One of my all-time favorite artists is Melanie Martinez. Her extreme creativity and unique style have always been appealing to me. Initially releasing her first single “Dollhouse” in 2014, Melanie Martinez continues to rise to fame. 

Melanie Martinez is known for her style as it is seen as creepy and childish. However, fans around the world adore her ability to tell a story with her character Crybaby. The artist started off Crybaby’s journey with her first album “Crybaby”. In this album, Martinez describes and introduces Crybaby and shows the struggles that she faces. The artist described in an interview that she wants to tell her story along with others. Her next album, “K-12”, Crybaby continues to evolve as a character through her school years. Additionally, Martinez released a film with the album, which was directed, designed, written, and produced by her. 

The “K-12” album was the breaking point in Martinez’s career. As her film was released in theaters, more people became aware of her work and viewed the film. The film was a hit and made records for how many times it was viewed. The costumes in the film were a personal favorite and I was surprised at the knowledge that Martinez also designed the costumes. Martinez’s next album explained the story of Crybaby’s life after going through school. In 2021 Martinez released the album “After School”, which is, according to Martinez, “much more personal and steps outside of the Cry Baby character box for a moment.”

On February 18th, 2022, Martinez shocked fans by posting a short clip of a new music video. The clip consisted of a mushroom surrounded by fog with the words “RIP Crybaby” engraved in it. Fans were astonished by the post and automatically started conspiring with one another. Throughout the rest of February, Martinez continued to release small hints of new music. On February 23rd, Martinez announced her new upcoming album “Portals” along with a picture of the album cover. The album cover shows a creature that fans believe is Martinez herself. Martinez exclaimed that the album would be released on March 31st, 2022. 

Melanie Martinez continued to surprise fans by releasing two songs off the album beforehand. On March 17th, Martinez released the song “DEATH” which consisted of creepy child-like sounds at the beginning. The lyrics of “DEATH” consists of hints at death and the idea of rebirth. Martinez’s second song “VOID,” describes the insanity of intrusive thoughts which can lead to extremely poor decisions. The two songs were released as singles but will also be part of the upcoming album. 

Personally, I am beyond excited about “Portals” and have already come up with new ideas of my own about the album. My personal favorite of the two new songs is “VOID” but I still have a great appreciation for “DEATH”. Since it has been over two years since Melanie Martinez released an album, other fans and I cannot wait for “Portals”. I am certainly positive that “Portals” will be a huge hit. I cannot wait to see Crybaby’s character evolve, but most importantly, I cannot wait to see Melanie Martinez succeed and continue her journey to fame.