Cry Baby (album)

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For 1963 album, see Cry Baby (Garnet Mimms album).
Cry Baby
File:Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby (album).png
Studio album by Melanie Martinez
Released August 14, 2015 (2015-08-14)
Recorded 2013–15
Genre
Length 46:38
Label Atlantic
Producer
Melanie Martinez chronology
Dollhouse EP
(2014)Dollhouse EP2014		 Cry Baby
(2015)
Singles from Cry Baby
  1. "Pity Party"
    Released: June 2, 2015
  2. "Soap"
    Released: July 10, 2015
  3. "Sippy Cup"
    Released: July 31, 2015

Cry Baby is the debut studio album by American recording artist Melanie Martinez. A concept album, it was released on August 14, 2015 by Atlantic Records through digital download, CD, and vinyl.[1][2] The lead single for the album, "Pity Party", was released on June 2, 2015.[3] The next single, "Soap", was released on July 10. "Sippy Cup", was the next single to be released from the album, the song serves as the sequel to "Dollhouse", and was released on July 31, 2015.[4] Cry Baby is labeled as a dark electropop[5] release, and received generally positive reviews from critics for its ambitious conceptual themes and the overall production.

Concept

This album is about a character named Cry Baby, a fantasy version of Melanie Martinez when she was a child, and a representation of her vulnerable and messed up side. Melanie claims that many of the things that have happened to Cry Baby are similar to the things that have happened in her own life, except the part where cry baby gets kidnapped and where Cry Baby kills somebody. Each song on the tracklist is titled something childhood related, while the actual message being crossed to the listener carries a more adult theme and problems. The story book available in the preorder bundle features rhymes and illustrations based on the album, written by Melanie herself.

The album features other characters as Cry Baby's mom (featured in "Dollhouse", "Cry Baby" and "Sippy Cup"), the Alphabet Boy (featured in "Carousel" as well as "Alphabet Boy"), Johnny (featured in "Soap", "Training Wheels" and "Pity Party", he was briefly Cry Baby's crush and lover that later broke her heart when he didn't show up for her birthday party) and the Big Bad Wolf (featured in "Tag, You're It" and "Milk and Cookies", a "wolf" that kidnaps Cry Baby and then turns out to be poisoned by the same.)

Release

The album was released on August 14, 2015, by Atlantic Records, through digital download, CD, vinyl and audio cassette.[2] The vinyl and CD have special packaging which includes a story book which follows the album by illustrator Chloe Tersigni.[6] Cry Baby debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 with 41,000 units sold in its first week; it also debuted at the top of the Alternative Albums Chart.[7]

Singles

"Pity Party" was released as the first single. The music video was leaked on Vessel by Martinez on May 29, 2015 and released 3 days later on June 1, 2015.

"Soap" was released as the second single. It was released on July 10, 2015 along with a music video.

"Sippy Cup" was released as the third single on July 31, 2015, with a music video. It was the darker sequel to the music video of her 2014 single, "Dollhouse".

Other songs

Martinez said in an interview that she will be releasing music videos for all tracks of the album.[8]

The song "Training Wheels" had a music video released on November 18, 2015 as a double feature with a new video for "Soap", however Training Wheels has not been announced as a single by Martinez.[9]

The title track had a music video released on March 14, 2016, showing when Cry Baby, the fictional main character behind the album, was born.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
ABC News 4.5/5 stars[5]
Billboard 2/5 stars[11]
The Daily Tar Heel (favorable)[12]
The Herald (favorable)[13]
Lithium Magazine (favorable)[14]
The New York Times (favorable)[15]
Outlet Magazine 8.5/10 stars[16]
Popdust.com 4/5 stars[17]
Spin 8/10 stars[18]
Starpulse.com 4/5 stars[19]
Under the Gun Review 9.5/10 stars[20]

Cry Baby received highly positive reviews from music critics, who praised its conceptual themes, and production. Allan Raible at ABC News gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, describing it as "a jarring, affecting record that will stick with you days after listening. It’s not for passive listening. It is a rare pop record that is both catchy beyond belief and an artistic triumph."[5] Jason Scott at Popdust.com described the album as "13 tracks of pure hypnotic bliss [that] tests the absolute bounds of alt-pop, puncturing and bleeding out of [Martinez's] Lesley Gore and Purity Ring influence," highlighting "Sippy Cup", "Mrs. Potato Head", "Soap", "Cry Baby" and "Alphabet Boy".[17] Also, Jose Valle at The Daily Tar Heel called Cry Baby his second-favorite album of the year.[12]

Jason Lipshutz at Billboard was more critical of the album, giving it only 2 stars out of 5, stating that "Martinez is clearly cribbing from the dimly lit pop stylings of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, but while her wispy delivery strikes the same femme fatale poses, she lacks the subtlety of her influences". He also said the album "shows that Martinez is admirably ambitious, but her insistence on sticking to the album's central idea leaves her contorting into uncomfortable positions".[11]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Cry Baby.[21]

Cry Baby – Standard version[22]
No. Title Writer(s) Producer Length
1. "Cry Baby"  
Kinetics & One Love 3:59
2. "Dollhouse"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Sommers
 Kinetics & One Love 3:52
3. "Sippy Cup"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Sommers
 Kinetics & One Love 3:15
4. "Carousel"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Sommers
 Kinetics & One Love 3:50
5. "Alphabet Boy"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Sommers
 Kinetics & One Love 4:13
6. "Soap"  
  • Shearer
  • Webs
  • Dibs
 3:28
7. "Training Wheels"  
  • Babydaddy
 3:25
8. "Pity Party"  
  • Baran
  • DioGuardi
 3:23
9. "Tag, You're It"  
  • Martinez
  • Scott Harris
  • Rick Markowitz
  • SmarterChild
  • Michael Miller
 3:09
10. "Milk and Cookies"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Markowitz
  • SmarterChild
  • Michael Leary
 3:26
11. "Pacify Her"  
  • Michael Leary
 3:40
12. "Mrs. Potato Head"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Sommers
 Kinetics & One Love 3:37
13. "Mad Hatter"  
  • Martinez
  • Dussolliet
  • Bryan Fryzel
  • Aaron Kleinstub
  • Frequency
  • Aalias
 3:21
Total length:
 46:38

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 77
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 149
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 10
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[28] 75
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 36
Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 41
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 32
US Billboard 200[33] 6
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[34] 1

References

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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Melanie Martinez: Cry Baby" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  30. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 34, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Melanie Martinez | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
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