Melanie Martinez heads back to school in pastel alt-pop style with ‘K-12’
Melanie Martinez took us on a deep dive into the world of Cry Baby with her introductory album of the same name. Reaching platinum status, one of only eight debuts to do so in 2015, it’s safe to say the anticipation for the K-12 follow-up was high.
Around the time of her platinum status reveal, Martinez revealed hopes to release her sophomore effort in 2017. While Cry Baby had a music video for each track, Martinez revealed she was taking it up another level by creating a full-blown film.
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“It’s all of the videos together of the next record, all 13, with dialogue and whatnot in between connecting all of them together. I’m directing it and writing it and styling it and doing the makeup,” Martinez told Billboard in 2017.
While the 13 tracks were completed at the time of that interview, nearly two years passed until Martinez offered an update on the unnamed production.
“Been dying to give you all an album/movie update but wanted to wait until I was sure the film would be done in time,” she shared in an Instagram post. “The album has been done for like two years now. I’ve just been waiting to finish up the movie.
“Some of you keep asking when singles are going to drop, and the answer is they’re not. I’m putting out a concept album and an hour-and-a-half long movie. [It] still has to go through VFX, sound and color for the next few months then a couple months of waiting and preparing that I have no control over, so it’s safe to say it’ll come out END OF SUMMER. Sending love ? Can’t wait till you all can see/hear what I’ve been workin’ real hard on for the past 3 years!”
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Three more months passed before Martinez began teasing visual components of the upcoming project. The singer shared the first in May, which included a mention of “K-12.” In the short video teasing what is to come, Martinez can be seen entering an eerie, pastel classroom. On Instagram, the teaser was accompanied by the caption, “When the bell rings, you must be in your assigned seat…”
Additionally, she changed the layout of her website at the same time. When on her homepage, a large building appears as a pink school bus drives across the lower left-hand corner of the screen, showing the first hint of what would later be confirmed as the album cover.
Read more: Melanie Martinez provides concept album, movie update
From there, Martinez dropped two more short teasers—one concerning the root of stomach pains and another featuring a smoke break. With the latter, Martinez shared the album’s title and confirmation of the Sept. 6 release date.
A few weeks later, Martinez shared the first full clip featuring a snippet of new music during the MTV Movie and TV Awards. The following month, the full trailer made its debut. With it, the singer confirmed her upcoming film and album title, K-12, and shared the cover art and tracklist. But that wasn’t all as she announced some select screenings for the movie—later adding 400 additional screens the week of release.
Continuing to the buildup to the soon-to-be epic album and film, Martinez announced the K-12 tour. Kicking off this fall, the shows will provide fans with unique theatrical performances.
K-12 has finally arrived here, and you can also listen to it in full below alongside the tracklisting.
Tracklisting:
1. “Wheels On The Bus”
2. “Class Fight”
3. “The Principal”
4. “Show & Tell”
5. “Nurse’s Office”
6. “Drama Club”
7. “Strawberry Shortcake”
8. “Lunchbox Friends”
9. “Orange Juice”
10. “Detention”
11. “Teacher’s Pet”
12. “High School Sweethearts”
13. “Recess”
Read more: Melanie Martinez announces ‘K-12’ tour featuring theatrical performances
Support for Martinez’s upcoming U.S. run will come from Lauren Ruth Ward. Martinez has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will benefit The Trevor Project and their work providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Tickets are available here with dates below.
Dates:
10/13 – Washington, DC @ All Things Go Fall Classic *
10/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
10/16 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
10/18 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
10/19 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/20 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
10/22 – Toronto, ON @ Rebel
10/23 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
10/25 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
10/26 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
10/29 – New York, NY @ Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom
10/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
11/01 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre
11/02 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Ballroom
11/03 – Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/05 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
11/06 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
11/08 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
11/10 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues Anaheim
11/13 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/15 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
11/16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
11/17 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
11/19 – Garden City, ID @ The Revolution Center
11/20 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
12/02 – Dublin, IR @ Olympia Theatre
12/04 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow
12/05 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester
12/06 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK – Newcastle City Hall
12/08 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
12/09 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
12/11 – Portsmouth, UK @ Guildhall
12/12 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds
12/16 – Amsterdam, NE @ Melkweg
12/17 – Hamburg, DE @ Docks
* FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE
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