[Empathetic & Tear-Jerking] A love song about an unrequited romance
Even when you know it’s a hopeless love and your feelings won’t be returned, you still can’t stop your heart—it’s just impossible, isn’t it?
Your head says it might be no good, but your heart won’t follow so easily, and your feelings only grow stronger.
For you who feel this way, here are love songs that sing of the aching emotions of unrequited love—songs I want you to hear.
Some are from a woman’s perspective, some from a man’s, but whichever you listen to, your chest will surely tighten, and you may find yourself relating as if the song were about you.
Soothe the feelings you can’t tell anyone by listening to tracks from those in the same situation.
- [Unattainable Love] A love song about two people who feel the same way but can’t be together
- [Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks
- A classic song about a forbidden love
- Unattainable Love: A Heartbreaking Love Song About Falling for a Married Person
- "A Love Song I Can't Tell Anyone" — a love song you can relate to when times are tough
- [Songs of Infidelity] A collection of forbidden love songs about unattainable romance
- An empathy song to listen to when you’re hurting and feel like a 'convenient woman'
- Bittersweet love songs to listen to when the person you like already has a girlfriend or boyfriend
- “I Want to See You”: A love song that makes you cry when you listen to it while you can’t meet
- Unrequited love songs that strike a man's heart. Love songs from a male perspective that really hit home.
- A song of forbidden love. A love song about feelings that can't be stopped.
- [For when you want to cry] A ballad love song. A heartbreaking love song.
- Songs About Age-Gap Love: A Curated Selection of Exquisite Love Songs
[Empathy & Tearjerker] Love Songs About Unrequited Love (11–20)
I just wanted to be loved.shizuku
A piano ballad by shizuku that I want those who feel misunderstood in their loneliness or simply long to be loved to hear.
This song seems to portray a pure cry from the heart—a wish to be acknowledged with a “You did your best,” when you can’t find value in yourself.
The delicate piano melodies and the calm yet resilient voice of the musical voicebank KAFU gently speak the feelings that are hard to put into words.
Released in June 2024 and included on the mini-album “Honne,” the track reached 500,000 views on YouTube by September 2025.
Listen to it on nights when you’re tempted to blame yourself or when you need warm words, and the tension in your heart will gently loosen.
It’s a song that wraps your pain in a gentle embrace.
Love SongGO!GO!7188
GO!GO!7188, a three-piece rock band that fused alternative rock with kayōkyoku to create an original sound popular among younger generations, sadly disbanded in 2012.
Their third single, “Koi no Uta,” which they wrote during their amateur days yet went on to become a long-running hit, is catchy for its simple three-piece ensemble and its wistful melody.
Its message—wanting to stay by someone’s side even if your feelings don’t reach them—surely speaks for those struggling with that delicate sense of distance from someone they love.
It’s a lyrical rock tune that has become a karaoke standard.
Ti AmoEXILE
Ti Amo portrays a woman who falls in love with a man who already has a girlfriend.
It’s a song released by EXILE in 2008, with ATSUSHI as the lead vocalist.
The lyrics depict her inner conflict over whether they should break up, as well as the moment she decides to end things.
It feels like reading a story, so anyone who has had a similar experience will likely relate.
Incidentally, the title means “I love you” in Italian.
around two o’clockaiko
Singer-songwriter aiko has created numerous masterpieces themed around heartbreak.
Among them, a B-side track from her second single, “Around Two O’Clock,” continues to enjoy unwavering support from fans.
The song depicts a woman calling her unrequited love at two in the morning.
That alone is heartrending, but if you listen closely, you realize it also conveys the sorrow of her noticing that the man is with a woman she doesn’t know.
The emptiness is almost overwhelming, and it’s enough to bring tears to your eyes.
balladKetsumeishi
Ketsumeishi is a four-member music group whose name was chosen with the meaning of “pouring out everything.” Their 24th single, Ballad, released as a double A-side with A Future I Create with You, was used as the theme song for the information program Sukkiri!!.
Stories of forbidden love are often told from a woman’s perspective, but this song suggests that the same feelings come through just as strongly from a man’s point of view.
True to its title, it’s a heartrending ballad that reins in their trademark rap, a love song that tightens your chest just by listening.
When Someone’s Wish Comes TrueUtada Hikaru
“When a lover goes off to be with someone new”—that poignant situation is depicted in Someone’s Wish Will Come True.
This song was written by Hikaru Utada specifically for the film CASSHERN.
In it, the question is raised: what exactly does “happiness with a lover” mean? Give it a listen and consider it for yourself.
I should also add that the quiet, piano-centered melody beautifully highlights her vocals.
[Empathy & Tearjerker] Love Songs About Unrequited Love (21–30)
366 daysHY
This is a ballad that delicately portrays the bittersweet feeling of a love once deeply cherished that never fades from the heart, even as time passes.
The protagonist, unable to stop thinking about the person they parted with all day long, is gently and vividly depicted through Izumi Nakasone’s powerful yet tender vocals.
Included on the 2008 album “HeartY,” it was also used as the theme song for the film “Thread of Red (Akai Ito).” There’s also a well-known anecdote that the songwriter temporarily broke up with their partner at the time in order to write the lyrics.
It’s a song that quietly sits beside those whose heartbreak hasn’t healed, or on nights when you find yourself reminiscing about a past love.