Cry Baby (album)

Cry Baby
Studio album by Melanie Martinez
Released	August 14, 2015
Recorded	2013–15
Genre	Alternative pop[1] electropop
Length	46:38
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Kinetics & One Love Christopher J. Baran Kara DioGuardi Kyle Shearer Daniel Weber SmarterChild Michael Leary Michael Keenan Babydaddy Michael Miller Frequency Aalias
Melanie Martinez chronology
Dollhouse EP (2014) Cry Baby (2015)
Singles from Cry Baby
"Pity Party" Released: June 2, 2015 "Soap" Released: July 10, 2015 "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.^[2][3] The lead single for the album, "Pity Party", was released on June 2, 2015.^[4] 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.^[5] Cry Baby is labeled as a dark electropop^[6] release, and received generally positive reviews from critics for its ambitious conceptual themes and the overall production.

Release

The album was released on August 14, 2015, by Atlantic Records, through digital download, CD, vinyl and audio cassette.^[3] The vinyl and CD have special packaging which includes a story book which follows the album by illustrator Chloe Tersigni.^[7] 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.^[8]

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

The third single, "Sippy Cup" was released 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
ABC News	[6]
Billboard	[12]
The Daily Tar Heel	(favorable)[13]
The Herald	(favorable)[14]
Lithium Magazine	(favorable)[15]
The New York Times	(favorable)[16]
Outlet Magazine	[17]
Popdust.com	[18]
Spin	[19]
Starpulse.com	[20]
Under the Gun Review	[21]

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."^[6] 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".^[18] Also, Jose Valle at The Daily Tar Heel called Cry Baby his second-favorite album of the year.^[13]

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".^[12]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Cry Baby"	Melanie Martinez	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"	Martinez Emily Warren Kyle Shearer	Shearer Webs Dibs	3:28
7.	"Training Wheels"	Martinez Scott Hoffman	Babydaddy	3:25
8.	"Pity Party"	Martinez Christopher J. Baran Kara DioGuardi Lesley Gore	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"	Martinez Chloe Angelides Learry	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

Deluxe Edition (Digital only)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
14.	"Play Date"	Decilveo Martinez	Michael Keenan Decilveo (add. prod.)	2:59
15.	"Teddy Bear"	Martinez Phoebe Ryan Felix Snow	Snow	4:05
16.	"Cake"	Martinez Baran	Baran	4:20
Total length:				57:01

Personnel

Production

• A&R – Jeff Levin, Pete Ganbarg, Anne Declemente
• Mixing – Mitch McCarthy (Tracks 1, 3, 5-7, 9-16) at Owl Foot Ranch
• Mixing – Manny Marroquin (Track 8)
• Mastering – Chris Gehringer
• Vocals – Melanie Martinez

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22]	27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	77
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24]	149
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25]	10
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[26]	95
Irish Albums (IRMA)[27]	41
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[28]	21
UK Albums (OCC)[29]	32
US Billboard 200[30]	6
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[31]	1

References

1. http://popdust.com/2015/08/13/melanie-martinez-cry-baby-debut-album-review/
2. Selfridge, Kimi (2015-08-12). "Stream Melanie Martinez's Debut LP 'Cry Baby' | NOISEY". Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
3. "Melanie Martinez - Official Store". Store.melaniemartinezmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
4. "Pity Party - Single". Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
5. "Ultimate Music | Melanie Martinez "Cry Baby" (Deluxe Edition) | Available on iTunes!". Josepvinaixa.com. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
6. "Talib Kweli, Nada Surf, Melanie Martinez and More Music Reviews". ABC News. August 19, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
7. "Melanie Martinez Talks 'Cry Baby,' Toys, Cake & Party Essentials". Popdust.com. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
8. "Kill the Lights" spends second week at top of Billboard 200". Billboard.com.
9. "Melanie Martinez Q&A:'Cry Baby' Future Plans & Lessons from 'The Voice'". Fuse. December 11, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
10. "Twitter: Melanie Martinez announces Soap and Training Wheels". Twitter. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
11. "Melanie Martinez Gets Delivered by a Doctor in a Rabbit Mask in 'Cry Baby' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
12. "'The Voice' Star Melanie Martinez's Ambitious Concept Album 'Cry Baby' Fizzles: Album Review". Billboard.com. August 21, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
13. "Feedback: Melanie Martinez's "Cry Baby" more than cute as a button". The Daily Tar Heel. August 28, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
14. "Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby – Album Review". The Herald. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
15. "Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby – Album Review". Lithium Magazine. August 14, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
16. "Review: Melanie Martinez Performs ‘Cry Baby’ and Other Songs From Her Debut Album". The New York Times. September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
17. "Album Review: Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby". Outlet. August 13, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
18. "Melanie Martinez Conjures Up Sinister Stories With 'Cry Baby' Debut". Popdust.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
19. "SPIN Pop Report: Melanie Martinez Loads Her Sippycups With Booze, Alexx Mack Cracks Open the Sunroof". Spin Review. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
20. "Review: Melanie Martinez’s ‘Cry Baby’ Is An Exhilarating Ride". Starpulse.com. August 17, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
21. "REVIEW: Melanie Martinez – ‘Cry Baby’". Under the Gun Review. August 21, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
22. "Australiancharts.com – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
23. "Ultratop.be – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
24. "Ultratop.be – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
25. "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
27. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 34, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
28. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
30. "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
31. "Melanie Martinez – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Melanie Martinez. Retrieved August 24, 2015.