Star Image in Music Videos and Websites- Kesha.

While designing my website and Album Cover I have been taking inspiration and looking to the artist Kesha as she is in the same genre and has the kind of star image we want to promote in our artist. Kesha is rebellious, punky, sexy, and is a pop artist. These kind of traits are something we have tried to incorporate into the marketing of our artist, who is also of the pop genre.

Kesha's first album "Animal" shows her against a dark background which is scratched and eroded. This shows her style to be quite dark, and that she is quite a grungey artist. This grunge element is something we have been incorporating into the marketing of our artist. Therefore I will be thinking about adding in similar effects in my current album cover design so there is unity between the promotional materials.

This album cover ultimately still has bright features such as the type which is written in glitter. This provides a nice contrast to the dark picture which might suggest a rock them if it was not paired with the text which brings it back to the pop genre of music. 

Kesha's next album is Warrior. This album cover has a completed different color palette however, there is still a similar style to her last album cover. The color of this Album markets Kesha in more of a pop artist way, with the bright bold colors, however elements of her slightly edgier music are visible, for example in the dress she is wearing and background. Also the typography of her name which is clearly shown on all of her products connotes a edgier artist, as it is made up of harsh lines that are very graphic.
When designing my Album cover I have thought about using bright colors also as this demonstrates the music to be part of the pop genre.

Kesha's website has a similar feel to her album covers. With the background being black with areas that have been eroded. This gives a similar messy, carefree and slightly rock and roll image to Kesha.
Also on the website are pops of color, mainly the lime green hints that are present in her name and highlight titles. This in-keeps with the pop genre, but also the color of green is an acid green, further suggesting erosion and decay.

STAR IMAGE

THEORIES ON STAR IMAGE:
Andrew Goodwin on Stage Image in 'Dancing in the distraction factory'.

• The creation of character identities for stars provides a point of identification for the audience/ spectator which is especially important when lyrics often lack depth. 

• The construction ofstars is cental to the economics of the music industry- only stars guarntee sales and long careers.

• Star Loyalty is a key ingredient- fans are loyal to the star.

•  The audience knows its own tastes but the music industry has long been able to work around this- the construction of stars is one of the ways they do this. 

• The record industry is very dependent or stars- many record companies rely on a few big stars (or even just one) to provide stability. 

 Example of Star

Beyoncé has been a pop star for many years and she is regarded as the queen of pop. Thoughout her career in order to maintain being successful she has had to change her image. This keeps people interested in her and and human beings crave neophilia so it is necessary for her to show her creativity. 

She began her solo career in 2003, after being a part of the girl group "Destiny's Child". She has been very successful releasing 4 Albums since then. 

Beyonce's Albums from Left to Right: Dangerously in Love, B Day, I am Sasha Fierce, 4

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Beyonce's Star Image.

I think Beyonce image is 'the perfect woman'.

She is portrayed as a sex symbol, she has an incredible figure and this is often shown; lot of skin showing, but she is also very 'real' her body isn't that of  a runway model, she is curvy and I think a lot of her audience (in particular women) are inspired by her. She connects to her audience as they can relate to her. Beyonce is also hugely successful, she is a singer, model, actress, and business woman. A lot of her fans can also admire those sides to her. She balances being a sex symbol with being powerful and smart. Beyonce is also a mother and wife, again providing another level of reality to her. She demonstrates that it is possible to be successful and have a personal life. Beyonce also does good, she is altruistic, doing events for charity etc.  

Beyonce with her baby

A shot from her famous song Single Ladies.

One of her adverts for her perfume.

Sex Symbol

With her husband J-Z being a normal couple.

Some of her charity work

What Elements could we borrow from Beyonce image that we can apply to our artist?  

• I think it is important to try and create the image for our artist, as someone who is real, who has a connection with their audience. This connection sells, as the audience don't feel that they are buying the material.The sale is more personal than that. I think this friendliness and openness is one of Beyonce's key selling points. Our song "I love it" is all about not caring, and being reckless, if we show the artists image to be like in our promotional package we will attract a young audience. This reckless tone doesn't easily lent itself to being sweet and caring. However,  I think that done a certain way the two could mix. 
• Beyonce's image is quite glamorous and sexy, while I don't think it would fit our artist or song to be shown as glamorous I think that ultimately sex sells, so there need to be aspects of that in our music video.

Discuss what ideas do you have for your artist/band's star image- a mix of an existing artist/band's representation and something you have constructed to create a unique artist.