Masterpieces that sing about loneliness: J-pop to listen to when you're alone
This is a carefully curated playlist of Japanese songs that sing about loneliness.
Even when we say “loneliness,” there are many ways to feel it and many forms it can take.
Sometimes you despair at being alone, sometimes you want to be alone, and sometimes you feel the ache of not being able to see someone.
The feeling of pressing on even without someone precious by your side might also be a kind of loneliness.
Here are timeless songs you’ll want to listen to in those lonely moments.
Beyond the massive hits, you’ll also find tracks with a different kind of impact—songs that quietly support you at your core.
Every song here is a wonderful piece that stays close to the listener, so give them all a listen.
- A masterpiece that sings of loneliness. Recommended popular songs.
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- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- When you want to be alone: recommended masterpieces and popular songs for times you crave solitude
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
- When you want to immerse yourself in music alone! Tear-jerker songs released in the Reiwa era
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- A famous song about setbacks. A song that stays by your side when times are tough or you feel like giving up.
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- [Bereavement Song] To you whom I can no longer meet... Tear-jerking songs about death
- Songs that hit home when you're feeling blue: masterpieces of Japanese music
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
Classic songs that sing of solitude: J-POP to listen to when you're alone (31–40)
After the FestivalKuwata Keisuke
Keisuke Kuwata’s “Matsuri no Ato” is a popular song for its beautiful melody and relatable lyrics.
As the title “After the Festival” suggests, it sings about those lonely, desolate moments.
For Japanese people, the time after a festival tends to feel lonely, doesn’t it?
A Naked Heartaimyon
I think many people love the songs sung by the popular singer-songwriter Aimyon because her unadorned words pierce the heart.
This work is a ballad that gently stays close to a heart that has become timid about love.
Feeling lonely and wondering if you’ll always be alone, or envying someone who seems happy… It sings of the earnest desire to be loved by someone just as you are, without hiding those feelings.
The song was released in June 2020 as her 10th single and became a hot topic as the theme song for the drama “My Housekeeper Nagisa-san.” With a characteristically Aimyon, slightly nostalgic melody, it will gently embrace the pain of your struggles in love and make you feel like you can try again.
I’m just living for happiness.SUPER BEAVER
This is a powerful song that portrays the pursuit of happiness while confronting human loneliness and inner conflict.
It is included on SUPER BEAVER’s album “Ongaku,” released in February 2024, and was written as the theme song for the TV Asahi drama “MARS: The Revolution of Zero.” Within its emotional rock sound, it conveys the importance of living true to oneself and the hope that arises from our relationships with others.
This work gives you the courage to move forward while accepting painful experiences and sorrow as part of who you are.
It’s a song to listen to when you want to face the feelings in your heart with sincerity, or when you’re ready to take a new step forward.
YujiNagabuchi Tsuyoshi
“Yūji,” sung by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, is an old song that remains highly popular even today.
It’s said to send crowds into a frenzy when played at concerts, perhaps because its lyrics—about feeling lonely and nostalgically thinking of a friend—resonate with listeners.
SubtitleOfisharu Higedan Dism
This song is marked by a poignant melody that evokes the chill of winter.
Created by Official HIGE DANDism in October 2022 as the theme for Fuji TV’s Thursday drama series “silent,” it closely aligns with the drama’s worldview.
While empathizing with the feelings of someone who has lost their words, it delicately paints unspoken emotions and warmth through subtle tones.
The work portrays the protagonist—who has lost their hearing—trying to convey their feelings to a loved one, expressed through the fragile, crystal-like beauty of snowflakes.
Its quiet, beautiful melody leaves a deep impression on listeners’ hearts, offering comfort to those facing farewells with loved ones or carrying feelings that cannot be put into words.
Masterpieces that sing of loneliness: J-POP to listen to when you’re alone (41–50)
single bedSha ran Q
Sharan Q’s classic hit “Single Bed” is a truly heartrending ballad about loneliness.
This song catapulted them to fame.
Listening to it vividly conjures the scene of someone now alone after a breakup, reminiscing about a former lover.
Black BirdAimer
This is a song by Aimer that overlays feelings of envy and a longing to be loved onto the image of a single black bird.
Released as a single in September 2018, it was later included on the acclaimed album “Penny Rain.” It was also chosen as the theme song for the live-action film “KASANE -Beauty and Fate-,” starring Tao Tsuchiya and Kyoko Yoshine in dual leads, capturing a mysterious and weighty atmosphere.
The way it gives voice to darker emotions like inferiority and impatience through a dramatic blend of strings and band sound is truly breathtaking.
It’s the kind of song that will surely stay close to your complicated heart on nights when you want to confront your own weaknesses and jealousy.