MARTINEZ, MELANIE - HADES - AURA BLUE MARBLED VINYL + BOOKLET + PUZZLE

Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter, visual artist, film director, actress, dancer, fashion designer, producer, photographer, and screenwriter of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, Martinez first gained attention after participating in the MSG Varsity Talent Show during her junior year of high school. She rose to prominence in 2012 as a contestant on the American television singing competition The Voice, where she auditioned with Britney Spears' "Toxic". She advanced to the Top 6 before being eliminated during the fifth week of the live shows. Following her departure from The Voice, Martinez began independently developing original material. In 2013, she recorded songs for a planned EP with producers including John Feldmann and Doveman, though the project was eventually scrapped. Wanting to pursue a more distinctive artistic direction, she wrote "Dollhouse" with Kinetics & One Love in September of that year, laying the foundation for the Cry Baby universe that would define the beginning of her career. After signing with Atlantic Records, Martinez released her debut EP, Dollhouse (2014), featuring the singles "Dollhouse" and "Carousel". Several tracks from the EP were recorded during sessions for her debut studio album, helping establish her signature blend of dark pop, alternative music, and storytelling. Her debut studio album, Cry Baby (2015), debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Over the years, it became one of the most successful alternative pop albums of its generation, surpassing 6.2 billion Spotify streams, while every track on the album earned an individual RIAA certification. Its visual world, centered around the fictional character Cry Baby, established Martinez's reputation for combining music with elaborate storytelling and cinematic visuals. Martinez expanded that vision with her second studio album, K-12, released alongside a 92-minute companion film that she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in on September 6, 2019. She later followed the project with the After School EP on September 25, 2020, further exploring the themes introduced during the era. Together, the projects have accumulated over 2.7 billion Spotify streams, while K-12 became the first album to have every track certified by the RIAA without producing an official single. In 2020, five years after its original release, "Play Date" experienced an unexpected viral resurgence through TikTok. The song became Martinez's biggest commercial success, surpassing 1 billion Spotify streams and introducing her music to a new generation of listeners, while several other songs from her catalog also experienced renewed popularity across social media. Martinez released her third studio album, PORTALS, on March 31, 2023. A deluxe edition followed on April 5, featuring fan favorite "MILK OF THE SIREN", which had previously leaked in 2021. Debuting at number two on the Billboard 200, PORTALS marked a complete artistic reinvention through a new fantasy-inspired aesthetic and the introduction of a mysterious four-eyed creature representing the rebirth of Cry Baby. The album has since accumulated over 1.2 billion Spotify streams. Following the PORTALS Tour in 2023, Martinez embarked on the Trilogy Tour across North America and Europe in 2024, celebrating all three albums of the Cry Baby trilogy. The tour became her first arena tour and featured numerous sold-out performances, including consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden. Despite not releasing a new album that year, she ranked among the Top 10 best-selling female artists of 2024 and became one of the year's most successful alternative female touring artists. Martinez returned in 2026 with the single "POSSESSION" on January 28, introducing a new protagonist, Circle. The second single, "DISNEY PRINCESS", followed in February, leading up to the release of her fourth studio album, HADES, on March 27, 2026. "UNCANNY VALLEY" was released alongside the album, while "THE VATICAN" was later promoted as an additional single. Told through the perspective of Circle, HADES explores corruption, capitalism, artificial intelligence, environmental destruction, religion, celebrity culture, and other social issues through a dark dystopian lens. Rather than imagining a fictional future, the album amplifies real-world issues into a more extreme reflection of modern society, representing Martinez's most politically and socially driven work to date. Following the album's release, Martinez launched The Sacrifice Tour in support of HADES across North America and Europe. She also confirmed that HADES is the first half of a larger double-album project, revealing that its companion album, Elysium, will explore a utopian perspective as the thematic counterpart to its predecessor while continuing Circle's story. In addition to the albums, Martinez confirmed that a feature film based on HADES is in development. Written by Martinez, the film will continue the narrative introduced on the album and further expand the world of Circle, though its release date has yet to be announced. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.