Behind The Artist: Melanie Martinez

Up and coming alternative musician Melanie Martinez talks about her August album release, Cry Baby, and all that teen angst emotion that inspires her music

From the LifeMinute Team

June 25, 2015

Melanie Martinez's career kicked off three years ago when she sang her way into Team Adam on NBC's hit vocal talent show The Voice. "When I was 16 years old, I was on Adam Levine's team on The Voice. He was super helpful in trying to figure out how to mix the whole being myself thing, but still sing a cover song. He's also a goofball, so it was fun," says Martinez. She didn't win The Voice, but that didn't slow her down.

After The Voice, Martinez continued to play live shows, write songs and soon signed with Atlantic Records. In 2014, she released her first lead single "Dollhouse" from her debut EP Dollhouse, which showcased her unique sound and perspective. "My music is a mix between childhood themed things and adult situations. It's about the contrast between those two things," she explains.

Martinez just announced the release date of her next album, Cry Baby, to be August 14, 2015. "Cry Baby is a name that I was called when I was younger because I was super emotional. The song is about what she goes through and how she changes and grows into a different kind of more confident person. I think I did that as well while writing the album," she says.

"The latest song we put out was "Pity Party." It's about no one showing up to my birthday party. I sampled "It's My Party," by Leslie Gore, a song from the 60's," says Martinez. The song has her signature haunting background mixed with catchy pop sounds, and the music video has similarly contrasting elements in which idealistic childhood scenes are blended with dark themes like broken families, loneliness, and depression. In the video, Martinez, dressed up as her version of a crybaby, cuts up her dolls and pops her balloons with knives and scissors before blowing out her candles all by herself. "That was technically the first video that I directed. I'm very involved in my music videos and wrote the storyboard."