2. Teenage Dream is Katy Perry’s third studio album
and it was released on August 24th 2010. This
album was debuted at number one on the US
Billboard 200 chart, it sold 192,000 copies in the
first week. It was later certified two times
platinum by the RIAA, selling more than 2.6
million copies in the United States alone. It has
also sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.
Teenage Dream earned Katy Perry seven Grammy
award nominations including album of the year,
record of the year and she also won international
album of the year at the Juno Awards in 2011.
Teenage Dream is the second album in history to
have five number ones from one album, she was
the first female to achieve this and this album
was the third album in history to produce eight
top five hits.
TEENAGE DREAM – BACKGROUND.
3. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS
Teenage Dream is a pop-
rock album and the
colours that are on the
digipak are bright and
colourful, they represent
the pop side of the
album. The pictures that
are on the album link in
well with the title
“Teenage Dream” as
there are pink clouds
which you would
associate with dreams.
The contrast of the
bright colourful
colours and the
black hair and eye
make-up are shown
to represent the two
genres that are
associated with the
album.
It is clear to see that the target audience for this album is teenage girls as the title
includes the word “teenage” and it is covered in pink items which is the most popular
colour for girls.
This digipak comes with
two CDs and an inside
booklet.
4. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: FRONT COVER
The front cover of this album contains lots of “pop” conventions, such as the main colour on the
album being pink and purple, and very little “rock” conventions, therefore the first thought from
the audience would be that it is just a pop album. However, the songs on the album encourages
the “rock” part of the rock-pop genre to come out.
A typical convention
of a pop-rock album
would be that it
shows the artist on
it and they are the
main focus. This
album does this
perfectly as Katy is
placed in the middle
of the album
allowing our eyes to
immediately draw
towards her.
The audience that this album is
trying to target is clearly teenage
girls and they do this by making it a
brightly coloured album with very
feminine effects such as swirly
writing. However, there is a hint of
the target audience being teenage
boys as Katy is lying naked on the
clouds which would attract teenage
boys as she is a sex symbol and so
it immediately grabs their attention.
This album gives off the impression that the songs featured on it are going to be happy and fun; this is done by making the
colours of the album very girly which is a pop convention. The effect of the writing where it has sweets inside it gives you the
impression that the songs are very sweet but the fact that it is drooping down gives it a rocky kind of feel as it’s being drained.
So this album gives the impression of both genres.
5. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: BACK COVER
The theme of the pink clouds
run through to the back of
the CD.
The title of the songs are named
and they are put in categorical
order. The colour of the writing is
red which allows it to stand out
and it contributes to the pop genre
as it’s bright and colourful. The “O”
in the writing is replaced with
sweets which also gives the album
a “pop” feel as sweets are
associated with fun and happy
times which links with pop songs.
The list of the songs on
the bonus CD is in blue
writing which allows it to
stand out from
everything on the back.
Blue isn’t a colour that is
associated with “pop”
songs but it is
associated with pop-rock
songs as it’s a bold
colour; so this is a
typical convention of a
pop-rock album.
The production team
are mentioned on the
back of the album
which is a must for all
genres of music as
you have to give them
credit for helping
produce the album.
The links to Katy Perry’s website, myspace and the management
companies website are placed in the bottom corner of the album
so that the buyer can access more information about the album or
the artist if they wish to.
6. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: THE CD DISK
The first CD disk is
supposed to
represent a doughnut
with sprinkles which
gives off the
impression that it is a
pop album as it is
colourful and bright
which are
conventions of that
genre.
The second CD disk is supposed to
represent a sweet which is also a
pop convention as it is brightly
coloured.
The target audience for this album is
teenage girls and we can see this by the
way that the CD disks are designed as they
would attract girls more than boys because
they are bright and girly.
Katy Perry has a distinctive style which is sweets and
candy and she used this advantage when designing her
album so that people would be able to tell who the artist is
just by looking at it.
Interestingly, Katy has decided not to put her name on the
CD disks like most artists would, this tells us that she is
such a big star that she doesn’t need to place her name on
every product of hers in order for people to know its to do
with her.
7. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: INSIDE BOOKLET
As I have previously
mentioned, Katy has a very
distinctive style and it is
mainly based around
sweets and candy. The
inside booklet allows her to
show off this uniqueness of
her as she is surrounded by
sweets and cakes.
The candy theme
targets young
teenage girls to
the album as
they’re bright and
represent happy,
playful times.
Katy is the main focus of this inside booklet which is a typical convention of a pop-rock digipak as
it attracts the audience directly to it as they’re able to recognise who the artist is straightaway.
Katy is wearing a princess crown and is sitting on a very unique thrown; this shows the power
and authority that she has over all of the other artists as she is such a big star. The crown is
made of sweets which adds to the candy theme that Katy constantly promotes.
8. DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: INSIDE THE ALBUM
The inside of the album shows the
rock side of the pop-rock album.
The background is black which is
a colour that is usually associated
with rock as it is dark and
mysterious. There are still
elements of pop, the costume
that Katy is wearing is bright and
very girly which represents the
pop side of the album.
Katy is the main focus of
the inside of her album; this
allows her to make her
mark on the album and so
that the audience would
instantly recognise her. The
fact that only Katy is on the
inside of the album is a
typical convention of a pop-
rock album, as you would
always see the artist on the
front, back and inside cover
of the album and this is
what Katy has done.
Katy is wearing a crown and a necklace made of sweets, this shows her authority
and it gives her power and it allows her to live up to her name the “pop princess”.
Katy’s costume isn’t too revealing
which is a typical convention of a pop-
rock artist. However, if she was
wearing revealing clothes then that
would be a convention of a pop artist
as that’s the type of clothing that they
would wear.
9. From this task, I have learned that even though Katy Perry’s album is
considered and classed as a pop-rock album, she designed it as a pop album
but with subtle hints of rock. When making my digipak, I will make sure that
it is clear to see what the genre of the single is otherwise the audience would
be confused which isn’t what you want to happen.
I have also learned that the theme of the album should run throughout the
whole digipak, like what Katy Perry did with sweets and candy. This would
make a statement on what kind of music the album contains and it would
also allow my artist to have a unique style, like what Katy has.
Katy Perry didn’t place her name on her CD disks but I will make sure that I
have it on mine because my artist wouldn’t be well-known and a big star like
what Katy is, so the audience wouldn’t be able recognise who my artist is just
by looking at the design.
REFLECTION.
