Bryson Tiller Website

http://haydondowning.wix.com/hd-media

Bryson Tiller don'ts actually have his own website at the moment because he is a fairly new artist, but his fame is rising very quickly and I'm sure he will have a website soon.

To compare my website I looked at similar related artists websites such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.

Drake:

http://www.drakeofficial.com

Kendrick Lamar:

http://www.kendricklamar.com

The Weeknd:

http://www.theweeknd.com

Madonna music video analysis

As a female artist, being 40+ isn't ideal as people become less interested in women as they get older, usually because their sexuality increases. However their have been some exceptions such as Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Madonna.

For men it is a lot easier to reform and come back into the music world because they tend to age better and most people care more about their music than their looks.

Madonna is a multi-album selling artist with many hits such as Papa Don't Preach (1986), Vogue (1990) and Like a Prayer (1989). Her image is very similar to that of Lady Gaga as she is constantly changing her image and some would argue that without Madonna, Lady Gaga might not have existed as she does today.

As an artist, Madonna started off being synthetic only selling single songs and as time went by she became a very mature and respected artist and put together many albums, therefore becoming organic.

Video analysis of Madonna "Like a Prayer":

In this music video there was a very strong and obvious narrative and involved performance, message, themes and intertextually. The video is very religious and this is derived from herself being brought up in a strict catholic family, which explains the burning crosses in the video.

It is one of the most controversial videos of all time because of it's political and social nature. 

It told the story of a black Jesus statue coming to life in a church through the love of Madonna and how she sets him free from the bars. However along side this is a more modern story of how the sam black man gets arrested for a crime he did't commit, which is Madonna's way of fighting against racism and the white superiority. The performance is showed through the use of a fully black gospel choir singing to Madonna and seems to almost baptise her.

Ironically at the end the Black Jesus goes back into the bars while the modern day black man also gets put behind bars.

It is a very filmic video and even ends with big theatre curtains being drawn to emphasis that what the audience saw wasn't real and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Despite being a very religious video, Madonna still had to sexually herself to the audience as the music industry demands it. For women, success in the music industry is very dependent on their looks and Madonna plays with that very well by not showing too much of herself, but just enough for men to take notice.

Sam Smith vs Calvin Harris

   Sam Smith:

Sam Smith is a R&B/Soul artist who has become very popular in the last few years. His genre of music heavily reflects the cover of his newest album "In the Lonely Hour".

Dark clothes and a dark atmosphere would tell us that he might be very bland and dull however the lighting on his face could suggest that he is very soulful and has a light voice.

 By looking down, he is showing a sense of being shy and vulnerable but it could also portray that he cares about singing and writes lyrics that are meaningful. 

His hands are cupped together as if he is praying which again highlights is soulfulness as he could be religious.

    Calvin Harris:

Calvin Harris is a DJ who has been active for around 14 years. His style of music also reflects his album "18 MONTHS".

Showing him as being alone and isolated shows that he cares about music and possibly spent time as a kid by himself working on new songs. The backdrop tells us that he is home grown talent and original because it seems to be some sort of local estate. Calvins' clothes also suggests that he is not only casual but is also ordinary just like us which makes the audience think that they have a chance of becoming as famous as him.

This is all true to the fact that Calvin writes, sings and produces all of his songs which makes his albums very personal to him.

Richard Dyer Paradox Theory

Richard Dyer claims that the star image is incoherent or in other words incomplete and is based upon two key paradoxes.

Paradox 1:

"A star is both ordinary and extraordinary". A star need to be ordinary like us the people but there also needs to be an element of them which makes them different or special.

e.g. staged photos of Rhianna going shopping in Iceland but the next evening she is performing at the O2 arena in a provocative costume.

Paradox 2:

"A star is both present and absent". They exist and are apart of our lives in the fact that we discuss them socially, may adopt our style from them, construct our identity and they may dictate some of our consumer habits. However they are also absent; out of reach and not actually there.

e.g. You are physically watching them perform on stage and so they seem present but you will never be close to actually knowing the real person and so they are absent.