Textual Analysis of CD’s

Olivia Mason

Rhianna- Loud• The name of the album is called Loud suggesting that

things are quite in your face and this links with the bright colour of her lipstick and hair which all link. The brightness of the red shows that is a loud colour which is going to be very bold like her music. The contrast of the red on her skin makes the album stand out more over any other covers so the title of the album has a meaning to the music and the picture/colours are used to link this.

• The image is an extreme close up of Rhianna the main artist which expresses her beauty and femininity because of her long eyelashes, perfect lips and lipstick and glowing complexion showing off her perfection and appealing to the other sex at the same time because they will find her attractive. Also the way she is positioned makes it a more seducing as her shoulder is in the bottom corner of the cover and we can see its not covered by anything and she’s looking down at it suggesting exposure of her body but also trying to hide but the red makes her stand out so it could suggest that she cant hide or shouldn’t feel embarrassed and embrace it.

• The text is very simplistic and very spread out but sophisticated which could represent the artists personality of being out going and confident, the space between each letter could represent the boldness of it for example.

Lady Gaga- Art pop• This album cover is very vibrant with colours

such as the bright pink text of the artists name and the colours in the background making it stand out over the main artist in the picture and she is made to be all one colour like a mannequin. The colours link to the name of the album as the images in the background are art pieces and the bold colours link this in to the era of art pop.

• The way the artists name is behind the main artist and is cut up and not very visible suggests that she is very well known and the name doesn’t have to be completely visible as people will know who she is. The cutting of the image towards the middle of the image where she is positioned makes her the centre of attention and the most important thing on the cover.

• The fact that she is naked and has certain parts covered suggests she’s expressing her sexuality and that she is very confident with herself to be that exposed.

Britney Spears- Circus• The main artist is the artist of the album is Britney Spears

and on this album cover she is made to look very feminine, sweet and innocent. This is done by her girly dress which has lots of frills and her subtle make up which makes her eye lashes really long to make her look young and youthful. The cay she is positioned also makes her look very sweet because she is resting on her shoulder and creates a sense of child like, batting of the eye lids to get what she wants.

• The title of the album is smaller in size than the name of the artist suggesting that the name of the artist is more important even though she is very well known and wants to be recognised by her name rather than the name of the album. The colour red makes it stand out over the pale colours in the background making it show to be more important and draw her audience to it.

• The stars around the edge of the album and the font of the text is a typically linked to circus’s in America so with this she can link the title of the album to the design so there is a clear link. Also the colours of her skin, hair and background colour make it look very vintage which is when circus’s were more popular and associated with so the vintage look of the album also ties into the Circus theme.

Beyoncé-I am Sasha Fierce• The colour scheme of the album is all one tone

with the grey filter over everything making her slightly blend into the background giving it a natural feel. The way she blends into the background displays that she’s insecure and vulnerable. This is also linked to the way she is positioned and she has her arms crossed over her body giving out closed body language also suggesting her vulnerability of her body even though she isn’t wearing any clothes promoting her sexuality and femininity as a woman but feeling insecure about it.

• The text is very hard to see and it is the same colour as the background which suggests that she is such an iconic artists that you don’t really need the artists name on the album because of how well known she is.

• The fact that in this image the only thing she is wearing is a piece of silver jewellery around her wrist shows a sign of wealth and she is wearing expensive jewellery but not clothes and also shows her faith as there is a cross dangling as one of the charms so it displays things about the artist and their personality.

Textual analysis of magazine adverts

Marina and The Diamonds- The Family Jewels

• The main image of the advert is a posturized image of the main singer as she is covered in makeup and the shadows and parts of her face are very defined making her eyes stand out and to define her jawline to make her look more feminine and attractive. She is framed in the centre of the shot to grab peoples attention and to be more easily noticed.

• There are reviews at the bottom of the image displaying positive feedback about the album which will make people more interested in the album if people have said how good it is.

• There is a website for people who want to find out more about the album and it’s in the smallest font so it doesn’t distract from the albums advert or the reviews of it, this is because it’s the least important bit of information but its still relevant.

• The band name is the biggest text on the advert and stands out in the bold white writing which is also used on the

• Information about singles on the album and the most popular tracks. Also includes information about when the album is released and when one of the top tracks on it is released to the charts. This then advertises both the album and the tracks on it.

Katy Perry- One of the Boys• The artist is looking straight at the camera which

creates a direct address to the audience and making the audience feel like the artist is selling the album personally to them.

• The garden setting and costume the artist is wearing is quite girly. It also suggests a summery theme which suggests that the songs on the album will be up beat and fun. Also the fact that they are girly suggests its for a young female audience.

• The artists name is written in a big bold font that matches the girly theme and also looks “sweet” like and summery to link with the theme of the advert and this is also used on many of the artists products so this makes it recognisable to the audience which is why it is so large.

• There is a small image of the album cover this is so that the audience can see what the cover looks like and look for it on shelves in shops.

• There is white text which tells the audience about the best hit and the date of which its released, the white text stands out as it is valuable information that the audience would be interested in knowing.

Jessie J- Who you are• The image is a close up of the main artist selling

her brand image to her audience. She is looking straight at the camera so creates a direct address with the audience. When this is done it illustrates her deeper and darker emotions and this is highlighted with the black hair and clothing to suggest the album shows a darker side to the artist and maybe even in depth emotions.

• We can see from the expression on her face the attitude that she has that she is rebellious and this is also illustrated through the use of the black lipstick outfit and nails. But the gold suggests there is a hint of light that comes from her and she has good thoughts instead of all depressing.

• The colour of the text links to the colours in the artists album cover which keeps a consistent colour pattern between the two. This stands out on the black background as the audience will notice it more if it stands out. Also there isn’t very much text it is very basic so that the audience can get the information quickly without having to read a lot.