Research into chosen artist

Research into chosen artist 

My interest in pop-dance was of my interest as I like a songs with a good beat to it and Rihanna as an artists always write songs which can be danced to.

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born the 20th of February in 1988 in the Caribbean Islands of Barbados, St.Michael. Her singing career started in 2003 when she met record producer Evan Rogers and at the age of 16 moved to the US to pursue her dream, when she got signed by Def Jam records after auditioning to Jay-Z.
Her début album Music of the Sun in 2005 which featured songs like Pond the Replay, went to top 10 in the Billboard 200. Her third album released in 2007 Good girl gone bad, went international with hit songs such as Umbrella, Don't stop the music, Take a bow and Disturbia, this album was nominated for 9 Grammy Awards, winning best rap collaboration for Umbrella. Talk that Talk released in 2011 had hit singles as We found Love and Where have you been. Rihanna has released in total 6 albums and the 7th Unapologetic is to be released November 2012 with the hit single Diamonds.
Rihanna has many artists which influenced, who she is as an artist and inspired her to become what she is today.
A main influence in her career was Madonna, as Rihanna herself refers to as her idol and that she has always wanted to be the "Black Madonna". Rihanna had studied Madonna and how she developed throughout her career, from her style of clothing and music which all turned out to be a great success as she has been a world-wide entertainer since 1979.
Rihanna had also named other artists such as Whitney Huston, Beyonce, Janet Jackson and Marilyn Monroe for her style of clothing, but an other major influence was Bob Marley. As Rihanna grew up in a Caribbean island all she listened as a child was reggae and dance-hall music, until she moved to the States as a teenager.
She refers to Bob Marley as her favourite artist of all time, as she has also covered some of his songs including "IS THIS LOVE" and "REDEMPTION SONG".
As a well known artist, Rihanna has now also inspired many artists such as Rita Ora and Justin Beiber.
Reference(wikipedia.org)

A music video helps to portray an artist in a certain way, helping them to relate to their audience, though their lifestyle and representation of clothing.
Overall Rihanna in Pon De Replay is represented through her lifestyle of clothing as stylish and not too revealing compared to her recent videos.
Her clothing relates well to the R&B genre conventions as her stomach is on show as she wears a grey crop top and then later changes to to glittery one, as soon as the music is turned up and she becomes centre of the attention.
Her baggy jeans highlight that she is comfortable in her environment, in her social group and with herself. When girls go clubbing they tend to wear heels but Rihanna as she is wearing trainers shows that she is not afraid to stand from the crowd and make a statement. She also shows that she doesn't have to wear heels to look powerful and strong. As later on in the video she changes into a tight-fitting grey dress, helps to show off her figure as well as showing her audience her more girlie side.
Her innocence is depicted through her simple make-up and her natural curly hair and compared to her sparkly top, her long curly hair connotes purity. Although Rihanna is less sexual in this video than in any of her recent ones, she is still portraying a flirtatious character.

The lighting in the music video is quite low, which shows that it is set in a club, connoting that the artists, although innocent still likes to party and have fun with her friends. This depicts Rihanna as a person who knows how to have fun, which is also shown by her baldness, when she started dancing on the podium.

The clothing Rihanna is wearing in this music video, represent the colours of the Barbarian flag, with the blue jeans and the yellow/gold top. As this was her first song, it helps to show the artists background to introduce her too her audience, but also used as a metaphor suggesting that Barbados is where she was born and grew  up and this music video is the stepping stone to her new career in the music industry.

The colours used in the music video, such as yellows, oranges and greens, are all colours normally associated with the Caribbean, as they are vibrant as they are hot colours. This music video really tries to focus on Rihanna's origins which is also shown by the ethnicity in the video, as there is a majority of black people, rather than mixed ethnicity groups, as it is more likely to be seen in the Caribbean, rather than the US.
Also the style of dancing, as it is very erotic due to the movement of the hips can be related, in a more subtle manner, to the festivals that take place in Barbados.

This video conforms to many of it's R&B conventions as all the men in the video are wearing lots of jewellery including necklaces and rings and most girls are exposing their flesh. It also conforms to its genre conventions as it is mainly performance based and it shows man and women having fun and partying. The narrative is slightly noticeable as the only reference to it is that the start of the music video when Rihanna tells the DJ  to increase the volume.


Rihanna's target audience in this music video are teenagers/ young adults as it is appropriate to this age group as there aren't any sex or alcohol references.

As this was Rihanna's first music video, it is clear that she is still not a finished product, as she is still developing and creating her image. This music video really focuses on Rihanna's origins by presenting her as a Barbarian artist, by the usage of colours, ethnicity and dancing styles. This introduces the Rihanna to her audience (mainly girls, due to the ratio between boys and girls in the video) as a young spirit, who has left her country in order to pursue her dream of a career in the music industry. This represents Rihanna as independent, determined woman, who is heading towards success; all characteristics to which her audience can relate to and be inspired by, as they are all in the stage of their lives where they are making decisions about their future dreams and careers.

In this music video Rihanna is portrayed as a cultural person, as it is performance based as there are no references to narrative, but some to concept. In this music video Rihanna, has included a variety of special effects, such as mirror effects and having two shots in the same frame; this makes the music video  much more interesting to her audience, but also by making it look more professional, it helps to portray Rihanna as more glamorous artist than in Pon de Replay. Also, in this music video there is an increased quantity of different settings and clothing as Rihanna is shown wearing different outfits, which all associate to the different culture she is trying to depict.
She wears revealing clothing, as a diversion from the traditions, as she wants to be surrounded by men.


Her eye-make up is very revealing as she wants to be portrayed as an independent woman, who is looking for love. Her ambition is emphasised by her facial expressions, which shows that she is determined, although at the same time vulnerable as she is looking for someone to love her.
There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals "I've been everywhere, man looking for someone"; this shows notion of looking when Rihanna comes out of the pond, as she is portrayed as a crocodile, due to her style of clothing; Rihanna is wearing a crop top and trousers made out of crocodile skin.

This music video also uses voyeurism, as a concept, which is showed by the artist emphasises on her eyes by wearing lots of eye make-up and also by her choreography, as she displays an open eye.

This music video, is mainly set in deserted and natural locations, such as lakes and deserts or forests. As no technology is shown in this video, it relates to the concept that the artist is trying to portray; which is her relations with different cultures, and her portrayal as a person who, above all fame, is still in touch with her spiritual side.


Rihanna constantly keeps eye-contact with the camera, whilst she is dancing, surrounded by men. As her back is towards them, it shows that she is not interested in them- she is looking for someone in particular, "Some who can please me and love me all night long". Her constant eye-contact also helps to involve the audience, making them get an insight into her feelings and emotions.
As the beat of the song increases, also does her dancing showing that she is getting frustrated as she can't find this man. The beat of the song and the choreography also conforms to the dance genre conventions, as dance scenes are conventional to both dance and pop music videos.

In this music video Rihanna has diverted from her Barbarian image as even her choreography has become more complex as she tries to embrace different cultures in her video, from Indian, to African and Native American. This appeals to the audience as it helps to show her diversity and originality as an artist; in her first music video she conformed to all the genre conventions and to the fashion at the time, whilst in this music video she explores different cultures and represents herself in a more spiritual way, which appeals to the audience due to her constant change in star image, which keeps the audience interested to see what will come next.

Rihanna has changed enormously from her fist music video, as she has grown as an artist as well as well-developed her image, into what is commonly known as a Diva.
Although she had always portrayed herself in a seductive way, in her recent music videos, her costumes have become more diverse and in a weird manner, fashionable.
Even her music videos and song lyrics have become more complex and rather than just being narrative and performance based, have incorporate different concepts and ideologies.
As a young artist Rihanna, was inspired by many artists and now in return, has inspired many big artists, including Rita Ora and Justin Beiber.

In conclusion the information I have gathered, by completing this research, has given me a better insight to who Rihanna is and how her image has developed through her years of fame.
This has given me an idea, on the image I want Chic to develop, in order to appeal to young adults/teenager audience, similar to the audience Rihanna targets.
I will use what I have gathered, as a bench mark for my target audience research, to see whether or not they appealed by Rihanna's current image, or maybe preferred her previous innocent look. This will help me to find a correct image for my girl band which will appeal to my target audience; something they could inspire and relate to. Wearing less revealing clothing, can show a more sophisticated side to Rihanna's image, something that can relate better to teenagers/young adults. As most of her music videos are set in dark locations, I might like to continue this trend as it is clear that it appeals to her audience. By maybe locating the music video in a night club or streets in the night, will help to show that party side to us, which Rihanna always portrays in her music videos. Something that I found extremely helpful in this research is that the artist always portrays herself as independent and powerful, and someone who is determined to reach to her goals, in life as well as her career. This is something that I would like to also portray with my artists as it appeals to girls and gives them a role model.