Following a stint on NBC’s The Voice, alt-pop star Melanie Martinez burst onto the music scene with her quirky, off-beat style and massively popular debut concept album, Cry Baby, in 2015.
Melanie earned a huge fan base during the peak of Tumblr, where her imagery and lyrics were embraced. Over her career so far, she’s released 26 music videos (all of which were self-directed besides two), four EPs and two studio albums. Her second studio album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2019.
Now, much to her fans’ excitement, Melanie is gearing up for the release of her third album, Portals, on March 31.
portals album 2023
Below, we answer the 11 most asked questions about Melanie Martinez.
“How old is Melanie Martinez in 2023?”
As of March 2023, Melanie Martinez’s age is 27. Martinez was born in 1995. Her birthday is April 28. She was about 16 when she first rose to fame.
“How did Melanie Martinez get famous?”
In 2012, Melanie Martinez auditioned for Season 3 of The Voice. She sang “Toxic” by Britney Spears, and three of the four judges turned their chairs for her. She chose Adam Levine as her coach. She went on to release her debut album, Cry Baby, in 2015.
2016 Panorama NYC – Day 2
“Did Melanie Martinez win The Voice?”
No, the audience voted Melanie Martinez off The Voice during Week 5.
“Has Melanie Martinez won a Grammy?”
No, Melanie Martinez has never won or been nominated for a Grammy award. However, she was nominated at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards in the Top Soundtrack category for her 2019 album, K-12.
2017 Lollapalooza Brazil – Day 2
“Who is Cry Baby from Melanie Martinez?”
Cry Baby is a character or alter-ego based on a young version of Melanie Martinez. Cry Baby experiences adult situations that happened to Melanie in real life, though often embellished. Cry Baby’s story is also told through music videos, where she often wears pigtails and baby doll dresses.
102.7 KIIS FM’s 2016 Wango Tango – The Village
“What do Melanie Martinez’s songs mean?”
Through the character Cry Baby, Melanie Martinez explores adult themes with childhood-related titles on her albums Cry Baby and K-12.
Her songs feature complex topics, including women competing against each other in the music industry, toxic friendships and mental health, as well as heavier issues such as eating disorders, abuse, sexual assault and consent.
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“Was Melanie Martinez bullied as a kid?”
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Melanie Martinez said that she was bullied in middle and high school because she had trouble “controlling her emotions.” Apparently, those experiences are what led to her Cry Baby persona, as she decided to take the insult and turn it into art.
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In a 2016 Alternative Press interview, Melanie said, “I definitely got bullied. I don’t know if it was because of how I dressed. I definitely dressed kind of weird.”
LA Premiere Of “K-12” – Arrivals
“Why did Melanie Martinez take a break?”
Melanie Martinez took a four-year break between her first and second albums, during which accusations of sexual assault from a former friend led to her online “cancellation.” During her hiatus, Melanie wrote and directed her 2019 musical horror film, K-12, which accompanied her sophomore album of the same name.
AOL Build Speaker Series – Melanie Martinez, “Cry Baby”
“What happened with Melanie Martinez and Timothy Heller?”
In December 2017, a singer-songwriter named Timothy Heller accused Melanie Martinez of sexual assault on Twitter. According to Variety, Timothy claimed that she “repeatedly said no” to Melanie and accused her of “forceful penetration with a sex toy.”
Melanie tweeted that she was “horrified and saddened” by the allegations and denied that the relationship between them was non-consensual. “I would never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent,” she wrote.
“What she and I shared was a close friendship … We tried to help each other. We both had pain in dealing with our individual demons… She never said no to what we chose to do together,” the singer continued in her statement.
Timothy was part of an indie-pop duo called Dresses which opened for some of Melanie’s Dollhouse Tour dates in 2014. In 2017, Timothy began a solo career with the release of a single called “Sleep.”
“Who is Melanie Martinez dating?”
Melanie Martinez is believed to be currently dating Verde, who is a photographer, music producer and creative director. His real name is Justin Greenwood, and he hails from Long Island, New York.
Verde has worked with brands such as Adidas and has also done several photo shoots with Melanie. He posted a promo image for Melanie’s new album on his Instagram on March 14, 2023.
Melanie previously dated Oliver Tree from 2019 to 2020 and Michael Keenan from 2015 to 2018.
Melanie Martinez K-12 Film Premiere
“What happened to Melanie Martinez’s perfume?”
In 2016, Melanie Martinez launched a perfume called Cry Baby Perfume Milk, which became a cult favorite among fans thanks to its sweet, nostalgic scent and vintage baby bottle-inspired packaging.
Today, the fragrance is seemingly indefinitely out of stock, with no word on whether or not it will make a return. Online, fans have assumed that the perfume was been discontinued due to a manufacturing issue, although some say a restock is supposed to occur, even though no date has been announced.
In a virtual meet and greet video posted to YouTube in 2020, Melanie said that Cry Baby Perfume Milk might restock in 2021 and that she was working on a second fragrance at the time that was meant to coincide with her K-12 album. However, both the restock and second perfume fell through.