Melanie Martinez Bio & Contextual Narrative
Melanie Martinez Official Bio:
Melanie Martinez is an unforgettable 21-year-old artist from New York – a stunning and provocative singer, songwriter and visual presence. Martinez wants to tell you a story. It’s fictional, but it’s also about her, in a way that’s somewhat exaggerated and darker than reality. The tale traces through Melanie’s debut album Cry Baby, her collection of pop songs that draw inspiration from folk, hip-hop, and her own experiences. Debuted as the “Hot Shot Debut” at #6 on the Billboard Top 200, the album embraces childlike themes and imagery, connecting each song together like a children’s storybook. “CRY BABY” is “a distinctly 21st century twist of pop, spikily honest and occasionally barbed words served up in cinnamon-dusted melodies,” declared Noisey, “a swirl of R&B curves, stuttering beats, and ratatat hi-hats.”
The visuals for the album, which is now certified RIAA GOLD, go hand-in-hand with Melanie’s narrative themes. The singer directed the colorful video for “Pity Party,” which has garnered over 50+ million views on YouTube. She’s interested in bright, candy-colored imagery that reimagines these moments from childhood, often filtering them through a darker lens or exaggerating their tones. Thanks to Melanie’s clear vision, her videos have become fast viral hits, amassing millions and millions of views on YouTube. The most recent video, “Alphabet Boy,” proved her fasted growing to date – amassing over 1 million views in only 8 hours. For Melanie, music is an art form, one that asks for something more interesting than a simple song.
Contextual Narrative
Melanie Martinez Bio
Context:
Melanie Martinez’s bio was another project I had to complete during my internship at Atlantic Records. A bio in the music industry is typically a half-page blurb about an artist’s greatest accomplishments, persona, and genre. I was assigned not to simply write the bio, but to rearrange the previous bio, using the same words, to convey the message in the most effective way possible. I was also asked to use about 100 words less than there were in the original bio. I was at first baffled by this text; how could the information be placed more efficiently than the way it was written originally? I asked myself.
Rhetorical Decisions:
When given my jumble of information about Martinez, I decided to begin the process not by altering the arrangement, but by eliminating the most irrelevant information. With 100 words to eliminate, I was forced to take out elements such as unnecessary adjectives and filler words. I believe that this was successful because it improved the overall clarity of the piece. This made room for the most important information that would achieve my ultimate purpose; rendering Martinez to the highest degree.
After the elimination process, I focused entirely upon the concept of arrangement, the specific order of writing used to increase the effectiveness of a piece as a whole. I wanted to focus mainly upon how the audience would navigate and furthermore perceive the message. I introduce the bio by stating her name, age, where she is from, and what her main occupation is. I placed the most capturing sentences right after the immediate introduction: “Martinez wants to tell you a story. It’s fictional, but it’s also about her, in a way that’s somewhat exaggerated and darker than reality.” I believe that this works because it sparks the reader’s interest; they want to learn more about this enticing character. Afterward, I present the facts, stating her place on Billboard’s Top 200 and a quote from a reputable source.
I decided to place the information about her music videos and visuals toward the end because I believe that it does a great job of restating her persona and accomplishments described in the first paragraph. Music is her first and foremost accomplishment, and the visuals accompany and further prove her creative intelligence. I decided to end the paragraph with an all-encompassing sentence that touches upon the information described in the first and last paragraph.
Reflection:
Alternating arrangement is an issue I’ve struggled with throughout my years as a student writer. I’m a student who goes with my gut; I consistently and honestly believe that my initial ideas for the organization of a piece are the best without question. But during my short foray as a Professional Writing and Rhetoric major, I’ve learned that my pieces benefit immensely when I incorporate arrangement mechanisms. By looking at my pieces with a mindset of introducing, stating facts, proving myself, refutation and concluding, I’ve noticed an improvement in my writing and overall argumentative success. Having to completely rearrange a piece without my own words when completing the Melanie Martinez one sheet was an instance that taught me how important a well-arranged is to an argument or presentation of ideas.
See the bio I edited below.