Background and career
Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to fame in 2012 after appearing on season 3 of the American television talent show The Voice. Following the show, she was signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut single "Dollhouse", which was certificed 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was followed by her debut extended play of the same name (2014). In 2015, Martinez released her debut studio album, Cry Baby. Serving as the first part of Cry Baby trilogy, it met commercial success, certified double platinum by the RIAA and spawning RIAA platinum-certified songs like "Pity Party", "Soap", and "Play Date". The album peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 and topped the US Top Alternative Albums chart. K–12 was released as Martinez's second studio album and a soundtrack album in 2019; it was accompanied by the film of the same name. Reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200, it also peaked atop the Top Alternative Albums and Top Soundtracks charts. Portals (2023) followed, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard 200. Hades, a double album along with her fifth studio album Elysium, was released in 2026, debuting at number 3 in the United States. Martinez adopted a new character in the album, named Circle. Known for her colorful two-toned hair and bangs, Martinez's visual style plays an important part in her music videos and performances. She came to fame cultivating a doll-like look complemented by babydoll dresses and emotive facial expressions.
Melanie Adele Martinez was born on April 28, 1995, in Astoria, Queens, to parents Mery and Jose Martinez who are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Her family moved to Baldwin, New York, on Long Island, when Martinez was four. Martinez attended Plaza Elementary School, where her teacher Mr. Nadien taught her to sing. She began writing poetry in kindergarten and was a shy, emotional child with few friends, often crying when overwhelmed. She also practiced photography and painting. Her emotional nature led others to call her a "cry baby", which inspired the character of her debut studio album, Cry Baby. Martinez grew up in a "traditional Latin household" that she described as "super-conservative" where she was made to feel shameful about her sexuality, feeling as if she would not be accepted if she came out as bisexual. She says that her family is now fully accepting of her sexuality. At fourteen, Martinez's family could not afford guitar lessons, so she taught herself how to play guitar by studying chord diagrams of songs she enjoyed, which she found online. She wrote her first songs by pairing her poetry with the chord diagrams and began sharing music on her YouTube channel, but says that playing guitar "eventually got stale". Martinez graduated from Baldwin High School.
In 2012, during her junior year of high school, Martinez participated in the MSG's Varsity Talent Show, a televised talent competition. She sang the Beatles's rendition of "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" by the Four Tops. She was eliminated in the second round. Martinez then auditioned for the third season of The Voice. The initial, untelevised audition was an open call, held at Javits Center. Several months after the initial audition, while at Roosevelt Field Mall, Martinez received word that she had advanced to the "second round". She then received multiple callbacks until she was finally selected to audition on the show itself. Martinez auditioned singing Britney Spears's "Toxic" with three of the four judges (Adam Levine, CeeLo Green and Blake Shelton) hitting their "I Want You" button. Martinez ultimately chose Adam Levine to be her coach. In the Battle Round, Martinez competed against Caitlin Michele. They performed a duet of the Ellie Goulding's song "Lights". Martinez won and moved on to the Knockout Round, where she was paired with Sam James. She chose to sing La Roux's "Bulletproof". Levine eliminated James, and Martinez moved on to the Live Rounds as one of the five remaining members of Team Adam. In week one of the Live Rounds, Martinez sang "Hit the Road Jack". Public vote saved Team Adam members Amanda Brown and Bryan Keith. Levine then chose Martinez over Loren Allred and Joselyn Rivera to remain in the competition. In third week, Martinez's performance of "Seven Nation Army" finished the voting period at number 10 on the iTunes Top 200 Single Chart, causing her iTunes votes to be multiplied by ten. It occurred again in week four, when "Too Close" ended the voting period at #6. Martinez was eliminated by audience vote in week five, along with the fellow Team Adam member Amanda Brown, leaving Levine with no artists. In response, Martinez said, "I never expected to get this far and this is beyond what I've ever dreamed of. I'm just so glad I got to express who I am as an artist and really touch people's hearts because that was the ultimate goal".
– Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
After the show, Martinez began working independently on original material, which she says she spent the majority of 2013 writing. She released her debut single, "Dollhouse", on February 9, 2014. She later compared the song's story to Edward Scissorhands, saying "[It's] the perfect home with the perfect lawn and they all look the same. But behind each house there's a screwed up group of people who are hiding behind wealth and perfection." Martinez also released a music video for the track, which was fan-funded by an Indiegogo page created by Martinez, and hair, makeup, and shooting were all done by friends of hers. The song was produced and cowritten by NYC songwriting duo Kinetics & One Love. On April 7, 2014, Martinez signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut EP, Dollhouse, a month later on May 19, 2014. The only single from the EP, "Carousel", reached number nine on the Alternative Digital Songs chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and featured in a preview for FX's miniseries American Horror Story: Freak Show. She promoted the EP with the accompanying tour Dollhouse Tour, which lasted from June 2014 to March 2015.
On June 1, 2015, Martinez released the single "Pity Party", which sampled Lesley Gore's "It's My Party". It was followed by the album's second single, "Soap", which reached number twelve on the Alternative Digital Songs and number sixteen on the Pop Digital Songs chart. The third single, "Sippy Cup", followed on July 31. Her debut studio album, Cry Baby, was released on August 14, 2015, to moderate critical acclaim and debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA on February 24, 2017. Martinez went on the Cry Baby Tour to promote the album, which lasted from 2015 to 2017. In May 2016, Martinez exclusively released her second EP, Pity Party. A month later, she started working on and recording her second studio album. In November 2016, Martinez released her third EP, Cry Baby's Extra Clutter, a physical vinyl release of the bonus tracks from Cry Baby. It also features "Gingerbread Man", a Christmas-themed single which was initially released in December 2015 on SoundCloud but later released as a solo single in January 2016. In October 2016, Martinez released a commercial for her fragrance, Cry Baby Perfume Milk, noting that the "idea for this perfume [had] been cultivating in [her] brain since the moment [she] finished writing" Cry Baby. The perfume was directly distributed by Martinez's record label, Atlantic, making them the first record label to distribute a fragrance. Martinez also collaborated with cosmetics company Lime Crime to release two exclusive lipsticks: a blue lipstick called "Cry Baby" on August 17, 2015, and a brown lipstick called "Teddy Bear" on March 9, 2016. Martinez's former friend Timothy Heller accused Martinez of sexual assault via Twitter on December 4, 2017. Martinez denied these accusations, proclaiming that any intimacy between the two was consensual. On December 22, Martinez released the song "Piggyback" via SoundCloud, believed to reflect on the allegations made by Heller. On May 15, 2019, Martinez released a teaser trailer for her second studio album, K–12. It was eventually released on September 6 and debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. Also serving as a soundtrack album, it was accompanied by a musical film of the same name, which was written and directed by Martinez. In an interview with People, Martinez alluded to future sequels and visual albums being released. The album was promoted with the K–12 Tour began on October 13, 2019, in Washington, D.C. and concluded prematurely on February 17, 2020, in Brixton, England due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, Martinez announced she was working on an EP titled After School, which was released that year and served as the deluxe edition of K–12. On February 10, Martinez released a stand-alone single, "Copy Cat", which featured Tierra Whack, marking Martinez's first feature. She later released a second single from the EP, "Fire Drill", on June 26, which had previously featured in the credits of the K–12 film. However, both songs were not included on After School which was eventually delayed and released on September 25. In April, a song from Cry Baby "Play Date" became one of the top 100 most-played songs on Spotify in the US after gaining popularity on TikTok. In 2021, Martinez featured on Forbes's Under 30 list.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
