Classic and popular unrequited love breakup songs

to cry innocently; to weep with a childlike airAKASAKI

[AKASAKI] Adokenaku / Innocently Crying (Lyric Video)

This song resonates with the heart through its tenderness that tries to embrace a pure soul holding back tears, and the bittersweet ache of feelings that aren’t returned.

AKASAKI’s delicate portrayal of emotion and straightforward expression of love are deeply moving.

Released as a single in January 2025, it became a hot topic after being selected as Kiss FM KOBE’s recommended Japanese track for the month.

The intertwining of the desire to protect someone and the loneliness of unfulfilled devotion evokes empathy as an emotion many have experienced.

It’s a song that gently stays by the side of anyone striving to move forward while carrying feelings for someone dear.

BLUE TEARSJUDY AND MARY

Judy and Mary – Blue Tears

This song by JUDY AND MARY beautifully captures the cold winter night sky and the ache of unrequited love.

Released in November 1993, it conveys a world where distant memories and lingering feelings intersect, carried by delicate melodies.

収録アルバム『J・A・M』に含まれ、その後2006年の映画『シムソンズ』の主題歌に選ばれました。1996年からはフジテレビのバラエティ番組『めちゃ×2イケてるッ！』のエンディングテーマとしても使用されました。寒い夜をひとりで過ごすときも、胸に秘めた想いに向き合うときも、この曲はきっとあなたのそばにいてくれるでしょう。

Hologram of LoveSKE48

SKE48 “Ai no Hologram” Music Video / 2024.2.28 on sale

This is an SKE48 song that delicately portrays the bittersweetness of unrequited love.

Centered on the deep sadness of heartbreak, it expresses the feeling of a world drained of color and a loss of purpose in life.

Released in February 2024 as their 32nd single, it features Oka Suenaga as the center.

Listening to this track, you can sense both the pain of a breakup and the strength to move forward despite it.

It’s especially recommended for those who have experienced heartbreak or are seeking an empowering message.

It’s a work that showcases a new side of SKE48.

You look like an idiot.Saucy Dog

Saucy Dog “Like a Fool.” Music Video (Theme song for ABEMA’s “You Can’t Fool Me, Mr. Wolf”)

It carefully portrays the delicate feelings of a woman who can’t express herself well: while harboring the desire to know the other person more and to have them all to herself, and feeling love for them, she’s already fed up, believing there’s nothing more she can do.

Chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating reality show “Don’t Be Fooled by Me and Mr.

Wolf,” the track was released digitally in August 2024, and is memorable for its emotional band sound and Shinya Ishihara’s vocals.

It’s a perfect song for those who can’t grasp how the person they like truly feels and are struggling with inner conflict.

Recommended for anyone who can relate to the sorrow of loving someone yet being unable to move forward.

loadTHE toraburyū

THE T-BOLAN “Road” PV

The biggest hit by THE Toraburyu, known for their fragile love ballads woven with a powerful husky voice that overflows with emotion and feeling.

It’s a heartbreak song in which the singer realizes that the ordinary, casual days with the person they loved were actually true happiness, and it continues to be sung by many people to this day.

My name is Unrequited Loveindigo la End

indigo la End "The Name Is Unrequited Love"

This is a song by indigo la End that portrays a heartrending unrequited love beginning with love at first sight.

Set to a lively mid-tempo track crafted by Enon Kawatani in January 2023, it sings of the protagonist’s complex emotions after falling for someone of the same sex.

While feeling the pain of social prejudice and unspoken pressures, the story tightens the chest as the protagonist suppresses their own feelings for the sake of the other person’s happiness.

It’s a song that will resonate with those who, having fallen in love, lose sight of themselves yet can do nothing but carry those feelings, as well as those struggling with a love they can’t tell anyone about.

That’s not fair…arekunn

That's not fair... / Ale-kun [Official Music Video]

Are-kun’s song, which beautifully portrays aching love and suffering, has deeply moved many listeners.

While harboring intense feelings for the other person, the work delicately weaves the complex emotions of a woman swayed by ambiguous behavior.

Released in August 2021 as an advance track from the album “Breath,” it was also chosen as the ending theme for TV Asahi’s “BREAKOUT” in September, allowing it to resonate with an even wider audience.

Confused and hurt by the other person’s vague kindness, yet unable to suppress her feelings—this piece offers heartfelt empathy and comfort to anyone who bears the pain of an unrequited love.