[Upbeat Breakup Song] Love songs and anthems that give you the courage to take a new step forward

Please forget it.Yorushika

Yorushika – Please Forget (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

It’s a heartbreak song by Yorushika that tightens your chest with its bittersweet love—the kind that wishes happiness for an ex while saying “please forget me.” Released in July 2024 as the theme song for the drama “GO HOME: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Unidentified Persons Consultation Office,” the track sets gentle melodies against a narrator who recalls precious memories they shared, even as they wish those memories to be forgotten.

Yet behind those words lies the true feeling of “please don’t actually forget,” a confession that’s sure to loosen your tear ducts.

Vocalist suis’s clear, translucent voice conveys this self-sacrificial and contradictory form of love with painfully delicate nuance.

On nights when you want to face the pain of heartbreak alone, listening to this song will feel as if it speaks for you and quietly stays by your side.

Oh, my former lovermatsuri

Ex-lover / Matsuri [Official Music Video]

This heartwarming song by Matsuri gently portrays the feelings of a woman who, while reminiscing about a former lover, tries to move forward.

Released in March 2024, it weaves together lingering attachments to someone who comes to mind late at night and a positive resolve to take a new step.

With vocals that embrace the listener and carefully chosen words, it offers solace to those hoping to recover from heartbreak.

Included on the album “Someday, It Became Part of Life,” its music video presents a worldview themed around a “journey through memories.” It’s recommended for anyone who relates to the complex emotions after a romance ends or who needs the energy to move on.

TearsCrystal Kay

Crystal Kay – Tears

It’s a hidden gem from her album “Crystal Style.” When I got dumped by my then long-distance boyfriend, I listened to it over and over.

Even though it happened years ago, the intro still makes my heart skip a beat—it’s such a bittersweet track.

I might run into him again somewhere by chance; until then, I wanted to bounce back and make him regret it.

This song means a lot to me.

loveUru

[Official] Uru 'Koi' from 3rd ALBUM 'Contrast'

Don’t miss “Koi,” a song that affirms the sadness of heartbreak.

Written and composed by Yohei Hashiguchi of wacci and sung by Uru, it encourages us not to view heartbreak negatively, but to see it as something that helped us grow and that can lead both people to greater happiness.

The lyrics are in a first-person female perspective, so women may find it directly relatable, while men can listen from the standpoint of the one being addressed.

Give it a listen along with the music video, which depicts a love story.

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calm (of the sea), lull; Nagi (a Japanese given name)Marushii

Marcy – Nagi (Official Music Video)

This is a heartwarming ballad by Marcy that gently embraces the loneliness after a breakup and the resolve to grow.

Vivid memories with a former lover—like the donuts eaten at a memorable station and a rainbow-colored umbrella—are painted in bright detail, while the quiet determination to face forward is expressed with striking subtlety.

Even amid complicated feelings toward an ex who has found new love, the song conveys the strength to become more mature oneself.

Included on the November 2023 album “Candle,” it was also featured as an insert song in ABEMA’s serial drama “High-Teen Diary.” A warm, encouraging tune that softly supports you as you try to move forward, even while carrying the pain of heartbreak.

Goodbye GoodbyeEri Takenaka

Eri Takenaka “Sayonara Sayonara arranged by Masataka Matsutoya”

As the title suggests, I think the biggest appeal of this song is how honest the lyrics are.

There’s no embellishment or pretension—each word links to the next until, at last, a single emotion, will, or story is born.

It’s a track that will undoubtedly wrap you in that feeling.

On top of that, Takenaka’s own powerful yet delicate and beautifully soaring high notes seem to breathe new life into the piece.

The mood is smooth, and I personally like it a lot—five stars from me.

Time machineSEKAI NO OWARI

SEKAI NO OWARI “Time Machine”

A song that carefully depicts the emotional journey of overcoming the pain of heartbreak and trying to look forward.

It’s included on SEKAI NO OWARI’s album “Nautilus,” released in March 2024, and was also chosen as the theme song for the film “Once Upon a Crime.” Through the desire to ride a time machine back to the past, it expresses the conflict with a lost love.

Yet it gradually leads to the realization that that encounter shaped who you are today.

This is a song for anyone whose heartbreak hasn’t healed and can’t move on.

It will surely give you the courage to take a new step forward.