Possession (Melanie Martinez song)

Since May 2024, Martinez embarked on the Trilogy Tour in support of her studio albums, Cry Baby (2015), K–12 (2019), and Portals (2023).^[1] In January 2026, she cleared all of her social media accounts alongside her official website, to tease her upcoming era.^[2] Soon after, the singer uploaded a new video, which introduces a new character named Circle.^[3]

A day before the release of "Possession", Martinez announced that it would be released on January 28.^[4] The track was accompanied by its audio video^[5] as well as a snippet of the visual video.^[6] The song marks her first single since "Evil" (2023), which is featured on Portals.^[7][8]

A pop,^[9] alt-pop,^[10] and rock^[8] ballad,^[9] "Possession" runs for three minutes and eight seconds.^[11] Martinez sings in a near whisper, yet with gusto, about the experience of feeling like someone's "possession", while describing the role of a "good housewife".^[12] It "peels back the ways power can masquerade as love" and "spotlights Melanie's trademark blend of charm, mischief and bite".^[13] Lars Brandle from Billboard saw Martinez "tackl[ing] the ugly scenario of domestic violence", calling the song as "edgy number built on a bed of rock".^[8] Daily Times said the track depicts "her signature surreal visuals, sharp lyrics, and strong social commentary",^[4] while Flood Magazine's Will Schube referenced that it would not "sound out of place on a Spaghetti Western soundtrack", before she sings the lines such as "I hit my head real hard / I woke up in the dark".^[7] EIN Presswire stated that "Possession" is "haunting, satirical and spotlights Melanie's trademark blend of charm, mischief and bite".^[14]

"Possession" reached at number 1 on Billboard's This Week's Favorite New Music, gaining 80% of the vote behind Bruce Springsteen, Cannons, Noah Kahan and Labrinth.^[15] It also accumulated over 2.7 million Spotify streams in its first 24 hours and has exceeded 36 million streams to date, marking Martinez's fastest-streaming release and the largest female debut of 2026.^[16] Atwood magazine's Danielle Holian described it as a track that follows the conclusion of the Cry Baby trilogy with a sense of reckoning. She wrote that if Portals ended with "cosmic rebirth", "Possession" feels "like the reckoning that follows reincarnation". The editor also characterized it as a "candy-coated gut punch", noting its contrast between a "glossy" surface and "bruising underneath", and added that the song reintroduces Martinez "not as a character, but as an architect of power dynamics".^[17]

Credits were adapted from Tidal.^[18]

• Melanie Martinez – lead vocals, songwriter
• Nick Trapani – assistant engineer
• CJ Baran – producer, bass, engineer, keyboards, sequenced drums, sound desginer, synthesizer, songwriter
• Rhys Hastings – drums