Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org
You might remember Melanie Martinez as the contestant on The Voice with half-blonde and half-black hair. Her music was very successful on iTunes during her time on the show, although she did not win the whole competition. Despite her loss, her career is still strong and she just came out with a new album, Cry Baby, released Aug. 14, 2015.
The album is full of songs with lyrics that all tell a story or have a direct meaning. The titular track refers to Martinez being emotional and taking things too personally. This song is interesting because it starts off by calling someone a “crybaby” and then Martinez calling herself one. Another song with great meaning is “Mrs. Potato Head,” which talks about plastic surgery and beauty. It also talks from two identities, Mrs. And Mr. Potato Head.
The melodies of the song “Dollhouse” were inspired by the sounds of toys, when Martinez got tired of guitar. She wrote this soon after being on The Voice and it’s included on her EP from 2014. There are a lot of remixes of this song, including “One Love” that really express her lyric “smoking cannabis.”
Some songs on this new release bring in outside inspiration that you may have heard or seen. “Mad Hatter” refers to Alice in Wonderland in lyrics like “getting drunk with a blue caterpillar” and “You give me Alice. / I’ll be the mad hatter.” Also, “Pity Party” features the lyrics “It’s my party I’ll cry if I want to,” which was in Leslie Gore’s 1965 song “It’s My Party.”
Other songs are more violent, such as “Teddy Bear.” While one might think this would be a lighthearted tune, it is talking about a teddy bear that tried to kill her. It’s a fun spin to talk about a stuffed animal. “Sippy Cup” is also kind of violent in its talk of suicide, depression and corresponding images. The lyrics are very unique, such as, “Your favorite candy’s cotton. / That’s why all your teeth are rotten.”
Another theme of the songs, which is a typical one, is love. Martinez mentioned on her website that “Carousel” is about going in circles in a relationship. “Pacify Her” questions a boy’s love for another girl, saying that he should love her (Martinez) instead. It tells the boy to “pacify her.” Meanwhile “Training Wheels” tells a happy love story.
This album tells a story and has some interesting lyrics and meaning. Martinez said it helped her become more comfortable in her own skin. It helped her accept herself and she hopes it does the same for listeners.
