INSTITUTIONS
NARRATIVE
The video features James Arthur performing at a street party, where the union of all different ethnic and status people all come together. There are many wide angle shots which showcase each group of people, highlighting the difference in their physical attire as well as the way they dance. The narrative of the video could be a possible link to the lyrics, "you're nobody till somebody loves you" - (Andrew Goodwin's theory) as it shows that these people in the video are considered as 'nobodys' within society, but however become 'somebody' towards the end.
- James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is a British singer-songwriter who won the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012.
- Just weeks after the release of his debut album, Arthur became embroiled in a homophobia controversy, which led to iTunes offering refunds for the album. After this, Arthur was dropped from Syco. In 2015, he signed a new deal with Columbia Records and will release his second album in 2016.
- Arthur has has also won two awards for his winning single, 'Impossible' - (Best international song and international breakthrough of the year).
REPRESENTATION
GENRE
James Arthur's image in the music video shows some conventions of a Rock music video - such as his attire, paired with his excessive tattoos and camera shots of him performing with a band. There are many close up shots of James singing directly into the camera, almost as if he singing to the audience. This creates a 'connection' between the artist and audience, as it's more personal for the audience to watch his music video. In addition, the representation of James is that his music is universal, and that most people will enjoy listening to him (as the groups of people represent a certain sect of people in society).
You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
- The track was released on the 23rd October 2013, and was Jame's first single release after 'Impossible'.
- The song has received highly positive reviews from critics and fans alike. Writing for the Metro, Seamus Duff said "With a possibly genuine new talent about to take the charts, The X Factor might in fact have produced their best winner yet."
- The genre of the song is a hybrid of pop and soul, however, the music video itself has conventions of many different genre's such as Rock and Pop. I will discuss this further in the analysis section.
ANALYSIS
The opening shot is a tracking shot which shows James ermerging into a street, with many groups of people standing around and local shops to highlight a sense of British culture, such as 'Fish and Chips'. This sets the tone which a British audience can relate to, as street parties are quite common in the British culture. The shot then transitions to Jame's singing into the camera with quick style editing in order to match the rhythym of the song itself. There are various shots throughout the video which showcase the difference in ethnicities and cultures (by using close ups and extreme close ups). The music video overall uses minimal types of camera angles and focuses on what the subjects are actually doing in the music video as opposed to how they are represented with camera angles.
AUDIENCE
Within the actual music video, there are a range of 'groups' of people that all seem to enjoy the song that James is performing, thereby implying that people of all backgrounds will enjoy James' music. The use of including different stereotyped groups with the continuous theme of British pride, indicates that James' music is universal, thus enabling him to be percieved as a very liked individual. Furthermore, the input of British culture, such as the fish and chip shop and the union jack, implies that James' fanbase lies more in the UK - especially being a winner of a popular British singing competition, The X Factor.