Textual Analysis on Stooshe

The song black heart is the most successful song of girl band Stooshe's career to date. The song peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles chart, and well in other British and European countries.The song was produced and written by Future cut with a collaboration with Jo Perry and Shaznay Lewis. The video was directed by Matt Shawski and was released on the 29th April 2012.





The video displays clear characteristics of the R'N'B genre for the following reasons. Firstly, the video has the performance within the narrative which is common, using both the elements simultaneously. Secondly, there is a separate performance low lit coloured room which is different to the bright pop back drops and the darker palettes of the rock genre. Lastly there is a male protagonist with which is often emotionally attached in the video. in this case it is the cheating boyfriend. Because they are a girl band, it is common in R'N'B to have matching coordinating outfits often having similar style or colour scheme. This would also fit in with the colour of the backdrop.

The video references the sixties studio performances seen in films such as Hairspray and Dream girls, but the video pays special homage to the girl band The Supremes. Using their iconic three piece setting and hand and body movements and gestures, in addition to the sixties style back drop, props such as the microphones, curtains and cameras. Stooshe wanted to show the grace and soul of the sixties without making it inaccessible to modern day understanding the video.

The lyrics and the video have a direct correlation with the visuals as the story of a cheater to portrayed through the character of one of the singers with the other two playing the supportive friends when they find out, warn then comfort her when she sees for herself what a cheater he is.
This take inspiration from the film dream girls as close friends look after each other through their relationships through, before or after a performance. As well as this, they sing in unison and create small actions to the lyrics.





http://www.metrolyrics.com/black-heart-lyrics-stooshe.html
"I don't like it when you break it honey."
When she says this it shows her singing to a light up mirror and then it shows a close up of the man with another woman. His face looks smug while he eyes up another person in juxtaposition of her saddened face in the mirror.

"Do you feel like a man?"
When she says this she points aggressively at the mirror, personifying the mirror as if it was him and she was yelling at him. As she does this she thrusts her finger at the mirror whilst she looks aggressive, with her face all screwed up.

"You've got a black heart."

when they sing this they all turn to the side and put their hands on their hearts while looking solemn.

"He's big and he's bad, I Love him like mad."
As they sing this they do actions in sync to the music, flexing their muscles and looking aggressive. This mood is carried out throughout the whole video, suggesting that women can be strong in this kind of situation. Because of this, the video will appeal to their teenage girl fan base.

"Ah, sicker, sicker, I'm not feeling your mouth whatsoever."
when they say this they thrust their hands towards the microphones as if they were actually going to be sicker. the protagonist later gives attitude when saying 'I an it feeling your mouth whatsoever' as if to say that she is now rejecting his love.
"Momma he's the best I've ever had."
when they say this it show close ups of their face as if they were talking to their mums about their heartbreak. this is stereotypical as mum are usually the one to comfort their daughter if the situation occurs in real life.
"He got a black heart."
This time they once again put their hands on their chests but do not turn to the left. They look towards the camera before slowly closing their eyes.
"He's got such a dirty black heart in him, an it girls."
As she says this during her performance she looks as if she was talking to all the girls who could be watching this, that might in this situation themselves. Also she tilts her head to the back suggesting that she wants her girls to back her up.
Response: "Yeah."
Her friends then instantly reply to the word, yeah showing their support and their tilt their heads in unison.
"Ohh, yes I do."
When she says this she looks a lot more confident than when she found out about her lovers cheating, suggesting she has moved n from him.

The music and the video has a correlation as they use the stereotypical beat of the song commonly used in the sixties to lead in the inspiration of the video. Firstly, hey use the beat and the tempo of the song to control the way they sway in unison in the performance. The video is also slowed down in areas within the visuals in slow motion which closely fit in with the tempo of the music.

Secondly, they use the music incorporated in the song so the song was being sung as if she was asking for advice on the guy who has been cheating before she finally went admitted the problem hence why he song fitted perfectly sung in first person rather than on reflection.
Thirdly, they used the scratching of the old music player to start off the song and to introduced the track, making it sound more authentic and fit tin with the narrative.
The effect of the microphones also used this technique during the singing and especially when there is dialogue near the end, when one of them says:
"He's got such a dirty black heart in him, they all reply: yeah," this is to show interaction within the music which is used in the visuals.
Finally, they take the title into consideration, changing the background from pink hearts with them wearing pastel colours to the heart having black paint smeared all over them and their outfits become black.

I used photo shop to show all their faces during close ups while they were singing,
showing you all the emotion they had towards the subject and adding realism to the plot.
their eyes are all directed straight at the camera as if they were telling their
own target market,of which are teenage girls, giving them advice on this situation.

Within the video there are lots of close ups of the individual members of the group as well as close ups of the group as a collective. This was mainly because they wanted to highlight who was singing at the time to to give more recognition to the individual members rather than have a specific member who was more foregrounded.






However the protagonist was obviously favoured so that they can continue with the storyline accurately. The close ups also showed her feelings being hurt and feeling deflated after finding out about the affair that happened.








The notion of looking wasn't used on any of the artists themselves but on the male protagonist looking at the woman he had decided to cheat on his girlfriend with. There is a specific shot where it is a close up two shot showing them kiss, and the reaction from the three band members.

 This was mainly achieved by over the shoulder shots which allowed the viewer to see what he is looking at. the beautiful girl he wants to have.
The singer's face is blurred to focus the attention on this before foregrounding her once more for the friends reaction.