What's the best song for getting over a breakup?

Miley Cyrus's "Flowers" for empowerment, Adele's "Someone Like You" for a good cry, and Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" for both at once.

Best Songs About Moving On and Healing

In short: For the sad stage, play Someone Like You, Dancing On My Own or Fix You. For the angry stage, Since U Been Gone or Happier Than Ever. For the healed stage, thank u, next, Flowers or Here Comes the Sun. In that order, they make a decent breakup playlist.

A woman sitting on her bed listening to music through headphones beside an open book. — Non-linear healing, not a tidy resolution.

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The sad stage

"Someone Like You," Adele (2011). Just voice and piano, from 21. Adele imagines turning up at her ex's new life and wishing him well. A worldwide number one, and a song people still cry to in cars.

"Dancing On My Own," Robyn (2010). Euphoric synth-pop about watching the person you love kiss someone else across a dance floor. Sad and danceable at once.

"Fix You," Coldplay (2005). Written by Chris Martin for Gwyneth Paltrow after her father's death. It starts as a whisper over an organ and ends with the whole band.

The angry stage

"Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson (2004). The chorus is pure relief: "I can breathe for the first time." A defining pop-rock single of the 2000s.

"Happier Than Ever," Billie Eilish (2021). A soft ukulele ballad for two minutes, then a wall of guitars and screaming. Catharsis in one song.

The healed stage

"thank u, next," Ariana Grande (2018). She names real exes, thanks each for what they taught her, and then falls for herself. Her first US number one.

"Flowers," Miley Cyrus (2023). "I can buy myself flowers." Eight weeks at number one in the US and the Grammy for Record of the Year.

"Here Comes the Sun," The Beatles (1969). George Harrison wrote it in Eric Clapton's garden, skipping a Beatles business meeting. The gentlest song about a hard time ending.

Frequently asked questions

What's a song about healing after loss rather than a breakup? Coldplay's "Fix You," which Chris Martin wrote after Gwyneth Paltrow's father died, or the hopeful "Here Comes the Sun."

Was Flowers a big hit? Yes. It spent eight weeks at number one in the US and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

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