Album Cover Analysis

I looked at the following image (Above) for my album cover analysis , the single ''Lightning'' only just released by the boy band ''The Wanted''.

The fact the image has been so recently constructed is good because it shows us how the most recent portrayals are still being designed to create a contemporary star image that is effective in marketing the product (the band).

Richard Dyer identifies a number of factors needed in creating a successful star image , the following are included in the album cover above:

Youthfulness - All of the band members are young

Sexual Magnetism - All of the members are good looking,perceived as attractive

Conspicuous Consumption (Consistent trend setting , Male Fashion).

The band members themselves are enforcing the homogenised view of masculinity in toady's media. They are good looking , physically athletic and all share the same male gaze into the camera, breaking the fourth wall and engaging with there audience. The facial expression suggests they are being voyeuristic in the way they wished to be perceived , as a sexually desired group of young men.

Iconic signs within the cover include the mise-en-scene , the fact they are stood behind a metal gate. This conveys the idea that they are locked away from their audience, unobtainable and unreachable by there female fans. Mise-en-scene like this makes the audience feel like they are engaging with them,despite the seemingly closed off distance between them and the band.

Looking at the juxtaposition of the text to the image , it is clear the text ''The Wanted'' covers, horizontally, all the members of the band , clearly suggests they are the ''Wanted''. The fact this text is so central is iconic of boy band album covers, boy bands often have a font that sets them apart from other bands and they use this to brand their own image, making the font a marketing tool that is synonymous with the band itself.

The band members are all wearing coherant and ,more or less, matching clothing. This is a convention of boy bands and also helps market the band as a product. If they all look the same, it becomes easier to associate members of the band with each other. Saying this, it is important to keep the band members 'individual' within the context of the band itself. This can be done by giving members percieved personalities e.g the cute one , the badboy. This is also important in upholding Dyers first paradox '' The star must simultaneously be ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer''. Even though they are popstars , they must not loose their ''personality''.

This album cover re-reinforces social myths that ''The Wanted'' construct in their music videos. They are good looking, seen to be good with women and more importantly are seen to be in touch with their ''Feminine Side'', suggested by the fact their songs are about love and relationships, and how well they treat women.

The indexical sign that 'The Wanted' create is that their audience listens to mainstream pop, is into current 'modern' music and is very much a consumer of other 'mainstream' bands and artists.