Mini Bio
Born Steven Victor Tallarico on March 26, 1948, in Yonkers, New York, Steven Tyler is the iconic songwriter, composer and voice of Aerosmith - America's Greatest Rock and Roll band - and is considered one of rock's most recognizable and dynamic frontmen. Rolling Stone Magazine has cited him one of the greatest singers of all time. steventyler.com
Star Construction in a music video
Steven Tyler’s star image is constructed in the music video to his solo song (It) Feels so good by tapping into the rock star image he has created for himself in the rock band Aerosmith as lead singer.
Firstly the star image is constructed through mise-en-scene. The mise-en-scene in this particular music video contains a lot of elements that you would associate with a rock star. For example, firstly, lots of people in an entourage pampering you before a performance. This evokes the image that he is a massive star. Furthermore, Steven Tyler is then seen pushing the pampering away, tying back into the element that he isn’t just a star, but he’s a rock star because this demonstrates a sense of rebellion. This sense of rebellion is again captured when the music video moves from being pampered in the trailer to the actual performance and moves from black and white to colour. This demonstrates the restraints of preparing before an actual performance.
This music video also contains a lot of seemingly random, but of course carefully placed, objects, for example monkeys and elephants. This demonstrates a character that can afford all of this and be surrounded by wild things because of the life they lead. Star image is also constructed by the sets on which Steven Tyler performs on because they are all wildly or imaginatively decorated, representing his personality or the persona around him in the media.
The music video then moves on to centralise around Steven Tyler’s performance. In this, he gives a typically energetic performance, capturing the seemingly long-lasting youth that comes with being a rock star.
The editing in the performance is fast paced and fragmented. This could represent the fast paced lifestyle he would live as a rock star and the energy of his personality. Furthermore, the camera angles used clearly show the scarves tied to his microphone stand, and image he associated with himself while singing for Aerosmith.
During the performance, there are fragments of narrative. These images include girls, good weather and cars, all elements you would again associate with a rock star. The music video here also uses voyeurism as this is another stereotype associated with the genre of rock music.
Star Construction on an album cover
Star image is carefully constructed on this album cover for (It) Feels so good in a number of different ways. Firstly in the top right hand corner appears a symbol that appears as part of the ‘brand’ that has become associated with Steven Tyler and is also an iconic tattoo that he can be recognised for.
Secondly, the album cover clearly depicts the scarves on the microphone stand as was done in the music video. Again, this is done so because it is a part of an image that has already been built up from his years in a rock band, therefore constructing the image that he is still the same rock star he was, even on a solo single. The clothes on this album cover also depict star image because he is shown wearing ‘out-there’ clothing, again relating to a sense of rebellion and standing out from the crowd. This also speaks volumes for his loud personality.
The use of a white background draws maximum attention to Steven Tyler and makes the person looking at it feel the importance of his presence, another stereotype as a rock star.
Finally, the use of depicting band equipment reiterates the fact that he is not just a pop singer, but a rock star.
Star construction on a website
Above is a screen shot from steventyler.com, the official website for promoting Steven Tyler. The first obvious point to make about the construction of his star image on the website is the use of the symbol in the top left hand corner. Again, this reinforces him as a brand that an audience can recognise just by seeing the logo of an eye and his name in this particular font.
In the centre of the website, different images of Steven Tyler play as a slideshow. Each of these different images contributes to constructing a star image because they are stereotypically showing him as a rock star character. For example, the image in this screen shot is a classic pose for a lead singer of a rock band and has become a symbol of rebellion. Other images that appear on the website also add to this stereotypical rock star persona, many of them with his mouth open for singing. This also contributes to the nickname he already has established as the ‘demon screamer’ of the rock n’ roll world. Some of the other photos shown on the website are from his earlier days in the music business in Aerosmith. This contributes to the construction of his star image because it communicates to the audience that even though its years later, he can still be the same rocker he always was.
Lastly, in the bottom right hand corner there is an advertisement for Steven Tyler as a judge on American Idol. Having this on the homepage contributes to the construction of his star image because American Idol is a huge programme in the United States so this makes him seem very important, powerful, and current, to be part of such a huge franchise. It also helps a younger audience connect with him as a star because they might be too young to remember him in a rock band, but being in the current public eye keeps him alive and fresh as a rock star.
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