2016 was a big year for music. There was many milestones accomplished by mainstream artists, and there were also not so fun times where we lost some of music's biggest names such as the iconic Prince, David Bowie, and most recently George Michael. However, It was also a big year for emerging artists. Melanie Martinez being one of them.
Melanie Martinez first caught media attention on the show, "The Voice" during Season Three. She was later eliminated on week five of the competition, and she was a part of Team Adam (Adam Levine from the band Maroon 5). Since her elimination, she began to work on her own projects, releasing an EP, and eventually her debut album, "Cry Baby," that was released in August of 2015. Despite being released in 2015, Martinez's album continues to do exceptionally well, remaining in the Billboard 200 Albums Chart since it's initial release, and peaked at number six on the chart.
Melanie Martinez during her blind audition on The Voice, after performing "Toxic" by Brittany Spears.
That's not even all of her chart success. "Cry Baby" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Albums chart, and it holds strong on the chart at number nine. It has also been on that chart for a total of 66 weeks. On the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, it reached a peak of number 10 and maintained itself on that chart for a grand total of 32 weeks. Martinez's songs "Cry Baby," "Pacify Her," "Soap," "Pity Party," and "Training Wheels" all caused a social media stir, charting on Billboard's Top Twitter Tracks. "Cry Baby" also reached number four on the Digital Albums Chart, number nine on the Taste Makers Chart, number five on the Top Album Sales Chart, and reached a peak of number 10 this week on the Vinyl Albums Chart (All original Chart data can be found on Billboard)
The question to ask though, is why does Martinez's album have such a great staying power? This is why: it is a concept album that is full of dark, riveting, and honest songs that ring with nostalgia. "Cry Baby" is not just an album, but also a character that Martinez describes as the "Fairy Tale" version of herself. As you listen to the album, she does a fantastic job of portraying real life experiences into childlike stories. For example, the song "Doll House" really shows the innocent childlike perception of family drama. This is what draws people in, as well as the connecting theme throughout the entire album. It is a haunting aesthetic pop album that refuses to be ignored. The music videos from this album also strongly display the concept she worked so hard to put into place, which was a child like perception on different issues and experiences. "Mrs. Potato Head" is one of the most haunting videos from the album, describes the struggle for many young girls to decide whether to be themselves or give in to society's idea of a perfect person, or what someone else wants them to be.
Many artists do not attempt to tackle on the project of a concept album because it can either be a hit or a miss. Melanie Martinez, with great grace, has taken the expectation of a concept album to a whole other level.
Melanie Martinez's Album 'Cry Baby' is available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.
