Change in Artists Image - Kylie Minogue ('I should Be So Lucky', 'Spinning Around' and 'Timebomb')

The artist I have chosen to analyze is Kylie Minogue due to her having a long period of her performance from 1979 to the present day. Kylie is a Pop music genre artist who has changed her image to match with the change in style of her target audience. Kylie has had 7 Number 1’s during her career with many of them being famous such as ‘I should Be So Lucky’ and ‘Spinning Around’ which both appeal massive to her target audience through-out the different years. I will be looking at Goodwin’s Theory, Conventions, artist Images, audience and values of the video of the time.

Kylie Minogue’s first song and music video was ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ released in 1987 which has a romantic narrative of her falling in love. The music video includes the genre characteristics of Kylie having fizzy large hairstyle and dotted clothes. This relates to the target audience because this style was very fashionable when the song was released with normal people with simple non-designer clothes; this suggests that Kylie is an average person who has found love with the audience can also do. The location of the music video is in a middle-class house in the 1980’s which means that the audience of the video is middle class women, this means that she has a mass market which means she can become famous due to the large amount of target audience which the music video appeals.

The Lyrics play an important part in the visuals of the music video; this is because she continues throughout the video to look at photos of the man she loves. Also, she moves around the setting this suggests that she is deeply in love with the man she loves. However, you never see the photo of the man, which implies that love doesn’t need to be a selected image of a man. Kylie is also preparing for his to arrive with the expression of excitement and panic. This illustrates the happiness and love that connects with the lyrics throughout that she is so lucky, to be with the man that she loves. Similarly, the music and visuals are connected due to the fast paced editing and Kylie running around the house, this builds the tension due to the lyrics of her happy that she is going to meet her lover. This makes the music video successful because it makes the target audience listen to the video reparative because it makes all views excited about what she feels.

The image that Kylie is represented in is a younger woman in love, this is important towards the music video because due to the large amount performance throughout the video. This shows that she is passionate about him and this makes the video successful because it connects the audience with the feelings of her emotions. The main character (Kylie) knows that the audience throughout the music video are watching and she is telling them her love for the man through the lyrics of the song. The music video still has the messages and values of the 21^stCentury because it suggests that love is exciting and romantic with the excitement and happiness. Therefore, the message of the lyrics due to the audience not seeing the photo implies you don’t need to be a selected image of a man for love due to the way the media portrays the image.

All of this considered, Kylie has made a successful music video by making it simple but affective using the image of an average person in a 1980’s era location to match the target audience and appeal to them being able to connect with the visuals. Kylie made these choices due to this appealing to her target audience and the technology of CGI being limited in the 1980’s, so it was made natural to make it realistic to the audience. This video will help me decide the music genre and type of song I will choose for my productions. This is because the style of the song is affective, however, doesn’t appeal to the target audience of today with the genre characteristics.

 

 

Kylie Minogue’s song ‘Spinning Around’ released in 2000 reached Number 1 after her first album with ‘I should be so lucky‘ 21 years later. This shows that she was successful not only with the songs she made but with the music videos produced, because due to styles and cultures changing Kylie Minogue changed and adapted to her audience and the way she is represented in her videos.

The music video has genre characteristics of the modern and present Pop genre of the characters wearing short-shorts and limited clothing appealing to the male gender, compared to her 1980’s style albums. This suggests that appealing to the both genders she is increasing her target audience, which will increase sales and make her music video more successful. The movements of Kylie don’t challenge the characteristics of the genre but challenge her first music videos, which shows that she has changed the way she is represented her music video dramatically to adapt to the change in culture and society which the media represents women in the music industry.

The exotic dancing doesn’t challenge the current genres characteristics of the Pop genre but compared to her first music video culture and society has changed with music videos appealing to both men and women, with the visuals of parties and flirting romantically, builds the excitement and tension in connection with the lyrics. Also, the visuals and lyrics are connected because the lyrics describes the change in lifestyle for Kylie from being innocent to getting with a number of random strangers in a nightclub. This implies that the change in lifestyle can mean her change in lifestyle from her first songs like ‘I Should Be So Lucky’.

The music and visuals are connected with a fast paced beat due to the club party atmosphere music, which gives the audience a buzz and impulse. This appeals to the audience because they can connect with the song and the visuals, due to them possibly being in the same position. This suggests a change in target audience from being the 1980’s audience to more seducing and teasing audience.

Kylie throughout the video doesn’t know the audience is looking at her dancing and getting together with men, this suggests that she might act differently if she knew the audience were watching similar to ‘I Should Be So Lucky’. Therefore, This illustrates that she hasn’t changed her life style but she was more open in secret. Kylie knows the audience is watching when she is lying on the table. This suggests that the audience is the one of the men she is getting with which builds the tension and the music video implies her target audience is aiming to be at males and females.

The image that Kylie is represented has massively changed due to changing from a young woman in love to a unloved ‘party animal’ who doesn’t care what she doesn’t at a nightclub with strangers. This suggests that the culture in the Pop genre has changed with the audience believing in different values and beliefs to the 1980’s era of the previous generation.

This music video is successful and when it was released in 2000 it appealed to the target audience. However, the music video means that the regard of dignity and fashion has changed in society with innocent artists like Kylie having to conform to the 21^stCentury genre characteristics. This means that the changing in music video implies she has a wider audience with her new audience and previous audience continuing to listen to the songs. This makes Kylie continue to be popular with her modifying the way she is represented in her music to not challenge the Pop genre.

Kylie made these choices due to this appealing to her target audience compared to her previous work due to technology and developments being improved which makes it more realistic with a nightclub atmosphere which appeals to her audience. This has helped me with to decide the music genre because it is more modern compared to ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ with more up-to-date genre characteristics and technology with editing and lighting.

 

 

I finally studied Kylie Minogue’s latest single released in May 2012, the song is called 'Timebomb' and shows how she has recently changed her style of performance and lyrics to appeal to her target audience. The songs narrative is similar to 'Spinning Around' and holds many of the same genre characteristics and connects between lyrics, music and visuals to 'Spinning Around' but it contrast to 'I Should Be So Lucky'.

The genre characteristics of the music video include short-shorts and a dress of limited material around the sides. This is similar to 'Spinning Around' because Kylie is trying to appeal her songs at a male target audience as well as Female. Through-out the song she wears sunglasses which are very popular is the Pop genre to add fashion and style to the clothes, with her messy hair going over her face to give her video a sex appeal. Kylie is wearing a jacket with the Love and Peace symbol, which have now changed from major events to a fashion statement, of which she represents.

At the beginning of the video she is a model in a white studio with is very popular in the Pop genre to use in music videos by artists like Cheryl Cole, Cher Lloyd and Will.I.am, because it gives it a model and simple look to a video which can be very affective during a narrative which Kylie wants to target audience to concentrate on the visuals.

The relationship between the lyrics and visuals has an indirect affect on the meaning of the visuals, with her dancing with strangers with the lyrics stating '"Move my body to your body". This suggests that this is style of Pop genre to 'Spinning Around' because they hold the same style of lyrics. Therefore, this means that the 12 years since that Number 1 single she hasn't changed her music videos because society and culture hasn’t rapidly adapted or changed due to the generations liking similar music genres and artists like Black Eyed Peas (Will.I.Am), Rihanna, Chris Brown and Spice Girls. Also, similar to the genre characteristics the lyrics and visuals are connected by appealing the song to the both genders and widening the target audience by her dancing to a man and saying “please don’t make me wait; whilst undressing.

The connection between the music and visuals is more noticed compared to lyrics with a direct affect due to the music being fast paced with fast editing, this means that during sequences of shots such as the dancing and motor car scenes the music adds to the emphasis of action and the excitement of what is going to happened. This builds the tension of the audience and makes them listen to the lyrics together with the beat of the music. Also, through-out the song Kylie picks up or moves selected items which make noises, this makes the audience feel part of the music video and realistic to normal day life. This is an effect Kylie has used through all videos to make the target audience part of the video and attract them into watching.

The music video uses the notion of looking where Kylie knows that the audience is watching when she is wearing shorts and a jacket, less exotic then the clothes when Kylie doesn’t know the audience is looking. Kylie knows the audience is watch except the scenes in the nightclub and garage, where she changes from a model with a stable life to a lifestyle of getting with strangers, exotic dancing and wearing very limited material clothes. This suggests the meaning of the narrative and song with the lifestyle of a model because of the way that society looks at the job they have but they act differently when not seen by the public with getting with strangers and being exotic. This is the same as ‘Spinning Around’ because she doesn’t care about her lifestyle and being exotic with others, with her having a different lifestyle when without others that includes the target audience or viewer.

The image that Kylie is represented is that due to the culture and ideas of young people not changing she has a similar image to ‘Spinning Around’ with a change in fashion so that she is fashionable to the target audience and that she has a duel lifestyle of ‘party animal’ and stable life of a model. This suggests that society is changing with more people acting the way other want them to and when society and communities are not watching they become who they want to be of dancing, partying and getting with strangers.

The music video is successful because it relates to the change in culture over the decade of which she has been performing and the way the audience portray music artists with music record labels aiming at both genders to increase sales. This means that the artists have to be exotic with limited clothes and dancing to appeal to both genders, which makes it affective in the current modern music industry, due to cultures changing from her first single ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ in 1979 but not as much in comparison to ‘Spinning Around’ when it was released in 2000.

I have analysed all three music videos of Kylie Minogue from all the decades of her performing with her first signal in 1979 (‘I Should Be So Lucky’) to the latest in 2000 (Timeboomb’), this means that I have studied Kylie through-out her career and the way that she has adapted to match the change in culture and ideas of her target audience in the Pop genre. Therefore, I have found a strong understanding of the way that the music industry is rapidly changed due to society and the way that fashion, beliefs and traditions change of a period of time. Also, the way that the artist on a whole is represented from in the 1980’s an innocent young lady in love, to 2000 when she doesn’t care about life with a dramatic change in lifestyle of being a ‘party animal’ by getting with strangers, exotic dancing and wearing a small amount of clothes.

Kylie Mingoue's songs all are typical of Dyer's Theory due to it suggesting that the star is a products of which she has produced these songs for profit and to be successful which means that she has used a range of media forms to do so which her music being played on music channels, youtube and the radio. Also, on chat shows to promote her new song release, only to potential increase her target audience. Through-out the decades of producing material she has always promoted herself as ordinary having an average lifestyle which appeals to the audience. This means that she has always been present in her music videos but regularly with changed fashion, style of narrative and mise-en-scene. this suggests that she changes herself to match the audience and follows them and doesn't change the stereotype of her genre.

Finally, the artist is appealing to both genders to increase the target market and sales for the songs/albums. This technique is being used by many artists such as Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and Tulisa. However, this means that they change the culture of the audience which could be negative to society like underage drinking, sex and smoke a large amount of drugs. This shows that mainstream artists like Kylie Mingue don’t just follow changes in culture like in her music videos ‘Spinning Around’ and ‘Timebomb’ to increase popularity. Finally, the music videos which I have studied are successful because Kylie has changed to what the audience want to see and changing her images for her fans who want to see her to be a selected image in the music industry.