[Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks

love-coloredMosa o.

Sakuran / Mosawo [Music Video]

A song that delicately portrays the pain of unrequited love.

The lyrics capture that tightening feeling in your chest that grows as your feelings for someone deepen.

You want to honestly say “I like you,” but you just can’t find the courage.

You can feel the struggle of someone in love, right? Released in December 2022, this track also drew attention as a tie-in with the popular manga A Sign of Affection (Yubisaki to Renren).

MosawO’s gentle vocals further highlight the bittersweetness of love, making this an impressive piece that resonates with those suffering from one-sided feelings or troubled by mismatched emotions in a relationship.

It’s best listened to alone on a quiet night.

shutterYuri

Yuuri 'Shutter' Official Music Video

A heartbreak song whose bittersweet vocals and striking phrases linger in your mind.

Throughout the track, you can feel the painful turmoil of thinking about a loved one while still carrying the regret of not being able to express your feelings honestly.

The song was released digitally in July 2021 and later as a single on January 12, 2022.

It was written by Yuuri for JUN MIYASAKA, the cameraman for the official “Yuuri Channel,” and was released in response to fan requests.

It’s recommended for those who can relate to the pain of a broken heart or who want to convey their feelings to someone important.

AloneMayo Okamoto

Mayo Okamoto — alone

A gently woven ballad that carries hidden feelings along with a piano melody.

Released by Mayo Okamoto in November 1996, this song portrays the heartrending emotions of a woman whose boyfriend is taken by her close friend.

Though she puts on a brave face and smiles for those around her, she continues to carry loneliness in her heart.

The pain she feels upon glimpsing the couple by chance on a station platform, and her yearning not for sympathy but for true love, are expressed with delicate nuance.

This piece is a long-cherished ballad she had nurtured since before her debut.

It’s a song that quietly stays by the side of anyone trying to look forward while bearing the pain of heartbreak.

Happy Endingback number

back number – Happy End (full)

This is a poignant song by back number that portrays a woman putting on a brave face at the moment of parting.

On the surface she tries to send him off with a smile, yet she cannot let go of her feelings for him, and the delicate depiction of her inner turmoil is deeply moving.

Written as the theme song for the film “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday,” released in December 2016, it also drew attention for its music video featuring actress Erika Karata, and was later included on the album “Encore.” If you find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to give up while still harboring feelings for someone you love, you may see yourself in this song.

It’s a soul-stirring track that will make you want to listen to it again and again through tears.

PrologueUru

[Official] Uru “Prologue” YouTube ver. — Theme song for the TBS Tuesday drama “Chugakusei Nikki (Junior High School Diary)”

Even if it’s an impossible love, Uru’s “Prologue” sings about a heart overflowing with feelings for someone you like.

Released in 2018, the song was used as the theme for the drama “Chuugaku Seishun Nikki” (Middle School Love Diary).

The lyrics portray how, even though you know in your head that happiness won’t come from this love, your eyes can’t help but follow that person, and your emotions only grow stronger.

It was a perfect match for a drama about a romance between a teacher and a student.

Highly recommended for those who are hurting from a bittersweet, painful love.

A night when I want to cryAYANE

AYANE / A Night I Want to Cry (Lyric Video)

A song that vividly captures the emotional sway between a love that you know won’t come true yet only grows stronger, and the wish to keep looking forward.

With down-to-earth words, AYANE weaves lyrics that struggle through loneliness and inner conflict while yearning to “become stronger,” striking deep into hearts troubled by love with no place to go.

It’s a pop ballad.

Released in July 2022, this work became a signature piece that led into the following year’s acclaimed album, #Twenty.

On nights when a secret relationship feels like it might crush you, when the loneliness is unbearable, this song will quietly stay by your side.

PretenderOfficial HIGE DANDism

Official HIGE DANDism – Pretender [Official Video]

It’s a song about someone who’s in unrequited love, knowing they’re not the one the other person wants—yet wondering, what if we felt the same way? In the imagined scenario, I’m honest, and I end up hugging them because I care so much.

If I could do that, I wouldn’t be brooding and agonizing.

Even after heartbreak, they still look beautiful to me, and I can’t help loving them to the very end.