The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - dear melanie martinez, you've changed

Episode Date: January 17, 2026

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How are you? I'm doing great. Thank you so much. Wow. Wow. To live in that crybaby era for so long. I mean, I was living in it for years. This is not a story about a celebrity or artist.

It's a story about womanhood. In a world with more and more sameness, where everyone is sick and tired of conventions, anyone with a courage to do something so unconventional is taking the risk of being ostracized to the demise or rewarded with great fame. In the case of Melanie Martinez, being different has made her an icon. But the ultimate question is, for how long? She is charging $400 for a VIP meet and greet that lets fans take photos with an AI-generated hologram of her.

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It just needs a little shaping. Welcome to the series where we break down iconic women in pop culture and learn from their successes and failures about how to navigate Girlhood together. If you've been a fan of an artist since 2015 and finally bought a ticket to her concert for the first time, expect your favorite songs to be performed live. But not only did not get to hear any of them, but also did not get to even see the face of the artist for the entire night.

How would you feel? Now imagine you also paid $400 for the meet and greet and were greeted with an AI generated hologram. Frankly, I will be a little mad and frankly, I was there. Because I did go to the Portos concert last year and was a little sad. as an old fan of Melanie Martinez who went to her concert and see her perform live for the first time, but was not able to hear any of the songs from her prior albums or, in fact, even see her face for the entire night.

I still enjoyed the entire experience. However, for the majority of Melanie Martinez fans, it is apparent that they are a little angry. Quote, Melanie Martinez's portals a disappointing last episode. quote, it is exhausting and boring to listen to and I highly recommend to not even listen to the album. No matter if you love, hate, or don't know Melanie Martinez, the story of hers is actually a relatable one. How many of us have had the experience of someone else expecting us to be a version of ourselves that we are trying to grow away from?

Which in this case, 15 million people. It can be very stifling to your growth when you have to constantly go back to like your older self to perform these songs and to live in that crybaby era for so long. I mean, I was living in it for years. We also get to the sellout and out-of-touch backlash, don't you worry. But I am seeing a common pattern here, especially for female artists. Just look at Billy Elish. When she tapped into her happier-than-ever era,

Stop wearing baggy clothes and showed more of her feminine energy. How many people were just shitting on her, calling her no longer unconventional. How everyone misses the old Billy, her old style of music. This is not a story about music for celebrities. It is a story about womanhood. Say no less. The entire journey of Melanie Martinez has been won but a battle between the identity she is told to have

versus the one that she is constantly recreating. First by breaking away from conventions in her alternative music, aesthetics, then from the curse of the crybaby. As your marketing bestie, we graduated top 1% UCLA business economics. With a background in marketing, we are going to explore the rebranding dilemmas of Melanie Martinez.

And discuss it being weird will be the rise and eventually fall of her. All the backlashes of her scanning fans, fans, claims of her losing touch, the decreasing quality of her music, and draw some lessons from her journey. Because everyone, including you and me, are in this constant battle with the versions of ourselves we are told to be. Speaking of battle, let's start with The Voice, where everything began. Melanie Adele Martinez, born in Queens and raised in Baldwin, New York, appeared on season three of American TV show, The Voice. And immediately, her two-toned hair and uniquely sweet but powerful voice stole the show.

But she was not for everyone since the start. After being eliminated by audience vote in Week 5, Melanie independently produced her first single, Doll House in 2014 by herself and her friends. Combining creativity, originality, aesthetics, and a compelling story behind, she uses music to talk about the screwed up lives of people hiding behind wealth and perfection. It earned her a contract with a Atlantic Records and thus officially begins the Crybaby era in 2015 with many of its songs hitting tops in the alternative digital songs chart from a marketing perspective

the Cry Baby album was such a good case study for building something iconic first the whole baby doll aesthetic but with a dark twist of somewhat disturbing themes and imagery is very different from what was popular or even acceptable amongst female artists at the time you have a cute Ariana Grande singing problem and then you have Melanie Martinez peeling her face off. A very risky move that makes the reactions devils. The ride that steals the spotlight every time it hits the road, that's the Volkswagen Tiguan.

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Learn more at Telestown. com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. Welcome aboard via rail. Please sit and enjoy. Please sit and sip. Play. Post. Taste. View and enjoy. Via rail. Love the way. You either love it like me or hate it. This is essential for branding because Melanie made it clear that her art is not for everybody. When you appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one. So who is Melanie Martinez creating for? Well, the iconic appeal of the Crybaby, speaking of which, is that it juxtaposes infantile objects and lyrics against deeper and taboo topics, including beauty standards, plastic surgery, imperfect family, bullying, drugs.

Being quote-unquote an outcast in her music, her lyrics, her demeanors as a female artist, She creates a strong connection with anyone who has ever felt like they don't belong to the standard. You were bullied? You were a victim of that? Yeah, definitely. Big time. I was bullied for like my teeth, for how I dressed. You know, if I wore makeup, they would be like, oh, you look like a clown, you know, like, just little things that like that. And I was very sensitive to. With a stunning visuals as a cherry on top.

But there is a danger in associating your brand with one singular image as we shall see. Second, record labels only usually allow you to have maximum two music videos per album. But Melanie Martinez said, no, no. You guys, I have a creative vision of having one music video for every single song. And when the labels didn't support it, she decided to independently create these highly produced music videos herself. And eventually led to her directing a whole movie for the next album, all of which helped build a very strong brand. But the double-edged sort of strong branding is that

Once you create a successful brand that exists in people's heads, think Jojo Siwa with a bowl. It's very difficult to change it, which is why many Disney Child Stars struggle for years to break out of the childish versions of themselves and often have to do something extremely shocking. Miley Cyrus, Jojo Siwa. And because of how successful the Crybaby album was, the entire album became Melanie Martinez's identity, from the hair to the music style to the merch, which always sells super well because unlike many other artists and celebrity merch, Melanie Martinez's merch actually makes sense to her fans and are not lazy. We will talk about the $275 Porto's perfume in a moment, but taking a step back.

Melanie Martinez wrote the entire Crybaby album when she was 19. Are you the same when you weren't 19 or 9? I hope not. It's the same type of frustration I feel when I'm I'm talking about a deeper topic like self-worth in the digital age when people are still coming to me and seeing me from my fitness challenge days. Same with Melanie Martinez. Because this 19-year-old crybaby version of herself was loved so much by fans, it was about to be the curse for the rest of her career. Where everything and anything will be compared to the cry baby. It is true.

Our worst enemies are ourselves. which is why the crybaby had to go. The death of the crybaby. Before we visit the tombstone of crybaby, it is worth shedding some light to the K-12 album. A natural thematic progression from infancy to school years, which tackle topics like abuse of power, bullying, toxic masculinity, eating disorder, objectification of women

combined into one giant movie, which some critics say was more vibes. Starting with K to 12, it is apparent that Melanie is trying to grow and experiment. But unwillingly still seen by the media as a 19-year-old iconic crybaby. When the whole world tells you who you are, would you accept or reject it? From a marketing perspective, consistency is crucial in maintaining a long-lasting brand, especially if your revenue depends on it. But Melanie Martinez took 100%.

Risk. Pride Baby was wiped off the face of the earth. To start off, the split tone hair, gone. The human face, gone. And even part of her voice, due to the heavier vocal processing, was gone. And surprise, surprise, fans were not happy. Like one fan says, quote, I miss her voice, I miss her persona and her half hair, I miss her aesthetically pleasing concerts, and I just miss Melanie. Sorry if this is rating to some of you, it is just my truth. As Cocoa Moka said on TikTok, the Hollywood Hair Theory, claims that artists who become icon status possess a unique look, often tied to their hair. Think of Ice Spice's curly bright hair, Ariana Grande and her ponytail, Billy Alice's green roots, Nicki Minaj's pink hair, and Justin Bieber's bow cut during their primaries of rise to fame.

When a huge part of your identity is tied to the hair, you know there's a big shift when Mouinette's Melanie Martinez let go of the split tone hair she had over eight years. From a musical perspective, the album was also a huge revolution to Melanie as she stepped into the shoes of a producer for the very first time. This was the first time I actually sat down and produced by myself about anyone's help, which is a huge deal for me because I was usually kind of scared to do that, I guess. I don't know. I just thought that maybe I wasn't going to be good at it or something. If you've come up with these characters, you're in charge of all the visuals and the videos.

and I, you know, don't be silly. And while that's a sign of growth to be celebrated, it made a lot of old fans upset. Quote, this is AI. What happened to Melanie Martinez? Your before face was so pretty. Poor Melanie. Her voice sounds so tired.

Someone tell me if this is hell. I know a lot of people missing my face, but it's been the most fun playing this character because I get to show the concept of immortality. Cry BB's soul moving through a different vessel, how she would look in the afterlife. Adding fuel to the fire, the fire, there's also been some backlash about Melanie ripping her fans off through the virtual

AI hologram meet and greet during her portal's tour. Melanie Martinez is facing backlash from people on social media after it's revealed that she is charging $400 for a VIP meet and greet that lets fans take photos with an AI-generated hologram of her. This VIP package experience was just fans walking in front of a wallpaper, and taking a photo with AI-generated Melanie Martinez. Quote, baby, y'all could have edited this together at home. Get your money back. Might as well take a video next to a cardboard pick.

While the VIP experience does include many additional perks, including closer seating, posters, and more. Many dire fans were just not having it with this album. From the concept, the music, the concert, to the merch. To be fair, the perfers, was not cheap, although not as crazy as this eBay seller that priced it at $1,710. It was $275. And many reacted saying how the plastic made it look way cheaper than it should be.

Quote, is it just me or does that perfume look like skibitty toilet? It looks like those juices with the cartoon heads as caps. I found a dupe for the pink one at Bath and Body Works. Oh my God, wait. Ooh. I've never smelled anything like this. before. Do I think it's cheap? No. But do I think it's unreasonable? It depends. Ultimately, merch are not supposed to be the cheapest because they're a way for fans to support

their favorite artists. For four or full bottles and if they do smell good, then it might be worth it for some fans. I do love them all though. None of these were bad. So I would say this was 100% worth my money. I would gladly spend $275 on this again and again. Is this for everyone? No. Just like how her means. music is not for everyone. The way that Melanie dedicated so much care towards her music, her art, through time, funding, and directing her own music video projects without record labels, designing her own set productions from costume to lighting, and still pushing for a highly produced music video for every song. Makes me think that this is not a cash grab. Otherwise, it wouldn't be limited

in quantity so people on eBay can resell it for $1,000. This is where branding shows, shows its true power from a marketing perspective. For over 8 years, the long-lasting Melanie Martinez brand is about creativity and the quality of our art and it held her fan-based loyalty even during a controversial release like this that could have easily ruined another artist's career. But back to the death of Crybaby. Indeed, everything is different. And maybe this was hinted in her previous music as well.

And Show and Tell from K-12, she sang, quote, show and tell, I'm on display for all. you fickers to see. And void in portals, quote, I hate who I was before. Relatable. There must be at least some part of Melanie Martinez that wants to move past her crybaby era. Because again, that was over eight years ago. As good as Cry Baby was, it's like me looking back at my first videos on YouTube. I cringe so hard. If I was only thought of as who I was eight years ago every single day, I would go crazy. Just because it was a good time does not mean is for a lifetime. And finding new ways to creatively challenge oneself and grow

is actually the much harder thing to do because it is not playing it safe. And there is no guarantee that any new concepts will be received just as well as before. Which in Melanie Martinez's case, it hasn't been, which is also okay. Because without ever taking a chance, there won't be any progression.

And even though portals may not be as iconic to your fans as Crybaby, Melanie herself grew tremendously as an artist, and that's the ultimate creation and win. And the ultimate consistent brand she has was not the crybaby she created at 19, but an artist true to growing her creativity. Symbolic to life itself, Portals is not the death of Crybaby. Just like how you are no longer your 12 year old self, but that girl will still always be part of you, just in another format.

Portals, although greatly distinguished from Crybaby and K to 12, is the last album of the trilogy. And according to Melanie herself, takes a crybaby out of the old vessel and transforms it into a more timeless dimension. Still exploring the themes of love, loss, growth, and self-discovery, which started from childhood, crybaby, adulthood, K to 12, and death, portals. where death is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of another. As all the beautiful growth ties together in a full loop, Melanie is currently on her trilogy tour, where she's performing songs from all three eras, and her iconic hair is back,

allowing fans to relive the fantasies of the crybaby era of who she used to be and her new self that she invented and is still reinventing. True death for Melanie Martinez, for you and I, is not letting go of a very life. a past identity. It's stagnation. As long as we keep growing and reinventing ourselves, our version of the Crybaby will live on in the future selves we create. And that's beauty of girlhood, regardless of age. Let me know your thoughts on the Melanie Martinez rebrand and comment below which pulp culture girl icon we should dive into next. This is your marketing bestie, Zoe

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