Analysis of a star and Dyer's star theory - Miss Miller

Many Artists may choose to reinvent themselves for many different reasons. These may include the artist wanting to;

• Change their genre of music
• Change their image – become more ‘edgy’ etc.
• Previous bad press – attempt to become ‘good’ again
• Been around for a long time and need to keep up with etc. of new era
• Create publicity – get people talking about them
• Change their target audience – if they were teen stars, may now want to appeal to an older audience

One artist who has changed their image is Miley Cyrus. She started off as a Disney star on the show Hannah Montana, which meant she attracted mainly a young audience. All of her early music was targeted at this audience, which possibly meant she was not taken as seriously as a musician



Here is an example of three songs from Miley Cyrus. The first is a song called best of both worlds, from when Miley Cyrus played Hannah Montana, One is an older song called 7 things, a song made during the time  Miley Cyrus was changing her image. The other song is called We can't stop, made after her image switch. By looking at the three videos it is clear that Miley Cyrus wanted to change her previous image of being a 'PG' kids artist, into a more adult themed performer. The costume in the first song is very conservative and the long blonde hair with the colourful more childlike backgrounds makes Miley Cyrus seem like a regular teenage girl who is aiming her music at other regular teenage girls, which we know was her target audience at the time. However, in contrast to this, the revealing clothing in we cant stop, suggests a more edgy image trying to be achieved by Miley Cyrus. Also the short hair is something less common and more different or alternative, and this accompanied with the tattoos and jewellery worn by her, suggests a much older audience is being targeted here. Also as the change became evident in Miley Cyrus as the lyrics and songs themselves suggest more adult themes. We can't stop, focuses on things like drugs and partying with sexual references, whereas the video for best of both worlds includes referencing to school, and having fun with your friends, which is obviously more relatable to school children. The lighting in the videos also show a change in Miley Cyrus, with the first videos bright and engaging, again suggesting a younger audience. When looking at the We can't stop video and the 7 seven things video, there is a more simplistic style to the videos which suggests the opposite, as this style of video is usually intended for a slightly older audience.


Dyers Star Theory

 Dyer created a theory about certain elements an artists image should include for them to be successful. The main points were;

• The star should be simultaneously ordinary and extra ordinary
• The star should be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer
• Performances leave the consumer wanting more of the artist
• Youth
• Rebellion
• Sexual Magnetism
• A disregard for social values

All of these things have been present in Miley Cyrus's career, post image change, and many of them are evident in her pre change too. Her old image of being a small town country girl, yet still living this wild party filled lifestyle fits in with the first bullet point mentioned. She is portrayed in two lights, as a small town girl and also a huge superstar. These contrasts provide that 'ordinary yet extra ordinary' feel for the audience, who feel like they may know a softer more homely side to her, whilst also being in awe of her stature and celebrity status.

The sexual magnetism and the fact the consumer should want more, I believe tie in together through the performances of Miley Cyrus. The provocative dancing and revealing clothing places an emphasis on her body, resulting in most of her newer songs being highly sexualised. This is also connoted in the lyrics of her songs. This ties in with the consumer wanting more as the sexualisation of Miley Cyrus, will leave the consumer wanting more from her.

This is similar to the way rebellion and a disregard for social values tie in with each other also. The constant referencing to drugs, and drinking and other sexual connotations provide the aspect of rebellion, which are also things seen as socially unacceptable, especially by those older than the audience she is targeting.

It is important that the target audience is successful catered for as Miley Cyrus for example shows. Her transformation has meant she has grown and changed at the same time as her target audience. The fact they have grown up with her and watched her develop means that she can be rewarded with a loyal fan base who feel like they have been on a personal journey with her.