Melanie Martinez
Known for her highly stylized "Cry Baby" alter ego, Melanie Martinez has carved out a distinctive niche in the pop landscape, crafting arty, often dark anthems inspired by her adolescence and infused with folk, electronic, and hip-hop flourishes. After initially earning fans as a contestant on The Voice in 2012, she brought her conceptual pop to full flower on her Top Ten debut album, 2015's Cry Baby. Second album K-12 was issued in 2019 and continued the adventures of Cry Baby. Both records hit number one on the Top Alternative Albums chart. Following an extended hiatus, Martinez returned with 2023's PORTALS.
Born in Astoria, Queens, New York, in 1995, Martinez grew up on Long Island in a family of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage. A self-described emotional child, she struggled to fully express herself in her family's traditional household and was drawn early on to poetry, art, and music. She taught herself how to play guitar, and by her teens was adept at playing covers and writing her own songs. In 2012, while still in high school, she won a spot on NBC's The Voice with her performance of Britney Spears' "Toxic." Choosing to join judge Adam Levine's team, she eventually made it to week five before getting eliminated via audience vote. Martinez began working on solo material and in 2014 released the Kinetics- and One Love-produced EP Dollhouse on Atlantic Records. In 2015, she returned with her debut full-length album, Cry Baby, which featured the singles "Pity Party" and "Sippy Cup." The record reached number six on the Billboard 200 and hit number one on Billboard's Top Alternative Albums chart.
Martinez quickly started working on the follow-up, but after numerous delays the album wouldn't be finished until 2018. That same year, she also recorded a full-length movie to accompany the release. The album K-12 was issued in September 2019 and continued the adventures of Cry Baby, the character who had dominated the singer's debut LP. The record again hit number one on the Top Alternative Albums chart and peaked at three on the Billboard 200. 2020 brought the EP After School (which had been included on the deluxe edition of K-12), as well as several stand-alone singles, including the dreamy, harp-led "Fire Drill" and the buoyant "Play Date."
Following a two-year hiatus, Martinez returned with her third full-length, PORTALS, in March 2023. Produced with C.J. Baran, the album featured the moody, orchestral- and electronics-blended single "Death."
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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