Dollhouse (song)

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Dollhouse
Song
Artist	Melanie Martinez
Album	[[Dollhouse Cry Baby Pity Party]]
Recorded	September 19th, 2013
Released	February 9th, 2014 August 14th, 2015 (Cry Baby re-release) May 6th, 2016 (Pity Party EP re- release)
Length	3:51 (See official versions)
Writer(s)	Melanie Martinez Kinetics & One Love
Producer(s)	Kinetics & One Love
'DollhouseCry BabyPity Party' track list
"Dollhouse"
"Dollhouse"

"Dollhouse" is Melanie Martinez's debut single. The music video was released on February 9, 2014, and the song was made available for digital download the following day. It was featured on the Dollhouse EP as the opening track. It is also the second track on Melanie's debut album, Cry Baby, as well as on the Pity Party EP.

Leak History

• February 13^th, 2021 - The complete collection of stems leaked.
• May 10^th, 2021 - The demo version is leaked.

Theme

Dollhouse is about a family that appears to be perfect on the outside looking in, yet it's very far from it. In Dollhouse, Cry Baby's mother is revealed to be an alcoholic due to her husband's infidelity, and her brother smokes cannabis. The daughter, named Cry Baby, is the only one that sees the tragedy surrounding her. Her family is visualized as the dolls living inside of a dollhouse that belongs to a little girl. Since the daughter knows the truth about her dysfunctional family, she narrates the song in an attempt to get the girl to see and understand her reality.

This song has another meaning: how people view celebrities. In an interview, Melanie said, "People put them in glass boxes and think they are perfect and when something happens that shows when they are humans, people don't like that."

Official versions

• Album version — 3:51
• Demo version — 3:53

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Hey girl, open the walls
Play with your dolls
We'll be a perfect family
When you walk away, is when we really play
You don't hear me when I say
"Mom, please wake up,
Dad's with a slut,
And your son is smoking cannabis"

[Pre-chorus 1]
No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens
Don't let them see what goes down in the kitchen

[Chorus]
Places, places, get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains

[Post-Chorus]
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
(D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees)

[Verse 2]
Hey girl, look at my mom, she's got it going on
Ha! You're blinded by her jewelry
When you turn your back
She pulls out a flask
And forgets his infidelity
Uh oh, she's coming to the attic
Plastic, go back to being plastic

[Pre-chorus 2]
No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens
One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen

[Chorus]
Places, places, get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains

[Post-chorus]
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
(D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees)

[Breakdown]
Hey girl (Hey girl X7)
Hey girl, open your walls, play with your dolls
We'll be a perfect family

[Chorus]
Places, places, get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains

[Post-chorus]
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
(D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees)

Videos

Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse (Official Music Video)

Dollhouse - Rough Cut

Extended Rough Cut.

Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse (Official Music Video Trailer)

Promotional Trailer.

On February 5, 2014, Melanie posted a promotional trailer featuring clips from the music video on her YouTube channel as an announcement of the song's release date. There was also a link to pre-order the song on iTunes.

Music Video

The music video takes place inside a dollhouse, with a little girl playing with it. It shows Cry Baby's family in their various roles. It shows that the dad is gone in the beginning, having an affair. The son is smoking cannabis, and the mom is passed out on the couch. During the line, "Picture, picture, smile for the picture", the family poses for a picture, and then they return to their activities. After the second chorus, the little girl appears inside the dollhouse and Cry Baby sings to her, while she is cornered by the family. Soon after, she appears back outside the dollhouse and runs away.

Errors

• When Cry Baby looks at the little girl, her hair bow disappears.
• In a scene, the family member are supposed to turn their heads to the little girl, but the scene before that, the dad was already looking at her.

Cast

• Mom: Stella Rose Saint Clair
• Dad: Mughen Nakamura
• Brother: Edwin Zabala
• Little Girl: Jessica Cherniak

Live

Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse (Live)

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes

The live video takes place in an old house. There are balloons and vintage toys decorating the place. Miles Nasta and Mike Squillante are dressed up in onesies, with Miles playing a drum machine and Mike playing the keyboard and a guitar. Melanie is wearing a white dress with a white bow. As suggested by the title, Melanie is singing live throughout the video. This live video takes place at the same place as the "Carousel" live video.

Trivia

• On January 13, 2017, the music video reached 100 million views on YouTube. It reached 200 million on October 24, 2018, and reached 300 million on March 13, 2021. It is Melanie's first music video to reach these milestones. The music video has now reached over 307 million views and 4.2 million likes on YouTube.
  • Melanie began shooting the video on December 6, 2013.
    • The music video was shot in three days.
  • Fans funded the music video for Dollhouse.
    • In late 2013, Melanie crowdfunded more than $10,000 for shooting the music video.
  • Ever since the release of the music video, it has never left the overall top 200 music videos on iTunes.
• Dollhouse is Melanie's most featured song in terms of albums and EPs, as it is on Cry Baby, Dollhouse and Pity Party.
• "Sippy Cup" references the line, "One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen", as it talks about what "went down in the kitchen."
• The bear next to the doll heads is Melanie's phone case.
• The appearance of Melanie's pet bunny Whinnie in the kitchen scene was not planned, as she stated that he just wanted to be in the video.
• The skirt next to Cry Baby when she is strapped into the box is the same skirt she wears in the music video for "Carousel".
• There are 4 official remixes of this song which can be found on Dollhouse (The Remixes).
• The song's stems were leaked on February 13, 2021.
• There is a subtle guitar in the chorus, which can almost only be heard in the instrumental.
• This is Melanie's first song to be certified gold. It was certified on December 16, 2015. It was succeeded by "Pity Party".
  • This song is also Melanie's first platinum-certified song. It was certified on December 1, 2016.
  • It was later certified 2x multi-platinum on February 28, 2020.
• This was the first Melanie song that Kinetics & One Love produced, and it was created on the first day that the three met.
• At the beginning of the music video, a tune can be heard. If the tune is sped up, an instrumental remake of the chorus can be heard.
• The rough cut version of the music video is available on YouTube.
  • This version includes some deleted scenes.
• The story and illustration for this song appear on the 5^th page of the Cry Baby storybook, reading:

Dollhouse's Digital Booklet Page

"And in her picture perfect home
Momma's drunk while daddy moans
Her brother always comes home stoned
She watches in her room alone"

Gallery

• Dollhouse (Song)/Gallery
• Dollhouse Photo Shoot