How a star's image develops over time through music video

Born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, Miley Cyrus is the daughter of '90s country star Billy Ray Cyrus. She was passionate about acting at a young age, appearing on her father's television series, Doc, and in Tim Burton's Big Fish (2003). She then went on to landing the starring role on Disney's hit show Hannah Montana in 2004. Cyrus went on to release several successful albums, including Breakout (2008) and Can't Be Tamed (2010), while becoming increasingly known for her wild behaviour. Her 2013 single "Wrecking Ball," backed by a controversial video, became her first U.S. No. 1 hit. Cyrus first started working in country and pop music while starring as Hannah Montana and soon after the show ended, she went on to making music with a rockier edge. For example, her first songs included “Hoedown Throwdown” and “Party in the USA” whereas her newest, most recent songs include “SMS (Bangerz)” and “Wrecking Ball”.

In the earliest videos, her image was portrayed as a ‘pop princess’ and ‘country girl’. For example, in her Hannah Montana music videos, Miley is shown performing on stage while dancing, singing in her blonde wig, accompanied by her two back up dancers, and is singing about a boy. Additionally, in her music video of “Hoedown Throwdown”, Miley performs country dancing in a barn in Tennessee with others from the town. Once Miley started her own music away from Hannah Montana, her image remained vaguely the same as in her music video of “Party in the USA”, she travels around the USA in a limousine, fascinated by everything she sees. However, as the years went on, her image developed into a wild, edgy pop/rock star and her music videos changed from being mainly narrative driven and performance based, to very abstract. Miley cut her hair short and dyed it blonde, getting more piercings and creating a whole new style for herself, becoming more sexual. For example, in her music video for “We Can’t Stop” she lays on the floor half naked, grinds her body against a bed, smacks other women’s behinds, and uses drugs whilst singing about them.

In her music videos nowadays, Cyrus is sold as an empowering and wild woman who is not afraid to show herself. Her image has morphed and is now extremely “out there”. Her outfits are very revealing and her hair is styled very uniquely. her reason for primarily changing is because her target audience of age has grown up so as they have changed, she has needed to change, thus appealing to this older audience. As Richard Dyer states, "There are many different aspect to a star" and Miley embodies a number of these, such as, using her sexuality, rebelliousness, youthfulness, a disregard for social norms, and a disregard for rules as her decision to be known by the pronoun, "they" rather than "he" or "she" as she has become gender neutral. 

Richard Dyer's Star Image Theory

Richard Dyer is a British media theorist, who suggests that a star's narrative impacts on the consumption by the audience. He argues that the star is manufactured by institutions for financial gain and that individual stars have their own unique selling point in order to grab and hold our attention. For example, Justin Bieber's hair.

His theory has three parts:

Audience and Insitutions:
Stars are made only for money purposes and increasing the brand identity will benefit the institution as they increase sale in all of the media platforms in which they are in. The institution will then adapt the artist around their chosen target audience.

Constitutions:
The same as above

Hegemony:
The idea that the audience can relate to the star as they have a feature that they can share with or admire about the star and can attempt to replicate their behaviour.

Dyer's central idea was that a star image could be discussed using two key paradoxes and says that a star image simultaneously has two contradictory representations; being both ordinary and extraordinary. Dyer inferred that a star must be represented simultaneously as, just like us, but also at the same time possess something we do not have and something that makes them special, different and extraordinary. This might mean they are more talented, gifted, confident, passionate, etc. but also they are allowed to be rebellious, anti-social, or angry maybe. They are idealised version of humanity, both present and absent.

Dyer also said that the audience struggles with another paradox; and that is that the star is simultaneously present in our lives, be this in our social group chat, our style, our identity, and our consumption habits. However, they also absent, something that we perceive as out of reach, on a pedestal, and not actually there.

Dyer argued that as an audience, we strive to complete the star image through consuming their products, shows, merchandise etc. A star will strive to complicate things by constantly changing their image over their life career, this is essential if the artist is to have long term success as they need to continually strive to both keep their audience entertained and widen the audience as fans often get bored with repetition.

Analysis of album covers in relation to Negus' theory

Negus - Synthetic and organic artists

Keith Negus is a professor of music at Goldsmiths University and he identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry. These ideologies shape the way in which the artists' images and careers are developed, and he way that they are marketed towards specific target audiences. These are the organic ideology of creativity and the synthetic ideology of creativity.

The organic ideology of creativity:

• A 'naturalistic' approach to artists
• The seeds of success are within the artists. who have to be 'nurtured' by the record company
• The image of the artist is 'enhanced' by the record company
• The artist is given time to evolve and progress through their career
• Emphasis is given to album sales and the communication of a successful back catalogue 
• Often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers
• Profits generated by the kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company

Artists that fulfil this category include Ed Sheeran, Adele, Coldplay, Green Day and James Bay.

The synthetic ideology of creativity:

• A combinatorial approach to artists and material
• Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the sings at their disposal
• The image of the artist is often constructed by the record company
• The artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combination will be tried out
• Emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums
• Often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences
• Profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company

Artists that fulfil this category include One Direction, Elvis Presley, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and Little Mix