Mélanie Martinezs ''K-12'' broke out of the mould

Mélanie Martinez was discovered in the Voice (USA) season 3 in 2012. The TV show proprelled the
dark pop singer to the front stage, making her famous for her special voice, her specific kind of
music but also for her lovely outfits and split hair. People learned to know her much better in 2014
and 2015 when she released her ''Dollhouse'' EP and her ''Cry Baby'' album. In 2019, namely three
years and a half later, a new album called ''K-12'', and not only, came out.

Indeed, ''K-12'' is first of all a film -lasting 90minutes- that she produced. As a real film, it was
shown in cinemas and theaters in many countries. The musical is also viewed more than 94million
times on Youtube. In effect, Mélanie Martinez made it reachable for everyone -the album and film
are also sold as Cds, DVDs and tapes. By getting out of the simple track on Spotify or Deezer, she
broke out of the mould by being innovative. The success was immediate, especially since people
were waiting for it with eagerness. The album itself got classed 3 on the Billbord 200 at a moment
and got a gold certification in UK and in USA. Let's now talk about this film in detail.

We already discovered her unique universe with dark lyrics and lovely video clips thanks to her
former songs. ''K-12'' is the sequel to it and allows us to be immersed in it for the first time. For
once, it's not only about listening to but also about watching. We are specially into it since the film
went out before the songs, kind of pushing us to be immersed.
To sum up, the film is about a girl called ''Cry Baby'' -likely a fallen angel- who has to go to a
school called ''K-12'' that she herself names ''Hell''. Indeed, she hates this place ''where girls are only
to wear pink dresses and boys blue pants'' and wants to destroy it.
In it, she talks about her growth, how the experience she lived made her stronger while evocating
current issues such as sexism in ''Drama Club'', where she is obliged to play her role, namely a
perfect and cliché wife (who irons, cleans...). There she criticizes the fact that we are all ''living by a
script'' and aren't free. She denounces how boys are taught to behave and beauty standards in
''Strawberry Shortcake''. There are many striking lyrics as ''wondering why I don't look like Barbie'',
''no one taught them [the boys] not to grab''. She also condemns the unfairness of being a girl : ''got
sent change at home 'cause my skirt is too short''. Many other topics are intesting and we can relate
to all of them, making it authentic and genuine. ''Cry Baby'' seems like us, she is likeable. Some
others subjects are part of the film (and not of the album) like transphobia, racism, body shaming -
nb ''Orange Juice''- or again the pink tax.
Her film is an anthem to body and self acceptance and love. Finally, the film is really well done and
beautiful with mind blowing settings, awesome outfits and breathtaking dancers all along -how not
to talk about ''Nurse Office'' or. Well. All the other songs? There's also modern technology like when
some bunny headed characters close their eyes, when people are levitating...
To put it in a nutshell, Mélanie Martinez produced an innovative piece of art and break with the
rules and other singers offering simple video clips. There we have a whole and complex universe
talking about what we are or went through, with current topics. Everything in it made it perfect,
from the settings to the actors, through the dancers, the outfits, the technology, the story... Would
this film be the beginning of a new musical area?