Selena Gomez & The Scene Album Analysis

The reason I am analysing this CD is because Selena Gomez is again from the Pop Genre, and my artist is also from the Pop genre, another reason is because she is one of my favourite artists, so I want to make sure I incorporate some of the elements from this CD cover and what she does into my artist. Also, she has the same target audience as what I want my artist to have, so it will be good to see what my target audience like to see, and how she focus' on them.

Selena Gomez is an American singer. She started out on Disney Channel playing Alex Russo in Wizards Of Waverly Place, then suddenly took on the music scene with her new band 'Selena Gomez & The Scene', signed to Hollywood Records. Their first album 'Kiss & Tell' did really well leading into another two hit albums, she also has had a successful tour, and has a strong fan base.

Cover Art

The cover art for Selena Gomez's album 'When The Sun Goes Down' looks very retro, its not very modern and the clothes are not something that are seen on people today so much. There are many reference's for this cover and things that have inspired it. There has been many rumours that still haven't been confirmed if she has been photo shopped onto someone else's body, as her face colour is different and her body shape is different to her face. One thing that has inspired this cover is the 1930's era, this is when women was more classy and did wear outfits like this and long fur coats, and sparkly dresses, this was also a popular time for hobbies like dancing, and the outfit Selena is wearing on the cover looks ready to dance in. Another thing that had inspired the cover is Liza Minnelli and the movie 'Cabaret', this is because of the outfits she wears and her hair are very similar, plus they both are wearing that glitzy jewellery which was popular around that era. I also don't just think she dresses like Liza Minnelli and the movie 'Cabaret' because of the style but also because she is trying to prove something. Selena is known for her cheesy pop and childish style as she has come from The Disney Channel, and people are always expecting her to be perfect, and because she is young the press and her fans are always expecting certain things from her, so the cabaret personifies that, its saying that she is always having to put a show on and prove that she is perfect and be happy like they do in a cabaret show. Also one of her songs is called 'Who Says' which is all about being perfect and saying that everyone is beautiful in their own way, so the cover matches the music in saying that Selena is always putting on a show and a front to be this perfect artist that everyone wants her to be, just like Liza Minelli and her playing the character in the movie 'Cabaret'.

Back Art
The back of the CD is very similar to the front cover, the difference is that its a longer shot, so you can see more of her instead of just her face and a bit of her body on the front, this shows that she wants you to see the whole of her on this album and what she's really like. The colours are very retro and all fit in with the theme really well, some of her songs on the album also have a retro theme going along with them too, so it matches the music she is putting out. Again she is trying to prove that she is older so this is not what we are used to seeing Selena like, so this look is proving to the fans that she is changing, and growing up. Its still the same clothes as the cover and its all inspired by the 1930's clothing and the 'Cabaret' look.

CD
The CD for 'When The Sun Goes Down' is very vintage and something you would have seen about 70 years ago and something that would be seen on a record player and not on a CD player, which matched the front and back cover of the CD well as there is a music player, it all fits together nicely. The font style also works well, as that type of writing was on records back then. It also tells you what the record is called and also the record company in huge lettering, this isn't something artists now do, this again is something done a lot of years ago so it fits in with the record style look she is going for in the CD.

She has made sure that all of the CD work well together with each other, the front, back and also the actual CD fit in with one another and they all have a running theme, this is what I want my artist to have, a CD where it all matches and they fit in well.

Katy Perry Album Art Anaylsis

The reason I am analysing this CD is because there is many reasons for Katy Perry choosing these stylistics, and I want my artist to have some relevance to an artist like she has. Also she is from the Pop genre, and my genre is Pop/Dance, so I might be able to take some ideas from this.

Katy Perry is an American 27 year old female musician. She has been on the music scene for 10 years but only got signed in 2007 to Capitol Records. She has had two albums both of which have been really sucessful. These albums include 'One Of The Boys' and 'Teenage Dream' and has hits such as 'California Gurls' and 'Firework'. She also holds the record for the most number 1's off one album. This album was released on August 24th 2011.

Cover Art

Looking at the Cover Art for the Teenage Dream album, you can see that Katy wanted to go for a very delicate look. The colours (Baby colours) show a swell that the album has some fun involved, the colours are not dark and boring and it stands out which she will want her music to do. The font on the cover is also very fun and different, it works well with the rest of the cover, the top font looks like strawberry laces and the bottom font looks like a candy cane, also the clouds are made of cotton candy, this could be because the album is called Teenage Dream, and looking at audience research, her target audience will be teenagers and people in their 20's, and the thing they love to eat most is Sweets and Candy, so she is appealing to the audience well. Although Katy isn't wearing any clothes on the cover, I still think that its respectable and reserved, there is nothing implying that the music on the album will be raunchy or different to her old music, but again it works well with the title, Teenage Dream, so she wants people to find her attractive on the cover.

Back Art

The back of the CD of course still works well the front of the CD cover. There is still the same colour theme and also the same background as the front, sometimes artists use completely different backgrounds and styles, but this works well and blends together well. The font is a little different, its still the same colour theme again and also still has the candy cane within the O's, but the font is a little thicker, its to make the songs stand out. The bonus album tracks are a different colour which I think is good to let the audience see the difference, as the audience will have had to have paid more for the deluxe version of the album so letting them see what they are getting for extra is good. It also tells you all the relevant information like about the record company and the people involved with the album.

CD

The CD for the Teenage Dream album is the design again of a candy cane which works well with the rest of the album design, so with the front and back. Katy also made sure that within every CD there was a scent of Cotton Candy, so when you buy the CD and open it up it smells like what the cover looks like which I thought was a nice idea for the audience and made them excited to buy the album as that's something that not many artists do and get involved in.

Will Cotton

When creating the Teenage Dream CD, Katy Perry already had an idea in mind. She really liked the work of the artist Will Cotton and there was one piece of his artwork in particular that she really like and was inspired by (Picture Underneath). When she made the video for California Gurls, she incorporated this artwork into the video as well and also other pieces of art he had done, so the video was basically Will Cotton's ideas but Katy Perry brought them to life. For example, the picture below, she added in the laces that she eats during the video, the painting is on the left and the Katy Perry video is on the right and just looking at the pictures you can see that they are very similar but Katy has put her own spin on it.

After the video had been made, Will decided to paint a few paintings of Katy Perry, including the cover for her album, which was based upon a painting he did earlier in his career. Having not only him inspire her for one of her videos but also a cover is a good thing for the artist I think, and they all work well together, plus since the album is mainly upbeat and fun, the artwork works well with the album.

Here are a few of the painting he did after the video was made. I think the reason for him doing these was because he was such a part of the music video and by him being so, it helped him create other art that was similar to his own pieces, so not only does it benefit Katy, it also benefits him helping create the music video.

This was actually on the music video 'California Gurls' which Will was Artistic Director of, he then painted a couple of the main scenes from the video. This is the scene where Katy comes out to make Snoop Dogg go away as he is the bad guy. She squirts him with cream which is meant to act as a gun. Katy hasn't used this artwork in anything like her digital booklet or on her album.

This is also another main scene in the music video, which he painted. This is the part where Katy is looking around and searching for the girls to save and then help her defeat the bad guy. Again Katy hasn't used this in any of her work like album cover or digital booklet.

Will also didn't just create the front cover for Katy, but he also painted a photo that was already taken for inside booklet/digital booklet. Katy didn't use the painted version but Will still painted it for her, and it looks almost identical to the original image. I think the reason that Katy didn't use all of Will's artwork was because she only wanted to be inspired by him, so she used his art to create some new photos and images, and didn't want everything painted as it would look too different and something that people are not used to. Here is a picture of Katy and Will together with the final piece.

The California Dreams Tour

Katy Perry released tour dates for The California Dreams tour, starting Feb 20th 2011 and ending in Jan 22nd 2012. This would mean that Katy would have to come up with a new concept and a new theme for her tour. She still stuck with the candy theme, which worked well as it meant the audience already knew about this and it didn't come as a shock to the fans when they saw her on tour. Everything on tour was candy themed, from the video's that played whilst she was getting ready, down to the outfits and the staging, and just like her album, the arena smelt like cotton candy too. Katy made sure that the album cover and design still worked along side the tour, as it was a tour meaning to promote the album and let the fans see the new material. So I think making sure you stick to the same theme within most things during that albums period is important to do, as it doesn't confuse your fans and it means you can incorporate the theme into most things you do, like the tour and music videos.

Looking at Katy Perry and her album art, has made me think about how I should represent my artist. I want to make sure that there is a theme running, just like Katy, she has sort of made a brand for herself because of the colourful candy and photo's, so I want to make sure that my artist can not only have the design on a CD but also it can be made into a music video and the ideas can also be brought on tour. I think thinking of a colour scheme will be important and also looking at costume and what I want as my theme.

Chosen Artist Album Art Anaylsis

This is the album art for David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat. This is the album that my chosen song is taken off and also it's David's most recent album, and by looking at this and analysing it will help me see some of the conventions of an album cover that I can include with my artist.

The artwork for this album is the colour red. This is one of the main focus' on the cover and its one of the main things you notice and you would see from a far if you was to buy it in a store. The reason the artwork is red is because most of David Guetta's songs on the album are about love, they all involve lyrics to do with love and if they don't then the songs lyrics means something to do with love, also when this album was being released, David was very passionate about it, and he thought that it was his best album to date, so red also symbolizes passion and this is something David had during the promotion stages and also creating the album. Another main focus of the cover is David himself pictured in the centre of the cover, I think the reason for him being dead in the centre is because David is known for his music but is never really in the spotlight, he does the music and he usually gets a well known artist to do the singing, so he now wants to be seen and known himself, so him being in the centre might show that he now wants to be the centre of attention.

The clothes he is wearing are very casual and relaxed, which goes with the title of the album, the album is called 'Nothing But The Beat' showing that he doesn't want to be known for the clothes he wears or what he looks like but just the music and nothing else. In his face he is also looking into the distance, this could be because he can see where his music is going and this is so the audience of the album know he is looking into a different direction of his music, so on the album the music is different and him looking away is showing that he is looking for something new. The font colour is white which stands out in front of the red background nicely. White usually means something fresh, so this is also what the music is, something fresh and new and his music has really changed from his older stuff.

I also want to do a cover like this, something maybe a bit simple but what means a lot when you look into it. I don't want something too fancy on the cover but at the same time something colourful and something that does stand out when its on a shelf in a CD shop. I want my CD cover to either be a location shot (eg a bright nightlife or club) or just one person being the artist, with a few graphics or bright colours again to make it stand out.