On June 18, singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez released a line of 13 scented candles, each corresponding with a song from her most recent album, “Portals.” Each candle cost a whopping $75 before taxes, shipping and handling, and are now all sold out.
The candles come in 4.3-ounce, roughly palm-sized, cracked egg-shaped jars with matching lids to complete the eggs. The scents are relatively unique, with candles featuring smells such as peach skin and marshmallow; yuzu and caramel; and fig with toasted coconut.
Many fans questioned or complained about the high price tag, while some defended Martinez’s pricing. Some purchased the candles and were happy with them.
A general consensus among candle supporters and buyers is that if you don’t have the money to buy the candles, then simply don’t. Others, however, question the ethics and effectiveness of selling something out of most people’s price points. Some on TikTok have even called the candles a scam.
Martinez explained what she said was the reason for the high price point in a comment on her Instagram.
“I do not make millions … I’m risking my ability to pay bills every time I make a video or any kind of high-quality art … If I didn’t care about my audience I wouldn’t be staying up all night every night working so hard to create art with substance and constantly have to hear from my team how much of a risk I’m taking,” Martinez wrote.
Martinez said in an interview that she had plans to make a film based on the “Portals” album that needed external funding, as her label would not pay her for the film.
Martinez’s statements do not do away with all concerns. In fact, her prices seem symptomatic of a greater issue: many artists expect to cash in on years of goodwill with fans as they jack up prices for merchandise and content. Martinez is not alone in this strategy — artists like Taylor Swift employ similar tactics, constantly relying on the deep loyalty and pockets of a core fanbase.
The practice borders on predatory. Artists, especially more “alternative” artists like Martinez, foster deep bonds with their audiences due to the vulnerability of their lyrics and the relatability of their songs. However, their fans’ willingness to pay for a product is not indicative of a product’s quality.
The “Portals” candles are certainly not Martinez’s first scandal. In January 2023, Martinez released a collection of five NFTs of stuffed animals in various adult situations — such as a swan smoking marijuana. NFTs are generally unpopular among average consumers due to their high price tag for what you receive and their significant carbon footprint.
NFTs – Non-Fungible Tokens – are digital images stored on a blockchain. The carbon required to store one NFT on the blockchain, according to the Verge, “is equivalent to an E.U. resident’s electricity usage for two months.”
Martinez has also been criticized for her childlike aesthetic. Martinez’s use of childlike imagery in songs or films with adult content or themes is problematic, as highlighted by an Affinity Magazine article.
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“When (Martinez) presents a pacifier, a sippy cup or a baby doll in a sexualized manner, she is encouraging the association of those objects with consensual sexual activity. However, when the people who receive this message seek that same sexual experience, they are met with children who are underage and unable to consent, who then become victims,” the article reads.
For example, Martinez’s song “Tag, You’re It” features graphic depictions of kidnapping and child sexual assault, with lyrics reading “Running through the parking lot / He chased me and he wouldn't stop / Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it / Grabbed my hand, pushed me down / Took the words right out my mouth.” The imagery of the music video features the character “Crybaby,” played by Martinez, being drugged by an ice cream vendor in a wolf mask.
Martinez also has a history of alleged sexual assault. In 2017, Timothy Heller, Martinez’s then friend, said that Martinez coerced her into sex two years prior.
“I never said yes. I said no, repeatedly. But she used her power over me, and broke me down. Just so there is no confusion, I was molested by my best friend,” Heller wrote in a post to X.
Martinez denied the allegations, saying “(Heller) never said no to what we chose to do together,” according to Billboard.
Heller continued to post to X, asking to be believed and discussing harassment from Martinez’s fans. But as of publication, she has no accessible social media.
Many of Martinez’s fans believe Martinez over Heller. A part of this is due to Martinez’s reputation. Her history of singing about dark, often sexual themes from a first-person perspective, combined with her cute, harmless aesthetic leads some to believe there’s no way she could do something like this.
Martinez’s response, as well as her fandom’s response, are once again indicative of artists’ habits of depending on the goodwill of their fans. Their reputations must precede them.
Once you’ve loved an artist, it becomes difficult to admit they’ve done wrong by you or anyone else. There’s a sunk cost element: you don’t want to believe you’ve spent time, money and energy supporting someone who was not worth it.
Moreover, there’s a parasocial aspect. If an artist is someone you feel has “been with you” during a difficult time, you’re primed to accept anything from them. You love them, and you believe they love you, too.
But they don’t. You don’t know them, and they don’t know you. Ultimately, we have no idea what the celebrities we love have done or are capable of doing.
Martinez continues to be a polarizing figure with a contentious past. She has her diehard fans, but more and more scandals and questionable business decisions have alienated other listeners. Her status as a controversial figure remains, even as her career continues into the “Portal” era.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com
