Cry Baby (Melanie Martinez album)


Cry Baby is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Melanie Martinez, released on August 14, 2015, through Atlantic Records. Between September and December 2012, Martinez rose to prominence upon participating in the third season of the American edition of The Voice. After the show's completion, the singer began working independently on original material, which she says she spent the majority of 2013 writing.
The album was supported by the release of three singles.
"Pity Party", was released on June 2, 2015, and "Soap", was released on July 10, 2015. The third and final single, "Sippy Cup" was released July 31, 2015. Cry Baby is a visual and concept album about a character named Cry Baby, who is a fantasy version of Martinez.
A pop and alternative pop album, Cry Baby received generally positive reviews from music critics. In the United States, the album was certified double-platinum by the Recording [Industry Association of America|RIAA], after earning 2 million album-equivalent units. In April 2020, the song "Play Date", went viral on video-sharing platform TikTok, causing the album to re-enter charts globally and peaking at number 56 on the Billboard 200.

Background and production

Martinez had participated in The Voice since 2012, the period when she was in high school, and she started to gain popularity from there. In May 2014, she released her debut extended play produced by Kinetics & One Love, Dollhouse, which is composed of four tracks. In October, she released the video for "Carousel".
Martinez directed and styled Cry Baby, in addition to the music videos featured on the album. According to her, she wanted to name the record as Cry Baby, since she had been "teased as a kid for being super emotional" because she "took things way too seriously". Working on the album, Martinez stated that she had been "very emotional and super personal", and making the character Cry Baby assisted her to "deal with own insecurities", saying that she could "throw it all onto Cry Baby" instead of herself.

Music and lyrics

Noted as a pop and alternative pop record, Cry Baby is a concept album where Martinez focuses on the inner conflicts and painful romance of family life. According to Popdust, the album adapts assemblage of "toy-like sounds and textures", which frames a narrative centered on a young girl confronting themes such as "abandonment", "bloody terror", "exhilarating love", "crippling heartache", "glossy optimism", and "emotional emptiness". Lyrically, Cry Baby is a "twisted blend of childhood naïveté, teenage angst, and adult apathy, all of which are sung over creepy synths and hard-hitting hip-hop beats".
Martinez draws on imagery of "youth and family" in the several songs such as "Carousel", "Training Wheels", and "Milk and Cookies"; she reworks them into R&B- and electro-infused songs that address "familial strife, abuse, and romance gone wrong". She also constructs a world of "enchanted transgressions and human-consuming flaws", using these motifs to encourage listeners to "reconsider" their own experiences.

Release and promotion

Marketing

On July 17, 2015, the cover artwork for Cry Baby was officially revealed, and merchandise bundles were available to pre-order on Martinez's website with the digital pre-order and track list on July 24. Starting on July 27, Martinez released a snippet of each song, apart from the ones on the deluxe edition, on her Instagram page. In October, she visited Billboard studio to perform "Pity Party" and "Soap". Martinez revealed with an interview in December that she would release music videos for all tracks of the album. "Alphabet Boy"'s music video was revealed on June 2, 2016, and a double feature music video for "Tag, You're It" along with "Milk and Cookies" was released on August 23. The remaining music videos were "Pacify Her", "Mrs. Potato Head", and "Mad Hatter", serving as the conclusion to the Cry Baby visual story.
In April 2020, one of the deluxe edition's bonus tracks, "Play Date", reached the "Viral 50" songs on Spotify and subsequently had risen on the charts. It resulted from a popular trend on multiple platforms where users make an edit of a celebrity with the song playing in the background. Martinez posted on Instagram, addressing the song's success as the "best birthday present ever". On May 1, 2020, the song was certified Gold by RIAA, and as of December 8, it has been certified Platinum. In an interview with Idolator on May 8, Martinez revealed plans to record a music video for the song from home.

Packaging

Cry Baby was released on August 14, 2015, by Atlantic Records, through digital download, CD, vinyl, and audio cassette. The vinyl and CD contained special packaging, which includes a storybook that follows the album by illustrator Chloe Tersigni. The storybook became available in the pre-order bundle features rhymes and illustrations based on the album, written by Martinez herself.

Singles

Three singles were released from Cry Baby; however, they failed to chart in Billboard Hot 100. Martinez debuted "Pity Party" on June 2, 2015, as the lead single from the album. Its music video was released on June 1 through YouTube. The song was certified Platinum by RIAA. In June 30, 2016, Martinez performed the song in Jimmy Kimmel Live. The second single was "Soap"; it was released on July 10. Its music video was released on November 19, as a double feature with "Training Wheels". The song was certified Platinum by RIAA on February 28, 2020. "Sippy Cup" was chosen as the third and last single from the album on July 31. Martinez released the snippet for it three days before, and on July 30, Spin premiered the song's music video, serving as the second part of her 2014 single, "Dollhouse".

Tour

The Cry Baby Tour was the second concert tour by Martinez, in support of Cry Baby. It consisted of nine legs and 124 shows, beginning on August 26, 2015, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and concluded on April 2, 2017, in Santiago, Chile. Handsome Ghost performed as a supporting act of the tour.
;Set list
  1. "Cry Baby"
  2. "Dollhouse"
  3. "Sippy Cup"
  4. "Carousel"
  5. "Alphabet Boy"
  6. "Soap"
  7. "Training Wheels"
  8. "Pity Party"
  9. "Teddy Bear"
  10. "Tag, You're It"
  11. "Milk and Cookies"
  12. "Pacify Her"
  13. "Mrs. Potato Head"
  14. "Mad Hatter"
;Encore
  2. "Play Date"
  3. "Gingerbread Man"
  4. "Cake"
;Notes
  • The songs that Martinez played as the encore was based on audience choice.
  • The encore songs can be played in random order as Martinez likes, but "Cake" was always be the last song, except during the last shows in São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Santiago.
  • Martinez performed "Teddy Bear" after "Pity Party" in select shows.
  • From March 26, 2017, to April 2, 2017, "Pacify Her", "Gingerbread Man", and "Play Date" were removed from the setlist.
  • In Santiago, Chile during the Lollapalooza Chile music festival, Martinez only performed Cry Baby, Dollhouse, Sippy Cup, Carousel, Alphabet Boy, and Soap.

Critical reception

Cry Baby received generally positive reviews from music critics. Allan Raible at ABC News gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, describing it as "a jarring, affecting record that will stick with you days after listening. It's not for passive listening. It is a rare pop record that is both catchy beyond belief and an artistic triumph." Jason Scott at Popdust.com described the album as "13 tracks of pure hypnotic bliss tests the absolute bounds of alt-pop, puncturing and bleeding out of Lesley Gore and Purity Ring influence," highlighting "Sippy Cup", "Mrs. Potato Head", "Soap", "Cry Baby" and "Alphabet Boy". AllMusic's Matt Collar compared Martinez to Björk and Beyoncé, and said that "her songs also fit nicely next to the work of contemporaries like Lorde and Lana Del Rey".
Spin named the album number 22 on their list of "The 25 Best Pop Albums of 2015".

Commercial performance

Cry Baby debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 with 41,000 units sold in its first week; it also debuted at the top of the Alternative Albums Chart. The album had sold 263,050 copies, as of August 2, 2016. On February 24, 2017, it was certified Platinum, having sold 1,000,000 copies in the US. Billboard magazine reported that Cry Baby was still charted in Billboard 200 on August 15, for 104 consistent weeks without dropping from the chart.

Personnel

;Recording locations
;Personnel
  • Melanie Martinez – vocals
  • Mitch McCarthy – mixing (recorded music)|mixing] on all tracks except "Dollhouse", and "Carousel" at Owl Foot Ranch
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • JL Brown – mixing

''Cry Baby's Extra Clutter EP''

Cry Baby's Extra Clutter EP is the third extended play by American recording artist Melanie Martinez, released on November 25, 2016. It only received a physical vinyl release, marking her first EP without a digital release of the three bonus tracks from Cry Baby as well as the limited-release 2015 Christmas single, "Gingerbread Man". The vinyl was only available for purchase via Urban Outfitters and Martinez's website. Its cover art was drawn by Chloe Tersigni.

Release history