BeyonceBeyonce is a well

known female singer and has sold millions of albums worldwide and is well known for her iconic status in the music industry.

BiographyBeyonce’s full name is Beyonce Giselle Knowles and

is 28 years old. She is an American R&B Pop singer, songwriter, choreographer, video director, actress, model, record producer and dancer. She was born and raised in Texas and rose to fame when becoming a member of Destiny’s Child band with two other band members. Originally there were four members in Destiny’s Child until they were both replaced with Michelle Williams which later was described as a hard time by Beyonce which led to her depression.

After breaking up from Destiny’s Child, she released one of the most successful albums of the year in 2003- Dangerously in love where she collaborated with her husband Jay- Z for the successful ‘Crazy in love’ track which hit number one for many weeks in which later gained for five Grammy awards in 2004. She is one of two female of artists to have ever had as many number one hits within the 2000s. As well as being a music singer, she also became an actor when staring in the remake of the 2006 musical Dreamgirls. In the mean time she has modelled for Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, L'Oreal and Pepsi which has led her to be one of the most influential celebrities of all time and is said to have grossed $87million between 2008 and 2009. In 2009, she embarked on a tour named the ‘I am… Tour’ which ventured around the world gaining her even more popularity. Recently she won the 2009 BET awards Video of the year for ‘single ladies (put a ring on it)’ and two other awards and was nominated for a total of nine all together. Showing the extent of her popularity, she even sang at the inaugural ceremonies for the president of United States Barack Obama.

‘I am Sasha Fierce’

Photography

Analysis of Single Covers + Photography

The black and white colour scheme is consistent throughout, this is contemporary photography, in which Beyonce is the main focus of. For the CD covers, it is easily recognisable because of this and also due to Beyonce herself being famous: fans can easily spot and recognise her. The intertextuality between the CD covers is obvious, the font is stylish and feminine which reinforces her own personal image, each cover also has the title of the song with a slightly different image to separate each track for fans stating how each track is personal to her. The photography shows no other person in the all of these products for this album, it clearly shows how she is an individual solo artist. Her body language throughout gives the impression that she is frozen in time in the middle of dance showing her professionalism and her talent within the choreographing area. The mise en scene changes throughout, mainly the backgrounds are grey or white helping her to stand out and be under the spotlight, however there are also a couple scenes of a backdrop which is a beach, this represents tranquillity referring to her voice which is not harsh but is soulful R&B. It also clearly shows how her audience is female as men would not purchase albums with beach scenes because this also is feminine but Beyonce helps to sell her products not just through her musical talent but magazines such as Rolling Stones argue that she also sells herself as a sex symbol: this is reinforced not just by her magazine shoots but also her body language and outfits throughout tours and within the photography which symbolises ‘I am Sasha Fierce’ and other albums. She clearly distinguishes herself against all other music artists with her makeup also, her clothing is unique and outrageous- this gains her more publicity and shows that she is a show girl and performer rather than an ordinary girl, this allows her female audience to idolise her. The title of the album ‘I am Sasha Fierce’ is said to be the person who she becomes when going on stage, she has said that this person is more daring and the performer within her, she has obviously used her talent to bring this person into her album throughout and there is a clear contrast in the photography where there are some subtle pictures with her without makeup and others where she is designed to represent the songs etc reinforcing the overall image of Beyonce and this album.

‘Dangerously in love’

Photography

Analysis of Single Covers + Photography

This is Beyonce’s first album, there is no particular colour scheme other than from her album cover which is a light blue shade behind which is also in other background colours for her photography and posters, this allows her to stand out. Her body language here is in a dancing position and her clothing is feminine with diamonds and glitter on them also reinforcing the fact that she is a sex symbol to men around the world because of the promiscuous mise en scene. Feminine is the main aspect throughout all of the promotional products, the photography focuses on the mise en scene through the camera shots to focus on her and the clothing, hair and makeup , the set designs also contrast against her allowing her body language and poses to stand out. Each CD cover contrasts greatly from one another, the main intertextuality example which is obvious throughout all of the promotional material is Beyonce herself promoting the music. The cover of ‘me, myself& I’ shows three of Beyonce against a black background. Each one of her represents one of the words of the title of the song showing intertextuality within the cover, the main camera shots for the CD covers are medium close ups, the fonts differ a lot and so does the mise en scene. The overall impression from this album digipack is Beyonce as a person being a performer and performing her songs to her young female audience, after studying her it is clear that the digipacks become stronger the further on throughout her career when she brings out new songs and new albums, this may be because she intended to not just separate each CD cover from one another but also the albums themselves and to allow them to be distinct from one another. Beyonce promotes herself well, the use of professional technology helps her to stand out as a solo artist.

‘B- day’

Photography

Analysis of Single Covers + Posters

There is clearly a digipack here, the mise en scene and camera are the main aspects which are consistent through these promotional products. The font of ‘Beyonce’ and ‘B-Day’ (the title of the album) is the same and easily recognisable, it appears hand written giving the impression of scripture showing how each song is very personal to her also showing that she is a solo singer and not in a band. Throughout all of these products, it is clear that the main overall impression is nature, she is based in natural environments particularly around fields and trees, this also gives the portrayal of natural beauty, freedom and peace. All of her songs in this album are moving and emotional, it interlinks with this environment to show how the song lyrics are from Beyonce and her only with no other influences. The dominating camera shot is the close up, it shows her face which is very famous through other albums and magazine shoots and therefore the target audience can recognise her immediately and associations can be made between all of these products together linking back to the ‘B-Day’ album due to the characteristics which convey intertextuality. Some minor characteristics show the extent of the intertextuality for this digipack within the mise en scene area such as her makeup and hair, her hair often is in the same style of being slightly curly and the same colour; in areas it also appears backcombed linking back to theme of nature. Her eye makeup is very dark creating a mysterious atmosphere around her which is fascinating and unique making observers want to listen to her music.

Magazine Shoots

Discussion of Magazine coversBeyonce gives the image of being a curvy woman, this impression that she has not

conformed to the society pressures of the size zero model allows her female audience to relate to her and it is argued that she is very popular amongst female magazines because of this. She is a role model for younger women, which is a contributing factor as to why she is such a successful woman. A lot of these magazines discuss about her body shape and how she is a healthy working woman distinguishing her and reimaging herself as a solo artist since the Destiny’s child band split. Her image on these covers does differ from cover to cover helping to sell each individual magazine. For the cover of ‘VIBE’ she is dressed in a more prerogative fashion as the audience is more for men, however on other magazine covers such as ‘VOGUE’ she is dressed more civilly with more grace with her hair tied back wearing a royal blue dress. These changing images draw the audience in whilst showing her personality as wild in some cases but unique in others, it catches attention for each distinct photo shoot. All the covers are either medium close ups or close ups with no one else in the image; again this reinforces that she is an individual distinct solo artist. As well, these camera shots allow the audience to visualise the mise en scene including her makeup, hair and clothing which is important to people who are interested in celebrities. Also, mise en scene is crucial to Beyonce, a person who is a performer must always look good which is her conventional self as she appears throughout in her music videos. A lot of the backgrounds of these covers are white, it shows how she stands out, but also fits in with the modern simple cover. The clothing is very feminine, she mainly wears dresses and this also portrays how she is a model as well as a singer and an influential role model in more than one profession. The same modelling styles are used in her CD covers, it allows people to recognise her from magazine covers and from other promotional items showing intertextuality throughout various mediums of media publicity.

The WebsiteThe different link for different languages ultimately gives the overall idea her fame and popularity throughout the world

The photography is black and white which interlinks to her album of ‘I AM.. SASHA FIERCE’

The body language and mise en scene shows how she is the main star of the website and how she is a solo singer

The capital letters show importance within the album and her herself

The links to various areas of the website show signs of intertextuality as she has products in all regions whilst showing her audience where she in at what times which is all centred around Beyonce herself

This press link allows people to purchase magazines which she is on as it states what publicity and media events she has done

This logo allows the title of the album to become well recognised

This is very similar to the main album cover itself, being slightly different it catches attention and draws the audience in

This keeps her fans well posted of the news around the world, it is almost like a personal diary where Beyonce is speaking to her fans and allowing them to understand what it is like to live as a music artist. As well, with references to the VMA Awards, the audience can then look up videos of her receiving the awards and buy magazines with the pictures spreading the word around making her even more popular.

This screen shot shows where it has been written down the events which she had attended, reviews are also available for people who observed or were at these events allowing the public and not just Beyonce’s assistants to also get involved with promoting her as an artist.

http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/music/i-am-sasha-fierce

http://www.beyonceonline.com/us/press

This is a forum for people to comment on what they think about Beyonce’s music and whether or not they like it. Forums can also say critical things about her music, however most of the tracks have very good ratings showing to people who are on her website that she is a professional and well liked singer, this is from the publics perspective getting everyone involved.

The side bar on this page has a discography giving people the opportunity to rate and look at other albums, this allows people to have a full overall idea of Beyonce’s music and her CD covers and who she is. However, if people are already fans looking on her website they can easily be guided throughout it.

This page specifically shows what magazine shoots she has taken part in, it allows people to get an idea of how influential she is and more about her as well as looking at the intertextuality between the mise en scene here and from her CD covers etc.

This gives people the ability to purchase songs online for their mobile phones, it shows how the website is modern keeping track of technology which can also help to advertise and promote Beyonce

Music Videoshttp://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Beyonc/Irreplaceable--36511355This song is from Beyonce's first album, there is no specific colour schemes for this

other than promoting Beyonce as a female solo artist, the main video shows a plot which interlinks with the lyrics which are meaningful, this is reinforced by the close ups showing Beyonce’s emotions and expression.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Beyonc%C3%A9/Single+Ladies+%28Put+A+Ring+On+It%29--201620741

For this video of ‘Single Ladies’, again there is a black and white colour scheme, the three women dancing represent women singing against men, Beyonce is in the middle showing how she is the main singer and most important. The same artistic set designs as the photography have been used showing intertextuality. The main camera shots are long shots showing all the dancing and the body language which sells the video and shows how Beyonce is not just a singer but also a dancer.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Beyonc%C3%A9/Diva--205789229The beginning of the music video for ‘Diva’ is black and white so people will easily be

able to recognise her album covers and promotional products which are also shown through this contemporary colour scheme. The derelict environment allows Beyonce to stand out under the spotlight like a diva, her mise en scene represents her like a performer and her glasses are a unique selling point which catch attention for being eccentric. The beginning shot is a low angle from her shoes showing how ‘divas’ are perceived as more important than other people. Her dancing is different from other music videos as it is more confrontational as though she believes she is more authoritarian than others hence like a diva.