Music
Melanie Martinez Descends Into Orlando’s HADES
Melanie Martinez Transforms KIA Center Into a Twisted Wonderland.
July 30th, 2026
Melanie Martinez transformed Orlando’s KIA Center into a fantasy wonderland for one night during her stop for the HADES: THE SACRIFICE TOUR. Fans in elaborate HADES-themed costumes filled the floor and upper bowl alike, and the arena remained loud from Isabel LaRosa’s first song to Martinez’s last.
Before Martinez took the stage, Isabel LaRosa opened the night with a moody, cinematic set that set the tone perfectly. Her haunting vocals and slow-building production got the arena invested well before the headliner appeared, working more like a first chapter than a warm-up act.
When the lights finally dropped, a prerecorded message – narrated throughout the night by a character called “Circle,” introduced the audience into the world HADES was looking to tell. As the narration ended, the stage was revealed, only to be destroyed and revealing a beautiful pink bedroom where Martinez lied. Martinez opened with “Garbage,” “Is This a Cult?,” and “Possession” before “White Boy With a Gun” pushed the energy even higher. After, Circle provided more lore into HADES before Martinez slid into “Disney Princess.”

Melanie Martinez performs at Orlando’s Kia Center. photo by Sebastian James
The Show was built around two stages, and the shift to B-Stage for “Grudges,” “Monopoly Man,” and “Avoidant” gave the second act a different kind of intimacy while providing the crowd with mezmerising choreography. During “Avoidant,” a fan was pulled up to the stage to join Martinez, and the arena illuminated with lights from cellphones, providing the environment with a starry-like atmosphere – one of several moments where the the audience felt connected. “Monolith” and the extended “Weight Watchers” closed the B-Stage run before the production moved back to the main stage.
Back on the A-Stage, another narrated interlude set up a run of songs that leaned into the album’s darker themes – “The Plague,” “Batshit Intelligence,” and “Gutter,” the last of which had the crowd carrying entire verses on their own while the hospital set appeared to collapse in flames.
Martinez didn’t let the energy drop after that. “Uncanny Valley” and an extended, dance-heavy “The Vatican” kept the back half of the set moving, the “Hell’s Front Porch” led into an extended “Chatroom” before the main set closed. For the encore, Martinez returned to the B-Stage for “The Last Two People on Earth,” sending the night out on a quieter, more personal note after nearly two hours of spectacle.”
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