10 Happy-Sounding Vocaloid Songs with Extremely Dark Lyrics

Oh, the things you don’t expect.

I find it astounding how songwriters hold the power to deceive us, which is to say they can write a piece that contains an energizing or upbeat melody and dark or depressing lyrics. It invites the listener to look past the positive exterior in order to unravel the darkness that oftentimes lies just beneath the surface. True, there are many other art forms that are capable of the same kind of mental trickery, such as theater, dance, and even visual arts. In my experience, though, music achieves this effect in a way unlike any other.

And guess what? Vocaloid songs are no different.

These singing programs are just as capable as human singers, if not more, of delivering a punch to the feels. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Hatsune Miku and her friends have risen to mainstream status in recent years; controversy creates conversation, after all. So that’s why I want to delve deeper into this subject. I could certainly give myself the creeps while dancing to an absolute bop if I wanted to, so let’s take a look at my picks for Vocaloid songs that sound happy and upbeat but whose lyrics tell a dark and/or depressing tale.

The criteria for this list should be fairly obvious: if it sounds cheerful or even energizing and contains really messed-up lyrics, it’s eligible. For the sake of variety, I will only include one song per producer. Please also be aware that this is a very personal list; the entries are in no particular order and are based on what I consider fitting for the subject at hand.

Lastly, I will include content warnings for the topics in each of these songs because, really, the world of Vocaloid can be seriously jacked up sometimes.

1. “An Earnest Unrequited Love, Wanting to Make It Bear a Little Happiness” by Utata-P

Content warning: Stalking

Yes, that whole thing is the name of the song, and no, it is not the weirdest one on this list. Let’s kick things off with something that could be mistaken for a Taylor Swift song if it weren’t for the vocals. “An Earnest Unrequited Love” begins with a lovely acoustic guitar and a light piano, accompanied by Mayu talking about her crush while on the train. She goes into detail about why she loves him and how much she wants to talk to him but cannot find the courage to do so.

With such a sweet-sounding prelude, the listener is caught completely off-guard when Mayu suddenly says “I know everything,” and the tone of the song takes a grim turn. The lyrics become murderous (with the line “I’ll kill them” repeated throughout) while amplifying the energetic pop-based melody. The contrast is so stark that it’s almost funny, and the accompanying music video only serves to enhance that effect.

Overall, “An Earnest Unrequited Love” is a solid yandere-inspired song that gives you the chills and the giggles at the same time.

If you or a friend is struggling with stalking, visit RAINN or the Stalking Resource Center for help and resources.

2. “Appetite of a People-Pleaser” by Ghost

Content warning: Eating disorders, self-harm

When you first watch the music video for “Appetite of a People-Pleaser,” you might assume that it’s dedicated to the singer’s love of eating sweets. It sounds like something one would hear from a typical Japanese pop idol. However, the colorful visuals that complement the upbeat electronic music aren’t enough to distract us from the deeply concerning lyrics. The singer is talking about overeating and then purging what she’s eaten for the sole purpose of gaining approval from her peers, then spiraling into a mental breakdown when she doesn’t get any validation. While the lyrics are clearly referencing bulimia, it is also implied that there may be other mental illnesses at play.

It’s a sobering reminder to the listener that while a person may appear happy and outgoing on the outside, you can never be sure what goes on behind closed doors.

If you or a friend is struggling with disordered eating, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or the National Eating Disorders Association for help and resources.

3. “The Red Shoes Parade” by Mothy (Akuno-P)

Content warning: Religious extremism, murder, sexual assault

Akuno-P (also known as Mothy) is legendary in the realm of Vocaloid due in no small part to his Evilicious Chronicles series, a collection of songs based around the seven deadly sins. Any entry in that series could have easily earned a spot on this list—hell, just about any Vocaloid song he’s created could have made the list—but I want to shine a light on one of his lesser-known works. So, as much as I didn’t want to have to say this, we’ll have to consider the Evilicious Chronicles one big honorable mention. (On a personal note, “Evil Food Eater Conchita” is my favorite song in the series.)

“The Red Shoes Parade” boasts a celebratory melody like something one might hear during an actual parade. But while it might seem appropriate for a children’s birthday party, it’s anything but. Based on the fairy tale of the same name written by Yukina Freezis, “Red Shoes Parade” follows a band of criminals characterized by their signature blood-red shoes who steal, murder, and assault any unfortunate soul that crosses their path.

It’s nothing short of disgusting to hear, especially when the lyrics attempt to justify their atrocious actions as being “all in the name of grand justice.” But the most unsettling part of it all is the realization that such sadists do exist in real life. You might want to change your locks, just to be safe.

4. “Two-Faced Lovers” by wowoka

Content warning: Teenage pregnancy, implied abortion, toxic relationships

Those with even a casual interest in Vocaloid will almost certainly recognize “Two-Faced Lovers.” It’s one of Hatsune Miku’s most iconic outings, after all! While that’s mostly due to a fast-paced electronic melody that gets stuck in your head for weeks, the haunting lyrics are just as likely to make an impact on your psyche.

It’s the classic teenage love story: girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl sleeps with boy, girl gets pregnant, boy dumps girl, girl gets abortion, girl develops self-esteem issues that lead to her hooking up with other boys in an attempt to find a shred of validation after being abandoned by the one she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. All right, so it’s not exactly Romeo and Juliet, but it is just as tragic, if not more. Fiction aside, real-life abandonment issues are serious; they can have a dreadful impact on a person’s mental health and can severely impair their ability to trust others. That, to me, is why “Two-Faced Lovers” is so upsetting. It touches upon the very real effects of mental trauma and how, if left untreated, it can greatly diminish the quality of one’s life. (See also: “Rolling Girl.”)

If you or a friend is struggling with relationship and mental health issues, visit the Breakup Project or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for help and resources.

5. “Coin-Locker Baby” by MARETU

Content warning: Teenage pregnancy, infanticide/infant death

Another teenage pregnancy song. And it’s more horrific than “Two-Faced Lovers.”

You see, there once existed a real-life horrific phenomenon in Japan wherein a wave of unwanted babies of teenage mothers were left in coin-operated lockers at train stations. According to a 1995 article written by Akihisa Kouno and Charles F. Johnson, “Between 1980 and 1990, there were 191 reported cases of infants that died in coin-operated lockers, which represents about six percent of all infanticides during that period.”

It sounds absolutely sickening, doesn’t it? You would never expect such a heinous crime to be the subject matter for a Vocaloid song, especially one that energizes the listener, but here we are. At the very least, the mother does get a heavy dose of comeuppance in this one; years later, the spirit of the baby she left in the locker returns to push his murderous mother into the tracks of an oncoming train.

Let’s move on before I heave on my keyboard, shall we?

If you or a friend is struggling with unwanted pregnancy or related issues, visit Planned Parenthood or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

6. “Ergonomic Hero” by MASA

Content warning: War

If you were to make a list of contributing factors to war, you would have to place “clash of ideologies” firmly near the top. The melody of “Ergonomic Hero” combines tribal-inspired instruments and chanting with pulse-pounding techno beats, making it an irresistible number to dance to. It doesn’t take a genius to see, however, that the lyrics tell the tale of two wildly different ideologies and how they lead to horrible violence between fictional tribes. Miku is a priestess for the mountain gods who preaches the word of the powers that be, while Gumi is an atheistic warmonger, claiming that killing and destroying are the essence of humanity.

The song doesn’t go into too much detail regarding the violence that undoubtedly ensues during this clash (thank goodness), but it’s still depressing to think about how a disagreement in viewpoints can lead to the deaths of countless innocent people.

7. “R.I.P. Gossip Sea” by cosMo@Bousou-P

Content warning: Cyberbullying

Let’s be honest with ourselves: most of us love a bit of juicy gossip every now and then. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be glued to our phones, scrolling through social media every minute of the day. Enter “R.I.P. Gossip Sea,” a powerfully catchy tune that takes the addictive and abusive potential of social media and cranks it up to 11.

Gumi starts out as a bored high school girl who is desperate for a little excitement in her life, and she quickly finds what she’s looking for in the form of her fellow humans on social media. She’s amazed by how cutthroat people can be—tearing to shreds others they might not have ever event met before, hiding behind the veil of digital anonymity—and she loves every waking moment of it. It’s not clear whether she is an active participant in these online attacks or just an enthusiastic observer, but I don’t think it makes a lick of difference either way. It still says quite a bit the ways real-life platforms used primarily for community have morphed into a method of harming others and, consequently, into a means of sick entertainment for observers.

If your or a friend is struggling with cyberbullying, visit the Human Rights Campaign or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for help and resources.

8. “Crime and Punishment” by DECO*27

Content warning: Implied suicide

How far would you go to get your crush to notice you? Would you anonymously leave lavish gifts on their doorstep every Valentine’s Day? Would you tattoo their name on your forehead? In the story of our next song, the narrator resorts to suicide in order to get a boy to acknowledge her existence.

Don’t let the cutesy, minimalist techno beats fool you; this is a tragic tale. Miku, a girl in love, tries her hardest to get a boy to notice her but fails miserably each time. Fed up with being constantly ignored, she decides she has no other option but to end her own life and settle for the grief-stricken expression on her crush’s face as her heartbeat slows to a stop. To be completely honest, this song nearly brought me to tears when I first heard it. What breaks my heart the most is that Miku doesn’t want to die: “It’s just not my kind of game, but I do not have a choice/’Cause if I were to decline, I’d be cast aside and worth/Not a thing to you, in your eyes.”

If you or a friend is contemplating suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Crisis Textline at 741741.

9. “Hyperventilation Dance” by Nashimoto-P

Content warning: Anxiety disorder

“Hyperventilation Dance” is less straightforward in its message than the previous entries on this list. However, once you pick apart the little details in the accompanying music video, it becomes apparent that it’s describing what it’s like to live with severe anxiety. While the melody blasts your ears with a melody reminiscent of a late-’90s punk power ballad, the lyrics list a slew of the symptoms associated with anxiety disorders, including insomnia, restlessness, and, of course, hyperventilation.

The repeated phrase “Breathe in, breathe out” is present throughout the song, which suggests the narrator has uttered these words many times before, because she needs to. The other phrase that is even more ubiquitous is “It hurts,” which of course refers to the physical symptoms that are associated with anxiety disorder such as headaches and dizziness. As anyone who suffers from anxiety can readily tell you, it is not fun at all. Don’t let this song’s Kings of Leon–esque melody distract from that.

If you or a friend is struggling with anxiety disorder, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or the Anxiety and Depression Association of America for help and resources.

10. “You’re a Useless Child” by Kikuo

Content warning: Child abuse, implied suicide

Where do I even begin with this one? While I did say that this list would be in no particular order, I want to close it with what I feel is the most shockingly realistic portrayal of verbal child abuse.

Melody be damned, all “You’re a Useless Child” features an abusive mother spouting insult after insult at her poor son. From childhood well into adulthood, he has listen to her refer to him as “a destitute, dense, and dirty child” and “germy, crybaby, scaredy-cat.” But the worst part is that the mother constantly enforces the idea that she is the only person who will ever love him and that without her, he is completely helpless. This leads to the son taking a dark path as he starts cutting class to the point of severely impairing his cognitive abilities, which the mother does not fail to point out. It’s not until the son runs away from her and dies (exactly how is left ambiguous) does she realize how awful she treated him throughout his entire life and vainly redirect her toxic words at herself.

The thing that makes this song especially tragic is that gaslighting and verbal abuse are extremely common forms of child abuse (neglect being the most common, affecting 60 percent of all child abuse victims). They can severely impair a child’s mental health and their outlook on life and, if left untreated, may lead to dangerous activities later in life. That, to me, is why “You’re a Useless Child” deserves to be on this list more than any other.

If you or a friend is struggling with child abuse, visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway or call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline for help and resources, including information on how to report abuse and resources for adult survivors.

I’m fully aware that there are many other Vocaloid songs that could have made this list. In fact, there are so many out there that I could easily make a part two. If you can think of any that missed the cut, feel free to leave a comment down below.