Lucy A2: Music Video Analysis

Marina and the Diamonds 'Primadona'

Marina and the Diamonds fits into three different genre categories: indie pop, new wave, electropop and synthpop.
She claims that her biggest music inspirations were Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani, however her music has a deeper soulful edge which could point to an unknown inspiration. Her songs are heavily keyboard based and move from being melancholic ballads to straight up glam pop. Her melodic voice and unusual style make her stand out as and artist.
Her music fits the indie pop genre as her signing style is unique, raw and original, and she tends to have some sort of narrative in her music videos to express the words, typical of the indie pop genre.

There is a clear relationship between some of the lyrics and visuals in this music video, some more literal than others. For example Marina sings, 'take a picture I'm with the boys' whilst pretending to take a picture by mimicking the action with her fingers. She also twists her finger around her hair when she sings, 'got you wrapped around my finger babe'. These both show a literal relationship between lyrics and visuals, simply working to emphasise certain lyrics, however they don't really reflect the song as a whole. It could be argued that all of the visuals in the video form a relationship with the lyrics as the song is about being a Prima Dona, which is reflected by the luxury setting, her clothing and her movement.

There aren't any obvious relationship between the music and visuals, however, the video is fast paced and has quick cuts throughout, which works well in terms of music timing as it compliments the track.

There are many close ups of Marina in this video along with the majority of her other videos. This not only makes the audience more connected and understanding of the artist but it also helps boost the artists star image due to aspects such as iconography. In this case, Marina is known for having a small heart shaped beauty mark under her eye as it is featured in nearly all of her music videos and album covers. This is an example of her star image because it has become part of her brand and will be easily recognised by audiences. The beauty mark also fits in with her general style seen in her music video, because she is vintage and regal, and the beauty mark back in the Georgian period was seen as beauty in a woman.

It could be argued that there is some voyeurism in this music video although it is by no means extreme or vulgar. Marina is lying on a large bed in many of the shots in this video whilst moving provocatively which is fitting to the theme of the song. I think that most music videos have some aspects of voyeurism, some are just more obvious and extreme than others. Marina's interpretation is very reflective of her style and personality as she is sultry and mysterious, compared to others videos that have women in little clothing and dancing. That type of music video is seen more in the bubble gum pop or RnB genre.

I wouldn't say that there are any intertextuality references in this song or music video.

I would argue that this music video is concept based because there isn't a clear narrative with a start, middle and end. It is also not a performance based video because there isn't any shots of her performing at a concert, however, she is lip syncing in some shots. Therefore I believe that its a concept based video, revolving about a girl being a spoilt Prima Dona who lives a life of luxury. The shots used in this videos demonstrate wealth and sophistication such as the chandeliers and large bed with silk sheets. I think that the concept of this video came across well and is easy to pick up by people even if they don't personally love the song.