Melanie Martinez addresses struggles of fame in new “TUNNEL VISION” music video
Photo: YouTube, Melanie Martinez.
Alt-pop goddess Melanie Martinez left easter eggs for fans Monday afternoon via email to promote their new music video for “TUNNEL VISION”. The track appeared on her third studio album, PORTALS, released in March.
Earthlings (the updated name for Martinez’s fan base) received cryptic emails containing hearts with words such as: “MAKE THEM SMILE ALL THE TIME,” “CALL THEM A BITCH FOR BEING HUMAN,” and “CHASE THEM FOR A PHOTO.”
On Monday night, Martinez posted an announcement featuring the intro to the music video where she donned the “creature” outfit from the era’s past visuals, sending fans into a frenzy.
The video begins with Martinez falling from the sky to fall in a new, mysterious world where a player controls them like a video game character. The cryptic messages were used in the video like The Sims 4, making Martinez do the actions that would appear on screen.
The theme of the video references the treatment Martinez has received on the internet, being roasted for their actions and negative feelings against conforming to young fans’ expectations. Most recently, Earthlings were upset about the price of Martinez’s new Portals Parfums. Martinez addressed this treatment through an Instagram story earlier this year.
“I think the reason so many people are super intense and have this sense of unrealistic expectation & entitlement to me as a being and an artist is because they are so young,” she said. “... But I am hopeful that as they get older they will understand me more.”
In response, through the video, she breaks away from the player’s control and dances in the woods before she disappears into the ground. The video then transitions to yet another cryptic message, showing the player’s screen with “GAME OVER” flashing before the computer bursts into flames.
Martinez will embark on “The Trilogy Tour” next year, which they stated will feature the previously killed-off character Cry Baby, the protagonist of past albums Cry Baby and K-12. Who knows what other surprises Martinez has in store?