"Pity Party" is a song by Melanie Martinez that is featured as the eighth track on her debut album, Cry Baby and the first track on her EP, Pity Party. It was released as the lead single for Cry Baby on June 1, 2015. Multiple remixes of the song were released on Pity Party (Remixes).
The song's music video was posted on Vessel by Melanie on May 29, 2015, and the song was released as a single three days later on June 1, 2015. It impacted contemporary radio on March 22, 2016.
Background[]
To promote the song, Melanie made a template of a party invitation available on her website. Fans could use the template to spread the news of when the song and music video were going to drop or as an invitation for their own parties.[1]
Theme[]
This song revolves around Cry Baby inviting her friends and a boy she likes, Johnny, to her birthday party, but no one shows up. She begins to wonder why she puts so much effort into everything just to be alone at the end of the day. She starts blaming herself for the absence of her friends. She tries to lessen the pain by telling herself that the situation is fine since she can have the whole cake to herself and celebrate on her own.
However, as the song goes on, Cry Baby is unaware of whether she could try and laugh it off or let herself cry. She is under an emotional torrent and says it almost feels as if she is dying. Eventually, after screaming, she decides not to care.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Did my invitations disappear?
Why'd I put my heart on every cursive letter?
Tell me why the hell no one is here
Tell me what to do to make it all feel better
[Pre-chorus]
Maybe it's a cruel joke on me
Whatever, whatever
Just means there's way more cake for me
Forever, forever
[Chorus]
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Verse 2]
Maybe if I knew all of them well
I wouldn't have been trapped inside this Hell
that holds me
Maybe if I casted out a spell
And told them decorations were in pastel ribbons
[Pre-chorus]
Maybe it's a cruel joke on me
Whatever, whatever
Just means there's way more cake for me
Forever, forever
[Chorus]
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Bridge]
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm dying, I'm dying
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
[Scream]
[Chorus]
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Outro]
It's my party, it's-it's my party
It's my party, it's-it's my party
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry)
[Verse 1]
Did my invitations disappear?
Why'd I put my heart on every cursive letter?
Tell me why the hell no one is here
Tell me what to do to make it all feel better
[Pre-chorus]
Maybe it's a cruel joke on me
Whatever, whatever
Just means there's way more cake for me
Forever, forever
[Chorus]
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Verse 2]
Maybe if I knew all of them well
I wouldn't have been trapped inside this Hell
that holds me
Maybe if I casted out a spell
And told them decorations were in pastel ribbons
[Pre-chorus]
Maybe it's a cruel joke on me
Whatever, whatever
Just means there's way more cake for me
Forever, forever
[Chorus]
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Bridge]
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm laughing, I'm crying
It feels like I'm dying
I'm dying, I'm dying
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
[Scream]
[Chorus]
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry)
I'll cry until the candles burn down this place
I'll cry until my pity party's in flames
[Outro]
It's my party, it's-it's my party
It's my party, it's-it's my party
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to (Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry)
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | Single • Pity Party • Cry Baby | June 1, 2015 | CJ Baran | April 27, 2014 | 3:24 |
| Instrumental | Unreleased | June 15, 2016 (leaked) | CJ Baran | ~April 27, 2014 | 3:24 | |
| Remixes | ||||||
| ▶ | XVII Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | August 28, 2015 | CJ Baran, XVII | 2015 | 4:01 |
| ▶ | K Theory Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | August 28, 2015 | CJ Baran, K Theory | 2015 | 4:58 |
| ▶ | The Feels Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | August 28, 2015 | CJ Baran, The Feels | 2015 | 4:32 |
| ▶ | Myles Travitz Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | August 28, 2015 | CJ Baran, Myles Travitz | 2015 | 3:02 |
| ▶ | Kassiano Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | August 28, 2015 | CJ Baran, Kassiano | 2015 | 4:04 |
| ▶ | Madison Mars Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | May 20, 2016 | CJ Baran, Madison Mars | 2015-2016 | 4:45 |
| ▶ | Kayliox Remix | Pity Party (Remixes) | May 20, 2016 | CJ Baran, Kayliox | 2015-2016 | 4:43 |
| Demos | ||||||
| Demo | Unreleased | May 29, 2015 (leaked) | CJ Baran | 2014 | 3:19 | |
Live performances[]
"Pity Party" was performed at:
- Cry Baby Pre-Tour (debut performance)
- Cry Baby Tour
- Cry Baby Euro Tour
- Cry Baby Australia and New Zealand Tour
- The Trilogy Tour
Festivals
- Lollapalooza Chicago 2016
- Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 2016
- Bumbershoot Festival
- Music Midtown Festival
- ACL Music Festival 2016
- ACL Music Festival 2016
- Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
- Lollapalooza Brazil 2017
- Lollapalooza Argentina 2017
- Lollapalooza Chile 2017
- Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
- Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
- Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 2024
- Lollapalooza Chicago 2024
Festivals
- Lollapalooza Chicago 2016
- Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 2016
- Bumbershoot Festival
- Music Midtown Festival
- ACL Music Festival 2016
- ACL Music Festival 2016
- Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
- Lollapalooza Brazil 2017
- Lollapalooza Argentina 2017
- Lollapalooza Chile 2017
- Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
- Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
- Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 2024
- Lollapalooza Chicago 2024
Gallery[]
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To view the gallery of Pity Party (song), click here.
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Music video[]
The music video begins with Cry Baby writing and sending invitations to her birthday party while eating milk and cookies. Then, it flashes to the day of her party in August. She wakes up in a pink dress. None of her friends are showing up, but she does activities to keep her busy. She gets more upset with them, and no one answers the phone. She decides that she doesn't need friends there to have fun, and dresses in an outfit that makes her look like a clown and plays by herself with her stuffed animals and a balloon. Angry, she pops the balloon by putting it in her mouth and rips up her stuffed animals. She screams loudly while throwing her other stuffed animals away and destroying almost everything at her party, including a blue cake. In the end, Cry Baby blows out the candles to a cake that reads, "Happy Birthday Cry Baby" and then starts to smoke a cigarette while the surrounding area is aflame.
Cast[]
Errors[]
- When it comes to the part where Cry Baby is playing the board game by herself, on the table in the shot before, there was a giant birthday cake. It disappears between shots.
- Cry Baby writes an invitation for Johnny twice in the introduction of the song. The only difference is the number of hearts next to his name.
- During the beginning of the music video, when Cry Baby plays a vinyl record, she does not take the plastic protector off of the needle on the record player.
- When Cry Baby is waiting for her friends to show up, there are presents on the lower right although no one came had to her party.
Trivia[]
- Melanie's father, Jose Martinez, said that "Pity Party" is one of his favorite songs recorded for Cry Baby, along with "Haunted", "Alphabet Boy" and "Cake".
- The lyric, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to", is a sample from Lesley Gore's 1963 hit song, "It's My Party".
- A heavily edited sample of that song's chorus is present in the background of "Pity Party's" chorus in the audio.
- A slightly less edited sample of the song is used in the music video.
- On one of the invitations, the person being invited is Johnny. This references the original song, in which Johnny is the name of Lesley's boyfriend that left her party with another girl. His name was archetypal for a teen boy in the 1950's.
- A heavily edited sample of that song's chorus is present in the background of "Pity Party's" chorus in the audio.
- Melanie said that her favorite part of the "Pity Party" music video is when she got to destroy the teddy bear.
- There are 9 candles on Cry Baby's cake, suggesting that she is 9 years old.
- In the Cry Baby storybook, however, there are 3 candles.
- Usually, children start Kindergarten at the ages of 4-5, which is the grade K-12 starts at. This means she was most likely 3 instead of 9.
- In the music video, Cry Baby smoked a cigarette. It is assumed that this was influenced by her mom and/or brother.
- On the invitations, August is written for the date, revealing that Cry Baby's birthday is in August and that she is either a Leo or Virgo.
- Although, in the 2019 issue of Alternative Press magazine, it is stated that Cry Baby is a Taurus, which indicates that she was born between April 20-May 20.
- This is Melanie's second music video to reach over 100 million views on YouTube.
- This is Melanie's first and currently the only song to reach the top 40 of pop radio.
- The scream in the song is heard in Courage the Cowardly Dog, Squirrel Boy and the 2007 video/DVD Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Video and is not actually Melanie's scream.
- Melanie has said this is the song she is most proud of on Cry Baby.
- Melanie also said that it's the hardest song for her to perform due to the fact that she has to push her voice a little more than she is used to.
- "Pity Party" was certified gold on July 28, 2016.
- It was then certified platinum on July 7, 2017.
- It was then certified 2x Multi-Platinum on November 24, 2021.
- This is Melanie's second song to be certified gold, after "Dollhouse".
- This is also Melanie's second song to be certified platinum.
- In the music video, Melanie wore a Lime Crime Velvetine liquid lipstick called "Riot".
- Out of all of Melanie's songs, Pity Party is tied with "Brain & Heart" for having the most writers.
- This is because the writers of Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" are also credited.
- Melanie bought some of the music video's props at a store called Captain Vintage.
- The clock that can be seen at 0:56 is the same clock that appeared in the hospital scene in the music video of "Cry Baby".
- Melanie released the storybook page for this song as a t-shirt and tank top, however, the t-shirt has been discontinued on her both Official Store and Europe Store.
- Melanie released a puzzle with an image of the storybook page, but has since been discontinued.
- Before the music video was released, Melanie posted via Instagram of the painting that can be found in the background of the music video.
- Melanie created a Spotify playlist that Cry Baby would play at her party, and this song was included.[2]
- A behind the scenes video of the making of the "Pity Party" music video was uploaded to Melanie's YouTube channel on June 17, 2015.
- Billboard uploaded a video of Melanie performing a stripped-down version of "Pity Party" in their studio on October 7, 2015.
References[]
[]
v • e  | |
|---|---|
| Featured tracks | Pity Party • Dollhouse • Dead to Me • Bittersweet Tragedy |
| Characters | Cry Baby • Mom • Dad • Brother • Little Girl |
| Producers | One Love • CJ Baran • Robopop |
| Related | Dollhouse (EP) |
| v • e Remix EPs | |
|---|---|
| EPs | Dollhouse (The Remixes) • Carousel (The Remixes) • Pity Party (Remixes) • Soap (Remixes) |
| Remixed songs | Dollhouse • Carousel • Pity Party • Soap |
| Producers | One Love • CJ Baran • Kyle Shearer • Daniel Weber • Hippie Sabotage • Kiely Rich • Jai Wolf • Treasure Fingers H.O.U.S.E • Bobby Green • Bleep Bloop • Eric Sharp • SNBRN • Hoxton Whores • Larse • XVII • K Theory • The Feels • Myles Travitz • Kassiano • Madison Mars • Kayliox • Steve James • Gladiator • Stooki Sound • Luxxury • Sailors • Jerome Price |