Melanie Martinez started her headline set on the Bud Light stage at 8:45 p.m. with a lullaby resounding from the speakers before morphing into heavy bass, as fireworks shot up into the sky and lasers shot toward the crowd.
Martinez is a singer-songwriter originating from Astoria, Queens. She first rose to fame after her 2012 appearance on The Voice, and she released her debut album in 2015.
Martinez has been known for her baby-doll aesthetic and for using child-like themes to emphasize mature subjects.
Her set was split into three parts— the first part focusing on her 2015 album “Cry Baby,” the second part on her 2019 album “K-12,” and the third part on her 2023 album “PORTALS.”
The jumbo screen portrayed a nursery before Martinez came out on stage in a frilly baby-pink dress, beginning her set with “Cry Baby,” off of her 2015 album.
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Her backup dancers, wearing scarily large bunny masks, sauntered around her as the song transitioned into “Dollhouse.”
“D-O-L-L H-O-U-S-E,” the crowd sang as Martinez held out her microphone as she jumped around the stage.
Her backup dancers effortlessly flowed into a dance behind her, gliding across the stage as Martinez’s voice rang from the speakers.
She started “Carousel” by sitting on a lavish prop bunny carousel, the crowd screaming as the camera focused on it.
Her whispery vocals led the song as she brought an undeniable energy to the stage.
Martinez left the stage after about thirty minutes, dramatic ethereal sounds played in her place as the screens glowed blue.
After about five minutes the screens illuminated to show messages about the war in Gaza, to “Always the Principle.”
“End the Genocide,” “F— Colonization,” and “Your Silence Won’t Protect You,” were a few messages shown on the screen, earning loud cheers from the audience.
Martinez got wheeled back out on stage on a stretcher to the song “Nurse’s Office,” wearing a babydoll dress instead of the pink frills.
As the song came to an end, she mouthed “Help me,” to the camera before covering it with her hand.
“Teacher’s Pet,” was the next song that played, lasers shooting into the crowd as the backup dancers eerily danced to the dissonant piano chords.
She exited the stage again, and when she came back she was wearing an extremely detailed mask and prosthetics that resembled some kind of fairy creature — something she has become known for in the recent past.
She didn’t address the audience until near the very end of her performance.
“Thank you so much Chicago,” she said, as pink and purple fireworks shot above the stage. “Thank you guys so much I love you so f—— much.”
A Palestinian flag waved behind Martinez as she requested the audience to do one more thing before they left.
“If you could, scream as loud as you possibly can ‘Free Palestine,’ on the count of three.”
