History of Melanie Martinez in Timeline
April 28, 1995
Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to fame in 2012 after appearing on season 3 of the American television talent show The Voice. Following the show, she was signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut single "Dollhouse", followed by her debut extended play of the same name (2014).
April 28, 1995
Melanie Adele Martinez was born on April 28, 1995, in Astoria, Queens, to parents Mery and Jose Martinez, who are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Her family moved to Baldwin, New York, on Long Island, when Martinez was four.
2012
In 2012, during her junior year of high school, Martinez participated in the MSG Varsity Talent Show, a televised talent competition. She sang the Beatles' rendition of "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" by the Four Tops. She was eliminated in the second round.
February 09, 2014
After the show, Martinez began working independently on original material, which she says she spent the majority of 2013 writing. She released her debut single, "Dollhouse", on February 9, 2014. She later compared the song's story to Edward Scissorhands, saying "[It's] the perfect home with the perfect lawn and they all look the same. But behind each house there's a screwed up group of people who are hiding behind wealth and perfection." Martinez also released a music video for the track, which was fan-funded by an Indiegogo page created by Martinez, and hair, makeup, and shooting were all done by friends of hers. The song was produced and cowritten by NYC songwriting duo Kinetics & One Love.
April 07, 2014
On April 7, 2014, Martinez signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut EP, Dollhouse, a month later on May 19, 2014. The only single from the EP, "Carousel", reached number nine on the Alternative Digital Songs chart, was certified gold by the RIAA, and featured in a preview for FX's miniseries American Horror Story: Freak Show. She promoted the EP with the Dollhouse Tour which lasted from June 2014 to March 2015.
June 01, 2015
On June 1, 2015, Martinez released the single "Pity Party", which sampled Lesley Gore's "It's My Party". This was followed by the album's second single, "Soap". The song reached number twelve on the Alternative Digital Songs chart, and number sixteen on the Pop Digital Songs chart. The third single, "Sippy Cup", followed on July 31. Cry Baby, her debut album, was released on August 14, 2015, to moderate critical acclaim and debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 24, 2017. Martinez went on the Cry Baby Tour to promote the album, which lasted from 2015 to 2017.
August 17, 2015
In October 2016, Martinez released a commercial for her fragrance, Cry Baby Perfume Milk, noting that the "idea for this perfume has been cultivating in my brain since the moment I finished writing" Cry Baby. The perfume was directly distributed by Martinez's record label, Atlantic, making them the first record label to distribute a fragrance. Martinez also collaborated with cosmetics company Lime Crime, Inc. to release two "exclusive" lipsticks: a blue lipstick called "Cry Baby" on August 17, 2015, and a brown lipstick called "Teddy Bear" on March 9, 2016.
December 2015
In May 2016, Martinez released her second EP, Pity Party, in Ireland, Mexico and the UK exclusively. A month later, Martinez said she had started working on and recording her second album. In November 2016, Martinez released her third EP, Cry Baby's Extra Clutter, a physical vinyl release of the bonus tracks from Cry Baby as well as "Gingerbread Man", a Christmas-themed single which was initially released in December 2015 on SoundCloud but later released as a solo single in January 2016.
December 2017
On December 22, 2017, Melanie Martinez released the song "Piggyback" on SoundCloud, believed to reflect on allegations made by her former friend, Timothy Heller. Heller accused Martinez of sexual assault via Twitter on 4 December 2017, which Martinez strongly denied, asserting that any intimacy was consensual. In a review of Martinez's third album, Portals, Sam Franzini of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album track "Battle of the Larynx" is "a five-minute saga detailing serious accusations leveled against her".
December 04, 2017
On December 4, 2017, Timothy Heller, a woman with whom Martinez once shared a friendship, alleged via Twitter that Martinez had sexually assaulted and raped her. The following day, Martinez tweeted a response to Heller's accusations, saying the allegations "horrified and saddened" her, and that Heller "never said no to what [they] chose to do together". On December 9, 2017, Martinez released a second statement, thanking her fans for analyzing Heller's "false statements". She concluded the statement with: "...I would never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent." Martinez released the song "Piggyback" on SoundCloud, an act believed to be in response to Heller's accusations. In a review of Martinez's third album, Portals, Sam Franzini of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album track "Battle of the Larynx" is "a five-minute saga detailing serious accusations leveled against her, now proven to be false".
May 15, 2019
On May 15, 2019, Martinez released a teaser trailer for her second album, K–12 which was eventually released on September 6, 2019, and debuted at number 3 on Billboard 200. The album was accompanied by a musical fantasy horror film, which was written and directed by Martinez. In an interview with People, Martinez alluded to future sequels and visual albums being released. The album was promoted with the K–12 Tour began on October 13, 2019, in Washington, D.C. and concluded prematurely on February 17, 2020, in Brixton, England due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
January 2020
In January 2020, Martinez announced she was working on an EP titled After School, which was then set to be released in the spring of 2020 and serve as the deluxe edition of K–12. On February 10, 2020, Martinez released a stand-alone single, "Copy Cat" which featured Tierra Whack, marking Martinez's first feature. Martinez later released a second single from the EP, "Fire Drill", on June 26, 2020, which had previously featured in the credits of the K–12 film. Both songs were not included on After School, which was eventually delayed and released on September 25, 2020.
April 2020
In April 2020, "Play Date" became one of the top 100 most-played songs on Spotify in the US after gaining popularity on TikTok. In 2021, Martinez featured on Forbes' Under 30 list.
February 18, 2023
On February 18, 2023, after archiving all her Instagram posts, Martinez teased her third studio album, Portals. The album was released on March 31, 2023, and was promoted with the singles, "Death" and "Void" which charted at number 95 and 61 respectively, marking her first original appearances on the Billboard Hot 100. She embarked on the Portals Tour in May 2023. Martinez was nominated for the VMA's Best Visual Effects, for the music for her single "Void". She was eventually defeated by Taylor Swift in the final round, losing to Anti-Hero.
November 2023
In November 2023, Martinez announced the launch of Portals Perfume, a collection of four fragrances developed in collaboration with indie perfumery Flower Shop Perfumes. The collection launched in a sculptural vessel modeled after Martinez's four eyed "Cry Baby" alter ego which houses all four fragrances and retails for $275.
December 2023
In December 2023, Melanie Martinez released her third Music Video, Tunnel Vision. The video was directed by Melanie Martinez and produced by the company DojoHouse.
February 2024
In February 2024, the music video for Faerie Soirée was released. On May 2024, the music video for Light Shower was also released.
