This document analyzes and summarizes the genres of five musical artists (Nickelback, KISS, Olly Murs, Michael Jackson, and Jimmy Hendrix) based on visual cues in their photographs. For each artist, clues like costumes, hairstyles, positioning, lighting, and facial expressions are described and used to infer their musical genres, which include alternative rock, hard rock, pop, soul, and psychedelic rock. Common styles and trends associated with different genres are also discussed.

1. Nickelback
This is an alternative rock band. We know this
through costume as they are all dressed in black
which is a stereotypically linked with rock. The hair
of the band also connotes the genre as most of
them have short and styled hair apart from the
lead singer who has longer hair which is archetypal
rocker hair. They are stood in two and have the
conventional neutral facial expression to make
them seem temperamental to portray an ‘I don’t
care attitude’, to appeal to a younger audience as
they may identify with them. They have direct
mode of address to justify a connection with their
audience.
KISS
This is a hard rock band. We are shown this through
costume as they are wearing the conventional hard
rocker band shade of black. They also have silver and
white as prominent shades, making them stand out at
night. You can tell they are a 70s/80s by the type of
costume they are wearing as it is what you expect rock
bands in the 70s/80s to wear. They look very retro and
have the archetypal neutral facial expression however
they have make-up on creating a new style and craze
in the hard rock genre. The fact that they wear the
make-up indicates their relationship as a band. They
are positioned symmetrically as there is two at the side
and two in the middle. They have direct mode of
address to connect with their audience.
Olly Murs
Obviously, this photo indicates this singer is a pop
artist. He is dressed in modern clothing which is iconic
for pop artists. He has the stereotypical stuck up hair
do like all the others to signify he is modern and up to
date with the ‘trends’. The fact he is not even standing
up straight in the frame also suggests a laidback
attitude which is generally related to pop singers. His
face also has a neutral expression with one of his
eyebrows up, looking like he’s enquiring something.
This also makes him appear to be a bit flirtatious
appealing to the younger female audience. The fact he
is also looking directly at them adds to that effect.

2. Michael Jackson
Despite doing a range of genres Michael Jackson in this
particular image suggests he is a soul artist. This is
shown through lighting as it makes him look like he’s
glowing creating godlike images. He is also wearing
white and black which is the typical colours soul artists
wear. The fact he is wearing a white suit instead of a
black suit makes him seem more angelic making him
parallel with his genre of music. He has a neutral
expression, looking directly at the viewer; this gives
him an air of mystery which links back to the soul
genre.
Jimmy Hendrix
He is a psychedelic rock artist. This shown through his
costume as it seems to fit in with his genre. His clothes
seem to be old fashioned and very eccentric relating to
the ‘hippy’ style clothing. His mode of address is
indirect which shows he is more concentrated on his
music. His whole attire just looks like he is a
psychedelic rock artists, he just looks the part. His hair
is a good example it’s unbrushed and looks to be the
style of a rock star. Low key lighting helps make him
seem more like a rock star and the fact the image is in
a dark sepia colour adds to the effect of him being a
psychedelic rock person, as different shades of colours
are usually associated with this genre especially when
it is smudged to look very ‘hippy’ like.