Monitoring (song)
| "Monitoring" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Deco*27 feat. Hatsune Miku | ||||
| from the album Transform | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| Released | November 23, 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | OTOIRO | |||
| Songwriter | Deco*27 | |||
| Producers | Deco*27 & Hayato Yamamoto | |||
| Deco*27 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Monitoring" on YouTube | ||||
"Monitoring" (モニタリング, Monataringu) is a song by Vocaloid producer Deco*27 featuring Hatsune Miku on vocals. It was released on November 23, 2024, and was later included in the album Transform. The song is a Bass house-influenced track with inspiration from Shōwa era J-pop, produced in collaboration with Hayato Yamamoto. Lyrically, the song covers dark subject matter, portraying Miku as an obsessive stalker who stares through the peephole on the door of her victim's apartment. It was extremely successful, spawning numerous derivative works and charting at number one on Billboard Japan's 2025 Vocaloid year-end list.
On September 5, 2025, a self-remix, "Monitoring (Best Friend Remix)" was released, with a lighter dance-pop sound. The remix debuted at number one on the Niconico Vocaloid Top 20 chart.
Composition
[edit]"Monitoring" portrays Hatsune Miku as an obsessive stalker looking through the peephole of her victim's door. The lyrics focus on the desire for control in an unhealthy romantic relationship, possibly a one-sided one.[1] The lyrics are also sexually provocative in nature,[2][3] and leave just enough ambiguity for listeners to interpret.[4]
Musically, the song is heavily influenced by bass house,[5] and also takes inspiration from J-pop of the Shōwa era.[1][2] The production of the track was done in collaboration with Hayato Yamamoto, who had previously worked on another song of Deco*27's, "Sad Girl Sex".[2][6] The song opens with the sound effect of a doorbell ringing and someone knocking at the door.[6]
Release
[edit]"Monitoring" was released on YouTube and Niconico on November 22, 2024, alongside its music video.[7] The digital single would release on the 23rd, at exactly midnight.[6] The music video was animated and directed by the artist kee,[6] who also illustrated the cover for the album Transform that "Monitoring" would later appear on.[2] The video juxtaposes psychedelic shots of Miku peering into the peephole with more grounded, everyday shots where she looks anxious, eventually ending with the door opening.[3]
Reception
[edit]"Monitoring" was extremely successful, consistently topping Billboard Japan's Niconico Vocaloid Top 20 chart throughout late 2024[4] and 2025.[7] By the end of 2025, it took top spot on the year-end list.[1] Overseas, it was the most listened-to Vocaloid song for the first half of 2025, according to data from Luminate and Billboard Japan.[8]
Some other interpretations of the song's meaning have been made, such as a writer for Natalie suggesting that Miku isn't actually a stalker, but rather that the character on the other side of the door is sick and hallucinating, citing the psychedelic imagery of the music video as evidence.[2] In an interview with Real Sound, Wataru Sasaki, an employee for Crypton Future Media, the company that created Hatsune Miku, said that the song made him feel "dizzy" when he listened.[5]
The song saw numerous derivative works based on it, such as parodies that replaced Miku with other characters.[1][4] An English cover was performed by the utaite Rachie and released on May 18, 2025 with an animated music video parodying the original.[3] The song would also eventually be added to the rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! in June of 2025.[9] In July 2026, it was announced that a Nendoroid figure based on the song would be produced.[10]
Best Friend Remix
[edit]| "Monitoring" (Best Friend Remix) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Deco*27 feat. Hatsune Miku | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| Released | September 5, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | OTOIRO | |||
| Deco*27 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Monitoring (Best Friend Remix)" on YouTube | ||||
On September 5, 2025, the self-remix "Monitoring (Best Friend Remix)" was released, debuting at number one on the Billboard Japan Niconico Vocaloid Top 20 chart.[11] According to Billboard Japan, listening to the original followed by the remix is the ideal way to engage with the song, as it shifts the listener's perception of the character behind the door.[12] It completely changes the original dark atmosphere of the song, instead becoming an upbeat dance-pop song.[11]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "【ビルボード 2025年 年間ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS】DECO*27「モニタリング」が首位獲得（コメントあり）" [[Billboard 2025 Year-End Nico Nico VOCALOID SONGS] DECO*27's "Monitoring" takes the top spot (with comments)]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2025-12-05. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "DECO*27「モニタリング」に隠された真実とは？" [What is the truth hidden behind DECO*27's "Monitoring"?]. Natalie (in Japanese). 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- 1 2 3 Valens, Ana (2025-05-21). "One of My Favorite Hatsune Miku Songs Just Got an Incredible English Cover". Vice.
- 1 2 3 ""ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS TOP20"、DECO*27「モニタリング」4週連続首位に" [DECO*27's "Monitoring" tops the "Nico Nico VOCALOID SONGS TOP20" for the fourth consecutive week]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- 1 2 Kitano, Hajime (2024-12-06). "DECO*27×佐々木渉、初音ミクに注がれる"パンク"の精神 「10年前にこの曲を発表していたら炎上する」" [DECO*27 x Wataru Sasaki: Infusing Hatsune Miku with a "Punk" Spirit—"If We'd Released This 10 Years Ago, It Would Have Sparked a Firestorm"]. Real Sound (in Japanese).
- 1 2 3 4 "DECO*27、新曲「モニタリング」リリース keeによる初音ミクがドアスコープを覗くMV公開" [DECO*27 releases new song "Monitoring" and music video featuring Hatsune Miku peeking through a peephole, directed by kee]. Real Sound (in Japanese). 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- 1 2 ""ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS TOP20"、DECO*27「モニタリング」約4か月ぶりに首位奪還" [DECO*27's "Monitoring" reclaims the top spot in the "Nico Nico VOCALOID SONGS TOP 20" after approximately 4 months]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ "海外で聴かれるボカロソング、上半期1位はDECO*27「モニタリング」" [The most-listened Vocaloid song overseas in the first half of the year was DECO*27's "Monitoring"]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2025-07-04. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ "「プロセカ」にリズムゲーム楽曲「モニタリング」（作詞・作曲：DECO*27）が追加！" [The rhythm game song "Monitoring" (lyrics and music by DECO*27) has been added to "Project Sekai"!]. Gamer (in Japanese). 2025-06-16.
- ↑ Richardson, James (2026-07-24). "Hatsune Miku's Latest Nendoroid Recreates One of Her Most Unsettling Songs". Essential Japan.
- 1 2 ""ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS TOP20"、DECO*27「モニタリング (Best Friend Remix)」首位デビュー" [DECO*27's "Monitoring (Best Friend Remix)" debuts at number one on the "Nico Nico VOCALOID SONGS TOP20" chart]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ Komachi, Mio (2025-12-23). "Year-End Niconico Chart Sheds Light on Japan's 2025 Vocaloid Scene". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-08-03.