Melanie Martinez is not your typical reality singing show contestant. Martinez’s first widespread public recognition came from her audition on The Voice with her cover of Britney Spears’s “Toxic.” Despite not winning, she has become one of the show’s biggest success stories. But what sets her apart from most of the pop acts that come out of such shows is her steady, individualistic vision. In a setting where contestants were voted for on the basis of who they presented to be, Martinez chooses to play in the world of imagination. And on the Trilogy Tour — which brought her before a sold-out crowd at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on May 15 — she showcases the evolution of her alter ego, “Cry Baby.”
On her debut album of the same name, Martinez utilized childhood imagery as a pastel landscape to lure you into her stark, biting stories of struggles, including addiction, heartache, and family dysfunction. She kept the kid-like theme on K-12, with a continuation leading the baby imagery to turn school-themed. Her latest record, Portals, shows “Cry Baby” reborn as an earthy, pink-skinned being, with a more mature and lively sound.
You may have heard of Melanie Martinez through the virality of one of the songs off of her debut album, Cry Baby, released in 2015 but gaining popularity through TikTok in 2020. We are currently in the midst of a behemoth of live music, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour . And with an interest for the entirety of Martinez’s catalog from both day-one fans and new TikTok fans alike, it’s the perfect time for Martinez to embark on a tour through her own eras. Martinez started her L.A. show with part one of the trilogy, dedicated to Cry Baby, as she opened with the title track. She was accompanied by a live band on either side of her, and her dancers were dressed in baby outfits. As she moved into “Dollhouse,” the contrast of the pastel colors of the backing visuals added an eeriness to the message of her lyrics, including the line “No one ever listens / This wallpaper glistens / Don't let them see what goes down in the kitchen" and "Everyone thinks that we're perfect / Please don't let them look through the curtains.”