Stepping Through Portals With Melanie Martinez

Portals Tour Brings Album To Life With an Exquisite Theatrical Production

Singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez first burst upon the scene in 2012 after appearing on Season 3 of the television series The Voice. Ever since, she has been winning over the hearts of music fans everywhere with her wonderfully crafted art-pop songs not to mention a voice that just won’t quit.

For her latest record, Martinez completely reinvents herself, taking on an entirely new persona as she says goodbye to the old her and welcomes this new being into the world around her. Portals is the singer’s third album, released this past spring after a two-year hiatus, and takes this new persona to an entirely new level. Martinez says goodbye to the past and completely embraces a new version of herself. She spent the first half of the summer bringing this vision to the masses via the Portals tour and it has been an overwhelming success for her.

The tour recently made a stop in Charlotte at Skyla Credit Union Ampitheatre and it was indeed a spectacle of sights and sounds that you had to witness in person to truly understand. Fans arrived at the venue early, queuing up in anticipation of the show. Her fanbase is overwhelmingly female and the faces of the young women in attendance absolutely glowed with excitement. Everyone was amped up with many dressed in fairy wings and ears, immersing themselves in the Portals experience.

Before the album was released, Martinez put out teaser videos showing the death of her former alter-ego Crybaby and hatching as a new being, a woodland fairy-type creature with four eyes and what would appear to be quite an inquisitive nature. The setting for the tour is no less than amazing as the stage reveals a woodland setting complete with hanging moss and giant mushrooms amidst the smoke and fog. You truly felt like you were transported into a different place and time. The set designers and production team really did an outstanding job bringing Martinez’s Portals vision to life.

For this tour, Melanie is playing the entire Portals album in order and not including any of her prior material, thus firmly cementing you into her new world. Opening the show with the first track off the Portals album “Death,” the vibes across the venue are surreal as we knew we were about to witness something beyond our wildest imagination. The show has a very similar feel to a Broadway production, drawing you into the scenery as dancers emerge from the shadows of the cemetery surrounding the singer in cloaked secrecy. Melanie appeared as her alter-ego, a woodland fairy complete with fairy ears and four eyes. The prosthetics, makeup, and costuming were simply out of this world allowing Martinez to stay in character throughout the entire show.

The fans were mesmerized, completely into every subtle move and nuance coming from the stage, singing along to every word of every song. It was an amazing moment in time for all in attendance as the audience truly acted as one. As the show progressed through the Portals album, we were treated to a variety of scenes and stories depending on the song. The dancers played an integral part in the show, drawing you into the scene and the story and acting as “nymphs” to Melanie’s fairy.

A lot has been said about the production of this tour, but no matter how elaborate the set is, it wouldn’t work without the skills and vocal abilities of Martinez. Her voice is quite unique as she comes in as gentle as a mom whispering to a newborn infant and at other times is as ferocious as a woman scorned. No matter the song or what it entails, Martinez pulls it off with ease and elegance. At times throughout the performance, she would address the crowd, at one point even asking “How many of you are on your period right now?” The crowd erupted as fans through their hands into the air. Nobody brings the experience of being a young woman to life quite like Martinez does.

The Portals tour has been a resounding success, selling out show after show in record time and tonight the capacity crowd appreciated every single minute of it. There are a few US dates left to catch Portals live here in the States, but a full European run is set to kick off this fall. If you get the opportunity, don’t miss your chance to experience this tour live and step through Portals with the one and only Melanie Martinez.

Opening the show was singer-songwriter Tanukichan who recently released her second full-length album GIZMO.

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