Analysis of Pop Music album covers

The following are three contemporary pop album covers, with analysis of how they conform to or challenge the regular conventions of pop music covers.

1. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

The above image is the cover for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad. It is highly uncommon in female pop releases for an album cover to feature anything other than an attractive shot of the artist, and this follows the convention. The colour pallete used, however, is more unique to this particular album. The title of 'Good Girl Gone Bad' suggests a newfound sense of maturity and character and this is reflected in the colour scheme of the album; pop is often associated with bright colours yet the dark colours here are reflective of the more grown up sensibility suggested in the title of the album itself. The darkness of the album cover also relfects the album title in that black often connotes to the ideas of darkness and mystery, which are central to the idea of "going bad".

2. Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds

The mise-en-scene within the picture shows a correlation between the sterile, yet mature, setting colour of white and grey and the smart clothing of the main figure. The font used, and the colour scheme adopted by this font, is also is harmony with these two factors as it reflects this sense of maturity, rather than that of a zany, outlandish font with vibrant colours; red, black and grey all give off a sophisticated aura. The body language of the central figure does not reflect the conventions of a typical pop cover, however. Justin Timberlake is not making eye contact with the audience and his body language displays aggresion and anger, with typical conventions expecting the figure to simply "look pretty at the camera". The smashing of the disco ball itself however manifests the album title in that it seems to indicate a rejection of musical throwbacks and old fashioned disco pop, which mirrors the reference to the "Future" in the album title.

3. Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster

The dominant colourings of black connotes the the ideas of darkness, death, mystery and evil. All of these ideals are in line with the themes surrounding the word "Monster" in the album title. The colouring of black and the very straightforward, frank font used both suggest, in a similar fashion to the Rihanna cover, a new sense of maturity within the album. The album itself was a step forward from previous album 'The Fame' with the word 'monster' reflecting darker images and themes which the cover, itself, alludes to. The use of the leather clothing also mirrors the idea of the 'monster' themes and the fact that half of GaGa's face is covered by the leather outfit conforms to the sense of mystery, established by both the name of the album and the colour scheme used. The choice of 'the cross' to replace the 'T' in 'monster' also alludes to darker themes within the album, and the idea of a cross relating to Dracula and other monsters.