Saddest Songs Ranking [2026]
Here’s a ranking of this year’s trending “heart-wrenching songs.”
There are times—during breakups, while in love, in all kinds of moments—when your chest tightens with emotion, right?
Many songs released this year capture those feelings, so you may find them relatable.
We’ll introduce the most-listened-to songs of the year in ranking order.
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- Popular Depressive Songs Ranking [2026]
- Popular Heartbreak Song Rankings [2026]
- Popular Unrequited Love Song Rankings [2026]
- Popular Love Song Rankings [2026]
- Ranking of Moving/Japanese Pop Songs [2026]
- Ranking of Popular Nostalgic Songs and Classics [2026]
Heartbreaking Song Ranking [2026] (11–20)
HAPPY BIRTHDAYback number11rank/position
The 20th single by back number, the three-piece rock band that now immediately comes to mind when you think of “setsuna-kei” (melancholic) music.
Chosen as the theme song for the TV drama A Story to Read When You First Fall in Love, the track is propelled by vocalist-guitarist Iyori Shimizu’s singing, which weaves in exquisite falsetto to heighten the song’s wistful feel.
Describing the beginning of romantic feelings as “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” is a stroke of genius—an apt expression that many listeners of love songs can relate to.
It’s a standout number that captures emotions everyone experiences with a bittersweet musical tone, showcasing exceptional word choice and superb arrangement.
I want to be your lover.Abe Mao12rank/position
Mao Abe’s second single, “I Want to Be Your Girlfriend,” is a love song that portrays a bittersweet unrequited love.
The lyrics tighten your chest as they tell of a summer romance, a secretly held wish that never comes true, and a fleeting end.
It candidly expresses the feelings anyone in love is bound to have, making it painfully relatable.
The melody also captures that indescribable, sentimental mood as summer draws to a close, overlapping with the end of the romance and deepening the sense of poignancy.
Colorless Self-Harmnekobōro13rank/position
This is a song that makes you reflect on who you are and what you live for.
It was released in 2013 by Nekobolo, a Vocaloid producer who also works under the name Sasanomaly.
The meaning of life and your own worth—things you didn’t think about as a child—can become sources of pain as you grow up, especially when you feel powerless, and many people may feel discouraged by that.
While this song expresses those feelings that are hard to share with others, it also offers a hopeful portrayal at the end, and I think listening to it when you’re feeling down will gently lighten your heart.
wishsumika14rank/position
A song by sumika that portrays the bittersweet feelings of unrequited love and hope for the future.
The protagonist’s inner struggle—wishing happiness for the one they love while being unable to suppress their own feelings—is especially striking.
Released in December 2019 as the theme song for the drama “Ossan’s Love -in the sky-,” it reached No.
6 on the Oricon charts.
The music video has also been viewed over 20 million times, capturing the hearts of many.
It’s recommended not only for those wrestling with love, but also for anyone who wants to cherish the feeling of wishing someone else happiness.
Why not listen to this piece and face the “wish” that lies within you?
15 Years of a Clingy Guy’s Petty ObsessionIe no ura de manbō ga shinderu P15rank/position
As the title suggests, you’ll be led to believe it’s just a slightly creepy song about unrequited love—if only that were true.
The way the words are woven in, almost like a gag, is sure to make you laugh.
However, by the middle of the song, anyone perceptive will realize what it’s really about.
This track, which passionately sings of unwavering devotion, is one you should definitely listen to all the way to the end.
Because I fell in loveaimyon16rank/position
After a love ends, there are times when it feels like a gaping hole has opened in your heart, aren’t there? Only after losing it do you realize how precious it was, and your chest tightens with the ache of knowing you can’t go back.
On nights filled with that helpless feeling, the ballad included on Aimyon’s album “Momentary Sixth Sense” gently stays by your side.
Released in February 2019, the album features a simple sound centered on acoustic guitar.
It also drew attention as the campaign song for “LINE Xmas 2019.” In fact, this track was recorded in a single take in the studio.
That’s why you can truly feel the trembling breaths and the wavering of emotions.
If you listen alone in a quiet room, lost in memories, time that had stood still might begin to move again.
cold; curt; blunt; unfriendlyRADWIMPS17rank/position
A RADWIMPS song that delicately and realistically portrays the pain of love, filled with the frustration of an ambiguous sense of distance.
The lyrics trace the emotional ups and downs caused by the other person’s elusive attitude, and yet the irresistible pull you feel, with Yojiro Noda’s woven words and the piano’s melody resonating beautifully to tighten your chest.
Released in December 2018 on their seventh major album, ANTI ANTI GENERATION, this track was chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating reality show Who Is the Wolf?.
The music video featuring Nana Komatsu and Fuju Kamio also became a major talking point.
It’s a bittersweet yet warm love song that makes you want to sink quietly into it on nights troubled by love.
Love’s Melody and Rainy SkiesAAA18rank/position
It’s a song that entrusts a frustrating, delicate love—too afraid of breaking to say even a single “I like you”—to the early autumn rainy sky.
Released as a single by AAA in September 2013 and also included on the album Eighth Wonder, it’s known for winning an Excellence Award at the 55th Japan Record Awards.
The members’ richly expressive vocals overlap, stirring a poignant ache in the chest.
When you’re troubled by that more-than-friends, not-quite-lovers distance, or on nights when caring so much makes you grow timid, listening might let the tears you’ve been holding back finally spill—and leave your heart feeling a little lighter.
raspberryMarushii19rank/position
When you fall in love, emotions spill over that reason can’t hold back.
Marcy’s unrequited-love song vividly portrays feelings that only grow stronger for someone special.
Released in June 2023, the piece sets bittersweet, tender emotions for a loved one to a guitar rock-driven sound.
It delicately captures the heart of unrequited love—swaying between joy and despair at the other person’s ambiguity, yet still holding onto hope.
It will surely resonate with hearts that can’t confess their feelings, unable to keep them in.
I like you, but it seems you don’t really like me.back number20rank/position
A quintessential back number love song that distills the pain of unrequited love right into its title.
It’s a track from the album “Chandelier,” released in December 2015.
With plain, direct lyrics, it draws the gap between a wholehearted devotion to someone and the reality that those feelings don’t reach them.
Even while realizing that your world revolves around that person, you’re not someone special to them—that frustrating ache hits hard.
It’s a song you’ll want to hear if you’re in a one-sided love or struggling because the person you like won’t look your way.