She’s Back!! Melanie Martinez Creates Another Reality Inside Radio City Music Hall.
Just this past Wednesday, a portal opened at Radio City Music Hall and earthlings stepped through to enter the realm Melanie Martinez has created with her newest release, Portals. If there’s one artist you definitely don’t want to miss out on, it’s Melanie Martinez. Not only is her whimsical music ethereal, the solo artist truly entertains from start to finish. Her show is worth every penny spent and by the end, I am certain you will be left starstruck by her massive influence.
In an industry extremely cut throat, Melanie Martinez broke through at a young age with support from the popular TV show, The Voice. Since her time on the television program, Melanie has continuously proven her intricacy and individualism as a musician while still maintaining authenticity. Her dedication musically has solidified her complex, one-of-a-kind artistry, making Melanie Martinez a sensationally incomparable artist. Through Melanie’s work, the art of music has become reinvented. Her first release ‘Crybaby’ received massive success after she proactively branded herself as the Crybaby character. This being said, there is a cohesive storyline to each one of Melanie’s albums, making her music feel almost fairytale-like. Listeners are lyrically observing the growth of the character Crybaby and this harbors a loyal, die-hard fan base who relate to the character personally. In this way, Melanie Martinez separates the perceptions of herself from the music, generating more appreciation for her art rather than her popularity and influence. On this note, this is probably the reason she has decided to be perceived in all prosthetics for this release and if so, she has definitely been successful in making her music the main point of interest for fans new and old. Not only does Melanie Martinez audibly entertain a fanbase, she visually does such too. Aside from appearances alone, Melanie Martinez has also produced and directed three short films to coincide with her releases, creating relatable stories out of complex songs with lighthearted titles.
Being artistically eccentric online is a challenge in itself but being able to project that same ambiance to a live audience is a whole other obstacle, and yet Melanie Martinez has prospered in both environments. Anything you could’ve expected from a Melanie Martinez show is nothing compared to witnessing her perform for yourself. From her presence on stage to the pristine sound of her production, Melanie meticulously transformed a studio album into an unforgettable live performance. There is so much about a Melanie Martinez concert that makes it worthwhile, however, what caught my eye immediately was her band, which included an upright bass and a vibratory feeder. If you haven’t seen or heard of a vibratory feeder before, don’t feel left out. The unconventional instrument feeds off vibrations, is difficult to intertwine into live performances, and requires an immense skill set to operate. Still, Melanie found a way to incorporate and glorify the instrument, in fact, she is the first artist I’ve seen to include a vibratory feeder in a live performance and it really did enhance her set. Melanie’s entire band was exceptional. I could go on about how phenomenal each individual instrumentalist was, but ultimately, Melanie Martinez is a solo artist, if it weren’t for the dedication and pride she has towards her artwork, the show would’ve never been as outstanding as it was. The effort Melanie put into bringing Portals to 27 cities across North America cannot go unnoticed. As a solo artist, Melanie fantastically engulfed the entire stage. She even danced along to the complex choreography while effortlessly hitting high notes and weaving in added harmonies. Hearing the entirety of Portals live was magical, but ultimately my favorite song of the night was ‘SPIDER WEB.’ . I highly recommend searching up videos of that song particularly being performed live as the visualizations are entrancing.
All in all, Melanie Martinez rose from the dead to fascinate New York City’s Radio City Music Hall with a trip through Portals. Despite it being the middle of the week, Melanie sold out the concert hall and more than impressed her fans. If you haven’t yet caught Melanie on her recent tour for Portals, I recommend snagging tickets while you still can below and stream her latest release on all platforms.
Written by Sabrina @blondbiimbo
Photos by Noemad Reid / MSGE
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