"EVIL" is a song by Melanie Martinez that is featured as the twelfth track on her third studio album, PORTALS.
The full song was first performed at Lollapalooza Argentina on March 18, 2023. It was officially released on the standard version of the album on March 31, 2023.
On November 21, 2023, the song was re-released as the promotional single from the album. A visualizer video was uploaded to Melanie's official YouTube channel the same day.
Background[]
In the Apple Music interview attached to PORTALS release, Melanie revealed the background of the song:
[...] CJ laid down guitar and looped it, I paced around the pool and wrote the lyric and melody in around 30 minutes. Flowed really easily and effortlessly. I think it’s because I just had a mental turning point where I was finally able to articulate perfectly what I had dealt with in my last relationship. I wanted the lyrics to be the most savage and the most cunty. Every time I wrote something I was like no it’s not mean enough. It’s about dealing with a narcissist who ironically calls you evil just because you’re able to see through their bullshit. I spent the entire day blowing out my vocals recording it. It was definitely the most challenging song to sing.
Melanie Martinez
On March 10, 2023, a fan account on TikTok, @mel_fp_222, was granted one of the multiple synthetic eggs used to promote the album.[1] It contained a snippet of "EVIL" through a USB drive.[2] Other than that, the box also contained an edible white chocolate egg, and inside with a note:
Hatch me. A piece of the puzzle has been given to you. Eat the shell, eat the goo. What's inside is important, so please do share. I trust that you'll handle this portal with care.
On March 13, 2023, Melanie posted a video with a new look and an extended snippet of the track on her TikTok with lyrics as the caption[3], stating:
Remember when you smiled right to my face as all my little tears of oxalate they made a shape, revealed a snake, now i’m stop drop rolling over all your jokes, everytime you tell a lie im praying that you choke, should’ve listened to the signs and the horoscopes, hope you never cope, hope you slip on soap, crack your head like an egg wanna see the yolk, you were such a hoax 🧚♀️
The song was confirmed as the twelfth track on PORTALS on March 17, 2023, through Melanie's social media.[4]
On November 21, 2023, a visualizer for the song was uploaded to Melanie's YouTube channel and the song was re-released as a promotional single.
Track list[]
Physical track listing - Tiny Vinyl Edition, Target Exclusive
- 🅴 indicates the song is explicit, but also has a clean version.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "VOID" | Melanie Martinez | Melanie Martinez | 4:07 |
| 2. | "EVIL 🅴" | Melanie Martinez, CJ Baran | CJ Baran | 4:06 |
Total length: |
8:13 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "VOID" | Melanie Martinez | Melanie Martinez | 4:07 |
| 2. | "EVIL 🅴" | Melanie Martinez, CJ Baran | CJ Baran | 4:06 |
Total length: |
8:13 | |||
Theme[]
In the same interview with Apple Music, Melanie revealed the theme of the song:
My favourite of the conflict songs! [...] Flowed really easily and effortlessly. I think it’s because I just had a mental turning point where I was finally able to articulate perfectly what I had dealt with in my last relationship. I wanted the lyrics to be the most savage and the most cunty. Every time I wrote something I was like no it’s not mean enough. It’s about dealing with a narcissist who ironically calls you evil just because you’re able to see through their bullshit.
Melanie Martinez
The overall message of the song seems to be about empowerment and standing up for oneself in the face of a toxic relationship. It can also be about ending a toxic and abusive relationship. The lyrics express Melanie's realization that they were mistreated and manipulated by their partner and their decision to cut ties and move on. She asserts their boundaries and refuses to be mistreated again. The repeated phrase "if you bite my hand again, I will never feed you" symbolizes her determination to no longer enable or tolerate their partner's harmful behavior. The song's title reflects Melanie's view of their former partner's actions as malicious and harmful.
This song is a part of a series of tracks on the album which Melanie calls as "Conflict Songs". This song along with "LEECHES", "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX", "THE CONTORTIONIST", "MOON CYCLE", and "NYMPHOLOGY" as well as presumably "POWDER" and "MILK OF THE SIREN" are the conflict songs that Melanie intentionally added on PORTALS. These songs are about conflict on Earth. According to Melanie on her Apple Music interview:
"People describe a lot of the after-life to be like a school of sorts, projecting into past lifetimes with people they keep incarnating with, to put themselves in each other's shoes. Showing how they could've best dealt with conflict on earth for next time. These next few songs are about conflict on earth. I'd like to think we all plan these moments together prior to coming here, triggering each other to evolve."
Melanie Martinez
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
You called the other day, I stayed away
I left your shit on read four times today
And it felt like bliss, used to miss your kiss
Now I'm hop skip jumpin' over narcissists
Throwin' all your stuff into the abyss
Now the role is reversed, told you, I'm a switch
How you like my spit? That's for all the piss that you left me in
See, the horns on my head, they're from goddesses
Goddesses, on god
[Pre-chorus]
(No!) I never knew what it meant
What it meant to be content with you
Everything I expressed, I professеd
It never quite madе it through
Said it's all in my head, all in my head
Whenever I spoke my truth
No, I won't defend you to all my friends
This time, I refuse
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil (Evil, evil, evil)
[Verse 2]
Remember when you smiled right to my face?
As all my little tears of oxalate
They made a shape, revealed a snake
Now I'm stop drop rollin' over all your jokes
Every time you tell a lie, I'm praying that you choke
Should've listened to the signs, and the horoscopes
Hope you never cope, hope you slip on soap
Crack your head like an egg, wanna see the yolk
You were such a hoax
[Pre-chorus]
(No!) I never knew what it meant
What it meant to be content with you
Everything I expressed, I professed
It never quite made it through
Said it's all in my head, all in my head
Whenever I spoke my truth
No, I won't defend you to all my friends
This time, I refuse
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil
[Post-chorus]
Evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil
[Outro]
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil
[Verse 1]
You called the other day, I stayed away
I left your shit on read four times today
And it felt like bliss, used to miss your kiss
Now I'm hop skip jumpin' over narcissists
Throwin' all your stuff into the abyss
Now the role is reversed, told you, I'm a switch
How you like my spit? That's for all the piss that you left me in
See, the horns on my head, they're from goddesses
Goddesses, on god
[Pre-chorus]
(No!) I never knew what it meant
What it meant to be content with you
Everything I expressed, I professеd
It never quite madе it through
Said it's all in my head, all in my head
Whenever I spoke my truth
No, I won't defend you to all my friends
This time, I refuse
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil (Evil, evil, evil)
[Verse 2]
Remember when you smiled right to my face?
As all my little tears of oxalate
They made a shape, revealed a snake
Now I'm stop drop rollin' over all your jokes
Every time you tell a lie, I'm praying that you choke
Should've listened to the signs, and the horoscopes
Hope you never cope, hope you slip on soap
Crack your head like an egg, wanna see the yolk
You were such a hoax
[Pre-chorus]
(No!) I never knew what it meant
What it meant to be content with you
Everything I expressed, I professed
It never quite made it through
Said it's all in my head, all in my head
Whenever I spoke my truth
No, I won't defend you to all my friends
This time, I refuse
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil
[Chorus]
If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won't be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil
[Post-chorus]
Evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, evil
[Outro]
Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | PORTALS | March 31, 2023 | CJ Baran | 2021-2022 | 4:06 |
| ▶ | Clean version | PORTALS | March 31, 2023 | CJ Baran | 2021-2022 | 4:06 |
Live performances[]
"EVIL" was performed at:
- Lollapalooza 2023 (debut performance)
- Estéreo Picnic Festival 2023
- PORTALS Tour
- Heineken Silver Live Out 2023
- iHeart Radio Jingle Ball 2023
- The Trilogy Tour
- Bonnaroo Festival 2024
- Osheaga Festival 2024
- Lollapalooza 2024
Gallery[]
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To view the gallery of EVIL, click here.
|
Trivia[]
- The snippet was shared through egg hatching.
- This is the fourth track to be revealed under Atlantic's deliveries.
- The snippet of this song was shot on October 23, 2022.
- The photoshoot was shot by Jimmy Fontaine and Verde, while the video snippet was shot only by Verde.
- In the performance of Lollapalooza Argentina, Melanie narrows down her voice when singing "Whenever I spoke my truth", it is unknown if it was intentional.
- This is Melanie's favorite conflict song, among "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX" and "THE CONTORTIONIST".
- According to Melanie, this was the most challenging track to sing on PORTALS.
- She stated that she spent an entire day blowing out her vocals recording this song.
- "NYMPHOLOGY" transitions to this track, while this song transitions directly to "WOMB".
- Every time Melanie performed this song during the PORTALS Tour, the whole stage was always filled with red smoke and lights.
- During the riff at the start of the song, the dancers all hold out a middle finger while walking.
- This the first and only song from PORTALS to have a visualizer, and it is also Melanie's first song to ever receive one.
- After Atlantic gave the green light for the song to be the first single following the release of "PORTALS", she was given the option to make a lyric video (as was done with "Play Date" in 2020), although she ultimately chose the visualizer, for unknown reasons.
- "Said It's all in my head, all in my head" is similar to the line "'It's all in your head', you tell me instead" from "Paper Cut".
- The line, "You called the other day, I stayed away", is also a similar circumstance from "Paper Cut".
- Goddesses are also mentioned in "Test Me".
- On May 1, 2024, "EVIL" surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.
References[]
[]
v • e  | |
|---|---|
| Featured tracks | DEATH • VOID • TUNNEL VISION • FAERIE SOIRÉE • LIGHT SHOWER • SPIDER WEB • LEECHES • BATTLE OF THE LARYNX • THE CONTORTIONIST • MOON CYCLE • NYMPHOLOGY • EVIL • WOMB |
| Bonus tracks | THE HATCHING • POWDER • PLUTO • MILK OF THE SIREN |
| Scrapped tracks | Barely Juice • Corpse • Death • Dragon's Blood • Emerald • Fairy Dance • Fingers Crossed • Fragile (unconfirmed) • Garden • Gravitate • Hawaii Space Guitar • Inconsistent Flame • Jinx • Labyrinth (version 1) • Labyrinth (version 2) • Magnets • MENace To Society • Mother of Pearl • Needle and Thread • Not Dead, Just Expired • Puzzles • Synchronicities • Tunnel Vision • Void • Walkie Talkie |
| Characters | The Creature (Cry Baby) • Masked Dancers • Faeries |
| Producers | Melanie Martinez • One Love • CJ Baran • Verde • The 23rd • Pearl Lion • Simon Says • Cautious Clay (deluxe) |
| Extras | Egg hatching • Film • Merchandise • Portals Parfums • Portals: The Game • Melanie Madness |
| Tour | PORTALS Tour • The Trilogy Tour |