"Carousel" is a song by Latin American recording artist

Melanie Martinez Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American Puerto Rican-Dominican singer and songwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to fame in 2012 after appearing ...

. The song was featured on Martinez's debut EP, ''

Dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy house made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North Americ ...

'' (2014) and her debut studio album '' Cry Baby'' (2015). "Carousel" was released on September 1, 2014, as the second single from ''Dollhouse''. A music video accompanying the song was released on October 15, 2014. The song was used in the trailer for the fourth season of the horror anthology television series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

''.

Background and composition

In 2014, the song was featured in a preview of season four of FX's horror anthology series, ''

'', with the theme also being a riff on the song. Martinez told the ''Huffington Post'' that ''American Horror Story'' is "'absolutely, hands down' her favorite show" and mentioned that she contacted FX about the song as soon as she heard about the season's carnival theme. She later received a call from the network two days before the promo aired. "Carousel" is labeled as

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

, described by Martinez as, "My feeling in love with someone and being stuck on the same ride and trying to grab them but I never reach them".

Critical reception

Lyndsey Parker Lyndsey Parker is an American entertainment journalist and author. A former managing editor at ''Yahoo! Music'', she focuses on music and pop culture. She is the author of ''Reality Rocks,'' a column that covers television shows such as '' The V ...

of ''

Yahoo! Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

'' praised the song and Martinez, saying, "Melanie Martinez has moved on from ''The Voice'' to ''American Horror Story''. And her new song and video are so good. The two-toned-haired Goth girl wonder, one of the most unique contestants to ever appear on ''The Voice'' ... While her new video for the song, out just in time for Halloween, isn't quite as twisted as anything on ''AHS'', it's still totally creepy-cool, depicting a doomed romance that literally spins out of control at a dark, deserted Long Island carnival".Lyndsey Parker
"Freak Show: Melanie Martinez Unveils Frighteningly Great 'Carousel' Video"
''Yahoo'', October 16, 2014

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs Atlantic Records singles Melanie Martinez songs Songs written by Kinetics (rapper) Songs written by Melanie Martinez Songs written by One Love (record producer) Television drama theme songs Torch songs Songs about heartache American Horror Story