Melanie Martinez Brings the Trilogy Tour to Canada!

By Kayla Harper

***cover image is not mine, however it is from my show. All other images in this post are my own photos!

On June 9, 2024 alternative singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez performed at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario in support of her Trilogy Tour. As longterm fans who have yet to see Martinez live before, my cousin and I decided to fly across the country to see her!

In 2023, Martinez released the third and final album, Portals, in a storyline she has been developing since her first album, Crybaby, in 2015. All three albums, Crybaby, K-12 and Portals follow Martinez’s character, Crybaby, as she grows and evolves, while simultaneously relating to real world issues. The Trilogy Tour tells the entire story of all three albums in chronological order, as Martinez moves through each era playing the hits as well as fan-favourite deep cuts off of each album.

Martinez opens the first set, Crybaby, with the album’s title track. The first thing fans see is the dancers dressed as the rabbits from the albums iconic music videos, before seeing Martinez standing on a lift at the back part of the stage, dressed in a frilly blue jumpsuit. Since my cousin and I went into this spoiler free, we were very excited that we got to see Martinez’s beautiful face as she performed (the last tour she wore a nymph style mask and costume).

Martinez went on to perform “Dollhouse”, “Sippy Cup”, “Carousel”, “Alphabet Boy”, “Soap”, “Pity Party”, “Play Date” and “Mad Hatter” from this album. As she danced around the stage—which was decorated with props to match each song—performing intricate choreography. The stage design was exciting and fitting for each track, bubble machines for “Soap”, balloons for “Pity Party”, Martinez even sang “Carousel” on a carousel!

The transition between the Crybaby set and the second set, K-12, was probably my favourite of the entire show. The lights and visuals made you feel as if you were underwater just like the beginning of the K-12 film when the school bus is underwater. The visual effects created by the screens and lighting was another fantastic addition to the stage design making it an immersive experience for the entire crowd.

During the K-12 set, Martinez played “Wheels On the Bus”, “Class Fight”, “Show & Tell”, “Nurse’s Office”, Strawberry shortcake”, “Lunchbox Friends”, Teachers Pet” and “High School Sweethearts”. It was another fantastic set as Martinez and the dancers moved about intricate stage designs which brought the film to life onstage. Martinez wore her infamous purple K-12 uniform, with the dancers wearing the pink and blue ones. Of course at the end of the K-12 set, Martinez acts out Crybaby’s death as she will now spiritually and physically evolve into a new being, as we move to the Portals set.

The final transition to the Portals set featured a beautiful dance number between one of the male and female dancers as the stage slowly became overgrown with plant life and a graveyard appeared. Martinez wore her entire pink nymph ensemble and performed the majority of the Portals album—which makes sense considering it’s the most recent. She performed all songs, except “Leeches”, “Moon Song” and the deluxe tracks.

Throughout the set, Martinez sings in the rain, fights dragons, grows wings, the stage lights on fire, etc. Just as the last two sets, the choreography, stage design, costumes and thought put into each performance was meticulously planned. When the set ends, Martinez makes the crowd scream one last time with her, “free Palestine” before thanking them for a beautiful night and exiting. After the lights go out, the stage “explodes” more or less and a vintage toy bear appears on the screen holding a candy heart which reads “GTFO” (Get the fuck out).