Melanie Martinez
November 20, 2014
The Mint- Los Angeles, CA
At the age of 19, Melanie Martinez may be the only artist to launch a successful music career after being on the reality singing show “The Voice”. With over 202,000 followers on Instagram, she didn’t even need to make it to the show’s finals to cast her into the light of fame. The New York native’s unique style and aesthetic built her an army of freak-show fan girls, and she quickly became an insta-famous fashion, hair, and makeup icon. In early 2014 she released her debut album Dollhouse and soon announced she had been signed to Atlantic Records, and thus began her Dollhouse Tour.
Her SOLD OUT stop in Los Angeles on November 20th at The Mint drew a hoard of fans, mostly young girls with colorful hair and makeup, similar to Martinez. It’s clear that she has connected with a specific group of underdog, misfit girls who know who they are and are not afraid to show it. A lucky few fans were able to meet her before the show began, and she proved to be as down to earth as any 19 year old doing what she loves.
The crowd of young fans waited impatiently through the two opening acts for Martinez to grace the stage, squealing and squirming in the intimate standing room. When she finally appeared, the room was on fire with the sound of excited teenaged screams. Humbled and slightly shocked by the magnitude of the noise, Martinez pushed past and immersed herself into the world of her music.
She painted vivid pictures with her lyrics, and sent chills down spines with her creepy, haunting, yet sweet melodies. There truly is no other artist who does what she does. Pretty and scary, adorable and ominous, cute and creepy, Melanie embodies originality, lives it, and creates masterpieces with her vibrant yet real and deep imagination. Dancing around the stage in frilly socks and fuzzy shorts, the crowd roared at every move she made, enamored and enthralled with here mere presence.
Melanie Martinez is a force to be reckoned with. Within her lies not only creativity and originality, but the ambition to be creative, the enthusiasm to be original, and most importantly, the fearlessness to be one’s self.
Review by: Jasmin Toubi
