12 Heartbreaking Filipino Songs That Will Make You Relapse

Strong waves of nostalgia or the sudden urge to text a past lover, or someone who’s no longer in your life, are experiences almost everyone goes through at least once. Nostalgia can feel like the true enemy when you’re trying to move on and search for better days.

It often starts with impulses you’ll immediately regret, such as replying to their birthday or holiday greeting, sending a casual “How are you?” or, eventually, delivering the final blow with the harrowing “I miss you.”

Perhaps one powerful way to move forward is to slowly unlearn the habits, interests, and little things that remind you of them. If you’re ready to go to war with yourself, music can serve as either a healing tool or a way to reopen wounds from a not-so-distant past you haven’t fully recovered from.

When we’re talking exposure therapy and moments of relapse, maybe the best thing you can do is embrace what happened, let the feelings flow, and slowly learn to live for yourself again. Billboard Philippines joins your relapse sessions with the perfect OPM songs to soundtrack your reminiscing. So the next time nostalgia hits, you’ll be ready — not just to look back at yesteryear but to truly begin healing.

“Relapse” — One Click Straight

Kicking off this list is a song with a title that clearly speaks for itself. “Relapse” by One Click Straight is catchy and packed with their signature sound, and it deals with accepting that someone is no longer in your life. “Mga alaalang naaalala pa rin / Burahin / Damdamin / Pa’no ko ba tatanggapin?” Think of it as a fresh relapse — and the perfect way to validate your feelings if you’re overthinking where you went wrong. “‘Lang hiya, pambihirang pag-ibig ’yan” is something you’ll probably find yourself screaming when you relapse just as the clock strikes midnight.

“Hanggang Dito Na Lang” — Jimmy Bondoc

Featured on the soundtrack of the romantic-comedy indie film I’m Drunk, I Love You, “Hanggang Dito Na Lang” by Jimmy Bondoc captures a narrator coming to terms with the inevitable end — the hangganan — of a love they once thought would last forever. Moments after a breakup or the loss of a connection often push people to linger and dwell on the sudden change. There will be nights when you find yourself struggling to sleep. Perhaps this track will make you pick up a guitar and lean into the sentimentality, slowly but surely moving through this stage and beginning to heal.

“Oo” — Up Dharma Down

Up Dharma Down‘s s the perfect companion for the late-night suffering you might want to endure — or perhaps eventually move past. The song wonders whether the other person thinks about them just as much as they do, holding on to the hope of meeting again someday. Breakups and endings truly hurt, especially when they come out of nowhere and leave you feeling caught off guard and vulnerable. Amplified by Armi Millare’s emotive vocals, the track is best listened to while you’re lying in bed, tears slowly rolling down your face, allowing yourself to simply feel — no questions asked.

“Kathang Isip” — Ben&Ben

“Kathang Isip” by Ben&Ben is a staple on any sad OPM playlist you can find online, thanks to its heart-wrenching lyrics and deeply emotive vocals. Released during a time when hugot OPM was taking over the airwaves and dominating the local music scene, many Filipinos were instantly drawn to both the song and the band. Losing someone is painful enough, but having to remind yourself that you can never be with the person you long for cuts even deeper.

“Di Na Muli” — Itchyworms

The Itchyworms‘ “Di Na Muli” captures the depth of regret, the fleeting nature of time, and the grief that comes with losing someone — leaving only memories behind. When we begin to realize that we took things for granted and weren’t fully present while we still had them, the relapse feels even heavier. Since we can’t turn back time, all we can do is accept what happened and learn from the experience. In the end, the best thing we can do is move forward and strive to do better next time.

“muscle memory” — Clara Benin

When we grow attached to someone we’ve chosen to make our whole world, it can be difficult to move through life without them by our side. Much like Clara Benin’s “muscle memory,” the song speaks about someone becoming part of your subconscious, even long after they’re gone. You get used to the feeling, the presence, and even experiencing life through their perspective. Sometimes, it’s hard to let go when pieces of them still linger in your mind and heart. A word of advice: allow yourself to remember and feel everything all at once. In time, your body and heart will gradually let go of the traces they left behind, and you’ll regain the strength to live fully on your own again.

“Magic” — SOS

A fan-favorite track from the alternative rock band SOS, “Magic” is a seven-minute masterclass, elevated by frontman Roberto Seña’s haunting vocals as he navigates the confusion of a turbulent relationship — one that feels like “crying for attention or a desperate cry for help.” If you’ve ever dedicated this song to someone who’s no longer in your life, it only adds more weight to relapsing for the nth time. However you choose to see it, there’s something “magical” about being under someone’s spell — falling in love and convincing yourself the relationship is good for you. It’s okay. Sooner or later, you’ll come to that realization on your own.

“Museo” — Eliza Maturan

Falling in love or admiring someone from afar can be thrilling — but it comes with a price. The long stares and the feeling of slowly melting away are all fun and games until those feelings aren’t returned. No matter how long you admire their presence or how much they resemble that one painting you can’t take your eyes off, it becomes even harder to accept when they don’t share the same energy. Eliza Maturan’s 2024 breakout hit, “Museo,” captures all the emotions that come with loving someone in silence.

“Sa Pag-Alala” — Munimuni

“Kakalimutan na kita / Siguraduhin mong hindi talaga pwedeng tayo,” says Munimuni in the opening verse of “Sa Pag-Alala.” The song itself embodies the struggle of trying to move past lingering feelings and finally let go. We can always choose to forget, but making that choice can feel like climbing an even steeper mountain. Part of the relapse comes in sudden waves of nostalgia, whether it’s a fleeting glance at the past or getting lost in endless what-ifs and imagining how things could have been different. Time and memory can be dangerous in that way, so it’s best to handle nostalgia with care.

“Kalimutan Ka” — Skusta Clee

One of 2025’s biggest Filipino songs, “Kalimutan Ka” by Skusta Clee, leans into the struggle of trying to move forward and cope with loss — like grieving someone who isn’t even gone. It captures the pain of no longer feeling wanted or needed, and the quiet spiral of questioning whether you were ever enough for that person. Beyond going viral thanks in part to the Alden Richards “tongue-out” meme, the track is infectiously catchy, offering a refreshing break from the softer, more sentimental songs on this list.

“Pusong Ligaw” — Jericho Rosales

No matter how long a relationship or connection lasted, when the heart remembers and yearns, it lingers. Jericho Rosales’ “Pusong Ligaw” is a prime example of a song about not being able to get over someone despite everything. Whether it’s a past lover, a TOTGA (the one that got away), a situationship, or even just a fleeting romantic fling, when the heart is allowed to feel, it channels an intensity that words and music capture perfectly.

“Tayo Lang Ang May Alam” — Peryodiko

Written as a direct response to another UDD track, “Indak,” from the perspective of the person Armi sings to, “Tayo Lang Ang May Alam” by Peryodiko explores the pain of being in love with someone who feels the same way, but is already taken. The ache of forbidden love and the impossibility of being together can make late-night relapse sessions even more intense. If circumstances had just aligned, there would be no doubt about a shared love that could have existed. Even on a good day, you might suddenly remember why you can’t be with the person your heart longs for — and all you can do is put on this 2014 indie rock hit and let the music carry the feelings.