Album Cover Analysis: Rihanna - A Girl Like Me (2006)

Rihanna - A Girl Like Me (2006)

This is Rihanna's second album cover, meaning it was released very near the start of her career which explains the innocent brand they created for her at the time. They cleverly constructed this through the use of colour, images and mise-en-scene, which in my opinion was very successful in not only appealing to her target audience, but at the same time widening her appeal as it is slightly more suggestive than her first album 'Music of the Sun'.

Visuals of the Cover
The images of Rihanna are both innocent due to the soft lighting, natural make up and wavy hair, connoting that she is just an average girl. However, the framing of the CU and the way in which the sun has hit her skin makes her seem very radiant and sun kissed, therefore constructing the concept of true beauty. In many ways it is very safe for an album cover because she is properly dressed and is not being sexualised in a major way. Although her gesture and facial expression is suggestive and therefore it could attract the male audience by being seen as a temptation. The way she is positioned and acting in the back image is portraying her as elegant but playful and could be seen as another symbol of temptation because this is often seen during dances such as the tango and salsa. But the white dress ensures that this is only suggested and that the cover stays innocent for her younger fans.

The colour scheme is orange and white which adds to the theme of the sunlight and the beach themes that had run through both the current campaign and the previous, due to her Caribbean background. It creates a very summery atmosphere for the album.

Institutional Information
The front does not contain any institutional information apart from the artist name and album name. However on the back there is:

• A Barcode
• Label Logos
• Website information
• Credits (for the executive producer, etc.)

Target Audience
At the time Rihanna's primary target audience was teenage girls aged from 10-18 due to the innocence that was portrayed. She was also marketed towards the male audience through the use of her outfits in the music videos and album covers. This cover as I mentioned before appeals to her primary audience by portraying the idea of innocent and natural beauty. Whereas it appeals to the male audience through the suggestive expressions and gestures, as well as her beauty.

Comparisons to now?
In comparison to Rihanna's image now, this was much safer and extremely innocent, which is most probably due to the fact that she was still making a name for herself in the industry. From this I have learnt that when producing the final album cover for the project, you should be able to see the artist because people need to be able to identify them and it is probably much easier to play safer with the images/concept while establishing a brand. But even if you did want to break the conventions of début marketing campaigns, it is essential that the image is consistent.