Does Melanie Martinez Write Her Own Music?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Solo Artists,Pop Last Updated November 17, 2022

Melanie Martinez write own music lg

Melanie Martinez is one of the brightest and most exciting young artists out there. She may not have achieved mega pop star status, however, she has many fans. But does Melanie Martinez write her own music?

Here’s what I found out:

Melanie Martinez does write her own songs, although almost always with a co-writer. Most of her debut album Cry Baby was co-written with rapper Kinetics (Jeremy Dussolliet), whereas her follow-up album K-12 was largely co-written with producer Michael Keenan.

But that’s just a quick snapshot.

I wanted to know more about how her songs are constructed, so I did some research. Does she have a writing partner? What are the songs even about?

Martinez had this to say in a 2016 interview about her songwriting:

“I wrote about how I felt when I was a kid and people would tell me I was too emotional and that I took things too personally, and it was really hard for me.”

(source)

So let’s explore more about her songs, how she chooses her co-writers, and how much control the producers and the record label have over her.

Let’s get started.

How many songs has Melanie Martinez written?

Melanie Martinez has co-written over 40 songs as she had a hand in writing every song she has released thus far on her 2 albums and various singles and EPs.

Melanie Martinez is credited as the main writer of all of her songs.

As I’ve mentioned, she is not the sole writer on most of them, but she did most of the writing. So far, Melanie Martinez only has two studio albums.

The first was Cry Baby, and the second was K-12. These albums were released in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Both albums had 13 main tracks and featured bonus songs.

Melanie Martinez is already a prolific songwriter. Many people would argue that she is just getting started. This is because of her still relatively young age and less experience.

Her music has a deeply personal touch, so it makes sense that she creates the lyrics.

This is one of the many things about Melanie Martinez that makes her a true artist. She may not have the strongest voice, but her songwriting style brings something different to the table.

Speaking of her voice, I wrote at length about her vocal abilities in a recent article. In it, I fully discussed the aesthetic of her singing as well as how her voice is classified. You may be surprised by how great she truly is.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

What was the first song Melanie Martinez wrote?

The first song Melanie Martinez wrote was Dollhouse which she wrote at age 14 with the hip hop duo of Jeremy “Kinetics” Dussolliet and Tim “One Love” Sommers.

Dollhouse was also Melanie’s first single, released in 2014. And it appears on her debut album Cry Baby released a year later.

However, it’s worth pointing out that many young songwriters have a few under their belt that never see the light of day. That’s because, like anything you first start doing, those first few usually aren’t great.

Melanie is an all-around artist. 

The song she wrote at the age of 14 came from a poem she had written. This was when she truly found a love for songwriting.

On the other hand, she grew tired of playing the guitar.

This was about 3 years before Melanie’s appearance on The Voice in 2012. She made a great impression on that show. Fans loved hearing her renditions of other people’s songs.

Right after her time on The Voice was up, Melanie began writing new original music. From here, she began to release some of the most emotional music of the recent few years.

What do Melanie Martinez’s songs talk about?

Melanie Martinez’s music discusses adult themes such as depression, drug abuse, and dysfunctional families. But she writes on those themes from the perspective of a child.

Melanie Martinez’s music strikes a real chord with people.

Melanie has crafted a musical universe. This is also shown in how Melanie Martinez titles her songs and albums. They all have to do with the experiences of kids.

For example, take her debut single, Dollhouse.

That song discusses a family that seems to have broken down. Each member is said to have a significant vice to distract from reality. However, there is still a desire for the outside world not to see those things.

Smile for the picture.

Melanie Martinez’s music often features well-crafted metaphors. Again, Dollhouse is the perfect example. To the outside world, they appear as a perfect family, but the speaker in the song knows different.

This artistic choice is genius in many ways. However, what about the future? Some would argue that Melanie Martinez can only craft songs in this way for so long.

In a way, Melanie Martinez has put herself into a box.

Because of her emotionally deep songs, it may be hard for her to ever just do a normal pop record. Fans typically want more of the same but with some evolution.

However, she is an incredibly creative person. When done right, artists can change lanes and do different things with their music. Look at Taylor Swift as an example.

Who helps Melanie Martinez write her songs?

The collaborators Melanie Martinez has worked with the most include the hip hop duo of Jeremy “Kinetics” Dussolliet and Tim “One Love” Sommers. But she also worked with Emily Warren and producer Michael Keenan.

When it comes to songwriting, not many pop stars do it alone.

Of course, some do, but it’s typically not a bad thing to add other writers. Melanie Martinez works with a number of people.

And when you’re a pop star, there’s a lot of pressure from the promoters, managers, and the record label.

That pressure often leads them to pick producers and co-songwriters for the artist. Then as the artist gets older, more established, and more confident, they often begin to call more of the shots.

Upon looking at the list of writers for Melanie’s first album, Jeremy Dussolliet was a very common name.

He is often listed right next to Melanie’s. The other is Tim Sommers. The two make up a hip-hop songwriting duo called Kinetics & One Love.

They are fairly well-known in the industry and even wrote the chorus to B.o.B’s biggest hit, Airplanes.

For her second album, she did not work with the duo nearly as much. They are only listed on one song. She did a great deal of writing with Michael Keenan.

Emily Warren is also listed on quite a few of the songs as the main writer. She has written for many well-known artists. Some are Dua Lipa, The Chainsmokers, and Khalid.

Does Melanie Martinez write the lyrics to her own songs?

While Melanie Martinez does use co-writers for her songs, she does tend to write all of her own lyrics. Her co-authors simply help her create the music behind her words.

Although Melanie Martinez tends to surround herself with other songwriters, she writes most of her lyrics. Sometimes co-writers will write specific parts or even simply change a line here and there.

This still gives them writing credit.

As mentioned before, the songwriting duo she worked with is known for writing the chorus of B.o.B’s song. This is important because it shows the contribution.

To further show how the writers listed may have only contributed a small amount to the song, Jennifer Lopez has a writing credit on one of Melanie’s bonus songs.

Jennifer Lopez did not write for Melanie Martinez.

She has this credit because Melanie sampled a line and melody from one of her songs. J Lo has credit, and so do the writers who wrote that original song for her.

Melanie Martinez On The Creation Of 'K-12' & The Anti-Bullying Message Behind The Movie | PeopleTV

Conclusion

Melanie Martinez is a true artist who enjoys songwriting.

Melanie works with a group of writers, but she can stand on her own. And Melanie Martinez has a unique style and approach to music is exciting.

This is an artist who is often discounted.

This is partly due to the fact that she uses autotune. I talked about that in a recent article and talked about how much she uses and whether it’s because she can’t sing in tune or not.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Melanie has a bright future ahead of herself if she evolves correctly. Only time will tell how her music grows and shifts in the future.

Photo which requires attribution:

Melanie Martinez by Jose Garcia is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text overlay added

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