Editing Persona (section)

==In music==
[[File:David Bowie 1976.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[David Bowie]] as [[The Thin White Duke]] at Maple Leaf Gardens, [[Toronto]] 1976]]

=== The concept of musical personae ===
The concept of personae in music was introduced by [[Edward T. Cone]] in his ''[[The Composer's Voice]]'' (1974), which dealt with the relation between the lyrical self of a song's lyrics and its composer.<ref>Deborah Stein and Robert Spillman, ''[[iarchive:poetryintosongpe0000stei|Poetry Into Song: Performance and Analysis of Lieder]]'' (Oxford University Press US, 2010), p.235. {{ISBN|0-19-975430-6}}</ref> Performance studies scholar Philip Auslander includes further contextual frames, in which musical persona is the primary product of musical performances apart from the original text.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Auslander |first=Philip |date=2006 |title=Musical Personae |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4492661 |journal=TDR (1988-) |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=100–119 |doi=10.1162/dram.2006.50.1.100 |jstor=4492661 |s2cid=57563345 |issn=1054-2043|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Auslander argues that music is a primary social frame as a "principle of organization which govern events."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goffman |first=Erving |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1175799 |title=Frame analysis : an essay on the organization of experience |date=1974 |isbn=0-06-090372-4 |location=New York |pages=10 |oclc=1175799}}</ref> In addition, he categorizes three types of personae transformation: lateral moves within the same frame at a given moment; movements from one frame to another; and within a single frame that changes over time and hypothesizes that personae transformation could only happen when the genre framing changes. As a strategic formation of public identity in communities, musical personae describe how music moves through cultures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fairchild |first1=Charles |last2=Marshall |first2=P. David |date=2019-07-11 |title=Music and Persona: An Introduction |url=https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/ps/article/view/856 |journal=Persona Studies |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=9 |doi=10.21153/psj2019vol5no1art856 |issn=2205-5258|hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30128841 |s2cid=199177465 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Persona maintains stability of performance with the expectation from the audience matching in musical presentation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fairchild |first1=Charles |last2=Marshall |first2=P. David |date=2019-07-11 |title=Music and Persona: An Introduction |url=https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/ps/article/view/856 |journal=Persona Studies |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=4 |doi=10.21153/psj2019vol5no1art856 |issn=2205-5258|hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30128841 |s2cid=199177465 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The concept of persona can also be used to refer to an [[instrumentalist]], like a pianist and their playing style,<ref>Deborah Stein and Robert Spillman, p.106.</ref> although the term is more commonly used to refer to the voice and performance nuances of a vocalist in a studio album or in a live concert. In online spaces where personae are more visible, musical personae can be created through the flexible and fluid virtual bodies of avatars.<ref>{{cite book |author1-last=Harvey |author1-first=Trevor S. |editor1-last=Whiteley |editor1-first=Sheila |editor2-last=Rambarran |editor2-first=Shara |chapter=Avatar Rockstars |title=The Oxford Handbook of Music and Virtuality |date=2016 |pages=171–190 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199321285.013.1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |language=en |isbn=9780199321285}}</ref>

Usually, the performers assume a role that matches the music they sing on [[Stage (theatre)|stage]], though they may also be composers. Many performers make use of a persona. Some artists create various characters, especially if their career is long and they go through many changes over time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rambarran |first=Shara |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/virtual-music-9781501336379/ |title=Virtual Music: Sound, Music, and Image in the Digital Era |date= |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5013-3637-9 |location=New York |chapter="Living in a Fantasy": Performers and Identity.}}</ref> For example, [[David Bowie]] initially adopted a role as alien messenger [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]], and later as [[The Thin White Duke]].<ref>James E. Perone, ''The words and music of David Bowie'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), ppp. 39, 51, and 108. {{ISBN|0-275-99245-4}}</ref> More than just artistic [[pseudonym]]s, the personae are independent characters used in the artist's shows and albums (in this example, ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]]'' and ''[[Station to Station]]''). However, in music, a persona does not always mean a change. Some authors have noted that [[Bob Dylan]]'s charisma is due largely to his almost stereotyped image, always with a [[harmonica]], [[guitar]], and with his distinctive hair, nasal voice, and clothing.<ref>Paul Williams, ''[[iarchive:bobdylanperformi0000will y7u0|Bob Dylan: performing artist 1986-1990 & beyond : mind out of time]]'' (Omnibus Press, 2004),  p.229. {{ISBN|1-84449-281-8}}</ref> The persona also serves to claim a right or to draw attention to a certain subject. That is the case of [[Marilyn Manson]] and his interest in death and [[morbidity]], and [[Madonna]] and her interest in sexuality.<ref>Bhesham R. Sharma, ''[[iarchive:deathofart0000shar|The death of art]]'' (University Press of America, 2006), p.14. {{ISBN|0-7618-3466-4}}</ref>

=== Examples ===

==== American artists ====

* [[Beyoncé]]: the persona of Beyoncé, "Sasha Fierce", appears on the album ''[[I Am... Sasha Fierce]]''. According to Beyoncé, Sasha is her wilder side, emerging during high octane stage performances and serving as a sort of [[scapegoat]] for "unladylike" behavior.<ref name="npr">{{cite news |last=Chace |first=Zoe |date=12 Aug 2010 |title=Pop Personae: Why Do Some Women Perform In Character? |work=NPR.com |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2010/08/11/129134759/pop-personae-why-do-some-women-perform-in-character |access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="debut">{{Cite magazine |last=Jonathan |first=Cohen |date=November 26, 2008 |title=Beyoncé Starts 'Fierce' Atop Album Chart |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266192/beyonce-starts-fierce-atop-album-chart |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126185021/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/beyonce-starts-fierce-atop-album-chart-1003916959.story |archive-date=January 26, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Lady Gaga]]: Jo Calderone, the persona of Gaga, performed at the [[2011 MTV Video Music Awards]]. Jo represents a [[Drag (clothing)|drag]] male persona, and is often used in the performance of her song, "[[You and I (Lady Gaga song)|You and I]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Dinh |first=James |date=2011-09-28 |title=Lady Gaga Bends Gender, Minds With VMA Monologue |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669859/lady-gaga-jo-calderone-video-music-awards.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018133609/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669859/lady-gaga-jo-calderone-video-music-awards.jhtml |archive-date=18 October 2011 |access-date=2011-09-28 |publisher=MTV}}</ref>
* [[Nicki Minaj]]: she employs multiple personae, ranging from what she calls the [[Japanese fashion|Harajuku]] [[Barbie]] persona to [[Roman Zolanski]], a Polish homosexual. The personae were heavily used in her sophomore album, ''[[Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded]]''.<ref name="NewYorkAlterego">{{cite magazine |author=Lizzy Goodman |date=June 20, 2010 |title=Nicki Minaj, the Rapper With a Crush on Meryl Streep |url=http://nymag.com/guides/summer/2010/66786/ |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York magazine]] |access-date=July 22, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Rap-Up.com">{{cite web |last=Dawson |first=Imani A. |title=Nicki Minaj Gets 'Revenge' With Eminem |url=http://www.rap-up.com/2010/10/28/nicki-minaj-gets-revenge-with-eminem/ |access-date=November 4, 2010 |work=[[Rap-Up]].com |publisher=Vibe Media Group}}</ref>

==== British artists ====

* [[Mick Jagger]] of [[the Rolling Stones]]: he takes the guise of [[Satan]] in the song "[[Sympathy for the Devil]]" or of a housewife in "[[Slave (The Rolling Stones song)|Slave]]"
* [[Spice Girls]]: each member of [[girl group]] adopted personas based on nicknames given to them by the British press. According to ''[[Music Week]]'', these personas ("[[Geri Halliwell|Ginger]]", "[[Victoria Beckham|Posh]]", "[[Emma Bunton|Baby]]", "[[Melanie C|Sporty]]" and "[[Mel B|Scary]]") played a key role in the group's international marketability.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Christopher |date=November 10, 2007 |title=Spice Girls: From Wannabes to World Beaters |page=13 |work=[[Music Week]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/232226522/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 23, 2021 |issn=0265-1548 |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref> Spice Girl Melanie C later said the personas were "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."<ref>{{cite web |last=White |first=Amelia |date=April 2, 2020 |title=Melanie C Imagines How The Spice Girls Would Fare In 2020 |url=https://www.thelovemagazine.co.uk/article/melanie-c-imagines-how-the-spice-girls-would-fare-in-2020 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210314085742/https://www.thelovemagazine.co.uk/article/melanie-c-imagines-how-the-spice-girls-would-fare-in-2020 |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |access-date=March 14, 2021 |work=[[Love (magazine)|Love]]}}</ref>
* [[The Beatles]]: they present a group persona ''of [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'',<ref>[[Kenneth Womack]] and Todd F. Davis, ''[[iarchive:readingbeatlescu0000unse|Reading the Beatles: cultural studies, literary criticism, and the Fab Four]]'' (SUNY Press, 2006), p.21. {{ISBN|0-7914-6715-5}}</ref> including the character Billy Shears "played by" drummer [[Ringo Starr]].<ref>Allan F. Moore, ''[[iarchive:beatlessgtpepper0000moor|The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' (Cambridge University Press, 1997), p.75. {{ISBN|0-521-57484-6}}</ref>
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