deep feelings for the other person, the song delicately weaves the complex emotions of a woman swayed by their ambiguous behavior.

Released in August 2021 as a pre-release track from the album “Breath,” it was also selected as the ending theme for TV Asahi’s “BREAKOUT” in September, allowing it to resonate with an even wider audience.

Confused by the other’s vague kindness, hurt yet unable to suppress her feelings—this work offers heartfelt empathy and comfort to those who carry the pain of a love that may never be returned.