Nursery Rhyme Popular Song Rankings [2025]

CorrectRADWIMPS57rank/position

RADWIMPS – The Answer [Official Music Video]

This work, which portrays the courage to face questions without definitive answers, is an anthem of encouragement dedicated to everyone standing at a crossroads in life.

It is included on RADWIMPS’ 2018 album “ANTI ANTI GENERATION” and was written specifically for NHK’s “RADWIMPS 18 Festival.” Unlike the solvable problems we learn at school, the song emphasizes the importance of discovering your own answers on the path ahead.

A beautiful piano-centered arrangement intertwines with vocalist Yojiro Noda’s gentle voice, quietly supporting those attending graduation ceremonies or embarking on new beginnings.

It is a song we especially hope will be heard by those parting from friends or feeling anxious about the future.

Ms. Hanako on a high pedestalback number58rank/position

back number – Takane no Hanako-san (full)

With their realistic psychological portrayals, back number captures the hearts of many fans.

Their eighth single, released in June 2013, truly feels like “a song packed full of one-sided-love imaginings.” You can’t help but nod along at the poignant sense of distance—being nothing more than “a friend of a friend” to the person you like—and at the way you get depressed by imagining the kind of partner they’d want and deciding you don’t measure up.

In contrast to those lyrics, the brisk, refreshing sound gently propels that frustrating, unrequited longing forward.

The track is also included on the album “Love Story,” and it was used in a commercial in 2019.

Wishing to be loved yet unable to take that final step—this is a one-sided love song that will surely resonate and stay close to your heart.

whiteoutreGretGirl59rank/position

reGretGirl "Whiteout" Official Music Video

This is a track included on reGretGirl’s 2017 mini-album “my,” by the three-piece rock band from Osaka.

It’s a winter song that beautifully fuses poignancy with a catchy melody, portraying a modern heartbreak haunted by the anxiety of unread messages.

The exhilarating guitar sound and lyrics about the quiet fading of love are seriously emotional.

Give it your all at karaoke during the Christmas season.

Wherever you areONE OK ROCK60rank/position

Wherever you are

A tear-jerking rock ballad that sings a vow of eternal love: “No matter where you are, I’ll always be by your side.” One of ONE OK ROCK’s signature songs, included on their 2010 album Niche Syndrome.

It was featured in NTT Docomo’s 2015 commercial “Family,” and ranked No.

1 for songs used at weddings for two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018.

It’s a track you’ll want to hear when you want to reaffirm your bond with someone important, especially if you’re not great at expressing your love straightforwardly.

MetronomeKenshi Yonezu61rank/position

Kenshi Yonezu – Metronome

A song by Kenshi Yonezu that portrays how two hearts that once looked toward the same future gradually drift apart.

This track is included on the album “Bremen,” released in October 2015.

Comparing the couple’s relationship to the tempo marked by a metronome, it describes the bittersweet feeling of their steps, once in sync, slowly falling out of rhythm.

It mirrors the emotional rift that can slowly develop in a marriage, doesn’t it? Even after parting, the wish to keep living in the same rhythm and perhaps meet again someday is something that resonates with those who have faced a major decision.

Doesn’t this song make you feel that you don’t have to force yourself to forget the past, and that it’s okay to embrace the time you walked together and keep living on?

We’ve gotta do what seems impossible.Sambomaster62rank/position

Sambomaster / We’ve Gotta Do the Impossible MUSIC VIDEO

This song is packed with a fiery message that ignites the spirit to take on challenges.

It celebrates the courage to face any hardship head-on with positivity and the strength to keep believing in your own potential.

Characterized by a powerful rock sound that stirs the listener’s heart, it became familiar as the theme for Nissan’s Serena commercial in 2010 and was later chosen as an image song for the 2022 film “Cheer☆Dance.” Beloved by fans as a surefire crowd-pleaser at summer festivals, it has continued to be cherished by many as an anthem that gives you a push—when you hit a wall in club activities or exam studies, when you’re trying something new, or when you feel like giving up.

Patchwork StaccatoToa63rank/position

Toa – Patchwork Staccato – ft. Hatsune Miku

This is a song that stays close to the pain and loneliness of heartbreak.

Created by Vocaloid producer Toa and released in June 2014, it delicately portrays the feelings of a woman who senses the end of a relationship yet struggles to move forward.

The plaintive vocals and pop melody line—how perfectly they fit—is truly impressive.

If you listen to it when you’re reconsidering your relationship with someone important, it will resonate with you even more.