Analysis of a star - Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera's first album is called 'Christina Aguilera' was released on August 24, 1999. Her first album is based on teenager who prefer the dance/pop music genre. Christina's first song from the album - 'Genie in a bottle' - reached number 1 on the billboard hot 100 and in several countries.


In this music video Christina is only 19 years old and her demographic target audience is other teenager. A target audience is important as an artist needs to have a niche what their music appeals to. There are close up's of the artist throughout the music video this shows that she is directly talking to the audience and she is building a relationship with her audience too - during the end of the music video there is a close up which shows Christina's audience that she has finished telling her story directly to the audience. The director shows great contrast in this music video by mise en scene. During this video the artist wear crop tops and trouser, in some shots she wears heels and in other shots she wears trainers. This mise en scene shows the audience that although Christina wears high heels she is still an relatable artist as she is casually in her trainers too. The clothes the artist - Christina Aguilera - wore apply to Dyer's theory as the clothes reflect one of the comom values of music stardom; youthfulness. The clothes the artists wear are the stereotypical clothes a teenager would wear - this is how the artist has a relationship with her target audience as her audience can relate to her. In this music video the artist  shows that her lifestyle is normal and casual as she is at a beach house - this connotes that this is what teenagers do in the holidays.

The genre characteristics of this music show the audience that its a dance/pop song, for example the lyrics in this video are simple and easy to learn which relates to the target audience as they will be young girls who want to sing along - this is also a dance-pop genre convention. By having a dance/pop song this relates back to the youthfulness value of stardom as it shows that the audience is still young because of the genre of the song. In the music video the artist wears crop tops and makeup - this is what a stereotypical teenage would wear and this is how the artist relates and builds a relationship with her audience as young girls will feel they can relate to Christina as she wears similar clothes to what her audience will wear. Also in the music video there is dancing this is a pop genre characteristic - as in most pop songs there is a dance, so the audience can learn the dance and build a relationship with the artist as they feel because they can dance like Christina she is relatable. As there is a dance in this music video this relates back to the youthfulness value of stardom as the dance routine in the music video is related to young girls. This music video is performance based as she is dancing during the video this is a stereotypical pop genre characteristic. Christina applied to Dyers star theory as she represents one of the common values of stardom theory which is youthfulness - this helps Christina gain her a large and loyal target audience.

The turning point of Christina Aguileras career was when she released her song - dirrty in 2002. The genre of this song is R&B, hip hop and dance, however it was not the genre of the song which showed the change in Christina Aguilera, it was the lyrics of the song and the way Christina is portrayed in the music video. When this song was released people had noticed how Christina Aguilera has changed and become more mature and aimed her audience at a more mature audience which widened her target audience.

Before when Christina Aguilera released her first single - genie in a bottle - her target audience was a younger audience (teenagers/young girls) as they could relate to her music, however in the music video dirrty Christina Aguilera's target audience is teenage girls and young adults, I think the purpose of this music video was to show Christina's fans and audience how she has grown up and matured, also I think the purpose of this music video was to target a wider range audience, not just girls but boys too, as Christina is sexy which appeals to boys, the way Christina is portrayed in this music video follows two of the common values of music stardom; rebellion and sexual magnetism.

There are close up's of the artist during the music video, to show the audience that the artist is building a relationship with the audience and singing this song directly to the audience, this connotes that the artist is trying to show her audience how she has grown up and matured over the years. During this video the artist wears - tight, leather clothes - provocative clothing. At some points during the video the artist is wearing red, this connotes that the artist is dangerous and sexy, this shows her audience that she has grown up and matured. At other points in the video the artist wears a mini skirt and a bra. This is a complete contrast compared to three quarter length lose fitted trousers and crop tops, by looking at this contrast the artist' audience can see how the artist has matured and changed from her first music video to now. These clothes the artist is wearing relate to Dyer's star theory as the artist is appearing as a sexual magnetic. The mise en scene throughout this music video are the R&B and hip hop genre characteristics, the clothes the artist wear are the stereotypical clothes the audience expects an artist to wear in this music video. In the music video the artist shows the audience that she has matured and goes by this by wearing more provocative clothes.

Throughout the music video the artist dances, this shows that the genre of the music video is dance. Also this helps the audience feel that they can be like the artist as they can learn the dance which the artist does during the music video. The music video is performance based and there is dancing throughout the video, the video is also concept based as in the video the artist and the people are dirty which is the name of the song. During this time of Christina's career, the artist applies to Dyers star theory as he represents one of the common values of stardom theory which is sexual magnetism - this helps Christina sell her talent to a loyal an wider target audience.

The most recent song released by Christina Aguilera was a track she featured on with Maroon 5, the song is called - Moves like Jagger. The genre's of this song are; Dance-pop and electro-pop. The target audience for this song is a wider range audience as young people and older people now listen to Christina and Maroon 5 therefore their target audience is now a wider range therefore they will listen to this song - compared to genie in a bottle and dirrty. This song has shown Christina's Aguilera's audience how she has matured over the years and now has a wider range audience which her music appeals to. This artist has also shown her audience how she can do other genre's of music other than just hip hop an R&B.


During this music video there are close ups of the artist, which draws attention to the artist and shows that she is singing directly to her audience and is keeping her relationship with her audience. In this video Christina wears casual clothes, she wears a white top, black leggings, and a black hat. This can connote to the audience that Christina is comfortable in her career and with her life as she is wearing laid back clothes, also that her audience can relate to Christina as she is real and still wears clothes that her target audience wear too. The mise en scene for example the artist clothes, music set and props are stereotypical of a dance/pop music video therefore they go with the genre characteristics. This music video is performance based as they all dance during the music video and are having fun. During this time of Christina's career she represents - success against the odds as she has kept her career strong even after her break and having a child. Christina has kept her audience entertained while she was absent for the consumer.

Throughout Christina Aguilera's career we have watched her grown during her teenage years to her adulthood and experience how her music has changed during this time. Christina Aguilera is successful as she has shown her audience that she can do a variety of different genre's therefore she has a bigger target audience and appeals to a wider audience. I think Christina Aguilera decided to sing other genre of songs and change her appearance from wearing tank tops to underwear in her videos to appeal to a wider audience. Also to show the world that as she has grown up her music has also grown up with her and she can do a variety of different genres and songs. Also during Christina Aguilera's career she has shown her audience that she is ordinary as she is relatable to her target audience - young girls - however she has shown she is also extraordinary as the concept behind her music videos are unique from other audience. Also you can tell that Christina Aguilera is successful as she has been present for her consumers - releasing songs and having tours. However she has shown that she is also successful as she has been absent for her consumers by recording her new albums in the studio. As 'stars' are incoherent and are never complete, Christina Aguilera has shown this by changing her image and the genre of her songs in each music video and album.


Richard Dyer - Star Theory

Star refers to the semi-mythological set of meaning constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience.

Common values of music stardom:

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion
• Sexual Magnetism
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs, and material goods
• Originality
• Creative/talent
• Success against the odds

Richard Dyer

• Written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV an music
• Irrespective of the medium, stars have key features in common:
• A stars an image that is constructed out of a range of materials
• Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings (sold through music)

Stars depend on a range of subsidiary media - TV, radio, internet, magazines to be marketed to their target audience.

Image has a range of meanings which attract to target audience. These stars are incomplete and open - star keep changing (never complete).

Paradox 1

The star must be ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer

Paradox 2

The star must be present and absent for the consumer.

The star is incoherent as they are never complete. The audience strive and continue to watch their videos, concert to understand their image. Fans become determined to hear new music.

The star image can be used to position the consumer in relation to dominant social values - Hegemony.

Artist may have their own beliefs, if they sell them to their audience the audience believes it too - Hegemony

The audience are positioned against the mainstream.

How does video represent  an artist:

Artist are viewed as a product and shows whether the artist is ordinary and extraordinary