Breakup songs popular among women in their 20s. Tear-jerking love songs.

Stardust VenusAimer

Stardust Venus

This is a song by Aimer that overlays unforgettable memories of love onto the stars in the night sky and sings of heartache.

The lingering attachment to a precious person who has been lost and the increasingly idealized memories are delicately depicted through a fragile yet resolute voice.

Released as a single in August 2012, it is also included on the acclaimed album “Sleepless Nights.” As the theme song for the drama “Will Such a Luxury as Love Fall Upon Me?”, it enriched the story’s worldview.

The piano-and-strings sound this work possesses is sure to resonate deeply with listeners’ sentimental hearts.

If you listen on a quiet night when you want to be alone with your memories, it will surely wrap your heart in gentle warmth.

maybeYOASOBI

YOASOBI “Tabun” Official Music Video

A morning of ending for two, greeted in a room fallen silent.

This is a YOASOBI song that portrays such a matter-of-fact scene of parting.

Released in July 2020, it also served as the theme song for a short film.

True to the duo’s concept of “turning novels into music,” it was created based on a publicly submitted short story.

There’s a painfully real quality in the way they try to accept a relationship that drifted apart—not because either person was at fault—with the word “probably.” Ikura’s clear, translucent vocals delicately capture the subtleties of a heart that can’t neatly move on, and are sure to resonate deeply with those carrying the pain of heartbreak.

While accepting the end, you can’t help but empathize with the sudden longing for the past that slips in.

Your Dissection Pure Love Song ~Die~aimyon

Your Dissection Pure Love Song ~Die~

This is a song by Aimyon that portrays love running amok—the kind of overwhelming affection that makes you want to keep every part of the other person to yourself.

Despite its poppy, upbeat melody, the song sings of a crazed possessiveness that refuses to let anyone else have them.

Released in March 2015 as her indie debut, it was later included on the mini-album “tamago.” If you’ve ever not only suffered the pain of heartbreak, but also been tormented by jealousy and fixation—asking yourself, “Why do I feel this way?”—you’ll deeply relate to the protagonist’s intense emotions.

Belt it out at karaoke and let your feelings explode—you might find that the murky emotions stuck deep inside your heart clear up just a little.

Then, why?Abe Mao

Then, why?

This is a poignant ballad by Mao Abe that sings of the helpless feeling when you realize you were the only one who was serious, after being led on by someone’s suggestive behavior.

The regret of having believed the words of a capricious, cat-like partner, and the pain that makes you want to demand, “Then why did you say that?” ride on her emotional vocals and pierce straight into your heart.

The song is included on the album “Su.” released in June 2011.

Remarkably, Abe wrote it during her high school years, and the pure, youthful cry of the heart resonates with raw intensity.

When you’re suffering from a lover’s ambiguous attitude and have nowhere to put your feelings, listening to this can feel as though it’s speaking for you.

Its gut-wrenching lyrics, paradoxically, will gently wrap your loneliness in warmth.

the red threadKobukuro

Red Thread – Kobukuro (Full)

It’s a song about two people who kept missing each other and couldn’t quite understand one another, but decide to try again together after all.

The lyrics convey each of their subtle feelings, which is incredibly heartrending.

It’s a breakup song, yet it ultimately ends happily—that development is nice, too.

KanadeSukima Suichi

The trailer for One Week Friends featuring Sukima Switch’s “Kanade” as the theme song will make you cry.

This is a song for couples who are about to be in a long-distance relationship.

Although it’s well-known as a graduation song, it’s actually a heartbreak song, and its wistful melody really hits you in the chest.

Even so, listening to it might give you the courage to keep going, even in a long-distance relationship.

First LoveUtada Hikaru

Hikaru Utada – First Love

This is a breakup song by Hikaru Utada, who was reportedly 15 years old when she finished writing it.

It’s one of her best-known tracks, so I think it’s also highly popular among women in their 20s.

Not only are the lyrics great, but the melody is too, making it a song you’ll definitely want to listen to after a breakup.