Applying color theory to the song of summer

Looking at the pop landscape right now is like flipping through swatches in a paint store – almost every release has its own bespoke palette. The trend has been going for a few years now thanks to the clever efforts of Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, but it exploded this summer when Charli XCX claimed a shade of lime green as her own Brat. For some artists, the palette comes naturally, like Ice Spice, who consciously chooses her orange hair to be representative of her, or Sexyy Red and Girl in Red, who move toward red. Others work with designers and creative directors to select shades and build campaigns around them. Regardless, the goal is to “own a color,” like Supreme’s white on red, says Brent David Freaney, the art director behind the brat Rollout: “If you’re able to create a world around color and use that repetition through artwork, merchandising, or costumes, it all reinforces the same thing.” (Purple will always belong to Prince; pink belongs to Nicki Minaj and P!nk.) And if you’re lucky, your color pattern might become the next trend on Instagram and TikTok.

Black, white and silver

When Normani announced the name of her debut solo album in February, she did so with black serifs on a white background. This color palette would continue throughout the (short-lived) album, which emphasized black latex outfits and white and silver accents, matching the black rocket on the cover. One can barely detect any nods to her idol Janet Jackson, who pioneered the black leather look in the late ’80s and returned to the edgy imagery on one of Normani’s favorite albums, 2008’s. Discipline.

Black, white and sepia

Like most developments in pop, the current palette-palooza goes back to Swift, who painted each of her nails a specific color for each album on the Eras Tour and named her 2012 album Red. For her latest work, Swift combined the academic title with a sepia-colored grayscale theme (closer to the adult Fearless (Taylor’s Version) than the sharper black and white of Call) for both the artwork and the “Fortnight” video. And when she took the stage in Tokyo after the album announcement, she showed off a new all-white manicure. Then she added TTPD The setlist included – of course – a white dress with black calligraphy.

Red, white, black and blue

Her usual cotton candy palette is too popular this summer, so Perry has instead switched to a fembot-esque black and white for her new single “Woman’s World.” (It’s not entirely free, though, as Normani and Blackpink’s Lisa similar appearance.) She first drew attention to it with a photo of herself in white lace underwear and black leg protection. and failed to refute accusations that Arca was a copycat. But she’s not completely leaving the rainbow behind either – at Paris Fashion Week she printed the lyrics on the 150-meter train of a red Balenciaga dress (but was sure she’d be back in black the next day). The music video and her album cover are also in the Americana style.

Cherry red and ocean blue

To introduce the era of her third album, Lipa presented cherry-red locks. Her colorist told Marie-Claire They wanted something that was both “vibrant” and “vampy” – and decided on a darker shade that could be bright and vibrant during the day or dark and sexy at night. It also contrasted well with the ocean blue tones on the album packaging, a nod to the sea on the cover. To match, they released red and blue vinyls.

Fire engine red

For her third album, Hawke played with the obviously devilish, disharmonious associations of the colour red (orange, the colour of her new Inside Out 2 The role of Anxiety was already taken. As she is primarily an actress, she has dedicated herself to the visual side, continuing the bright scarlet on the album cover and vinyl pressings, the outfits at photo shoots and the heart-with-wings logo that she has adopted.

Purple and blood red

Unlike most aspiring pop stars who make a clear distinction between eras, Rodrigo used her signature shade of purple from the Sour Era for their second album, Offal. She says she has “baby synesthesia” and sees many of her songs in purple (which is also her favorite color). But when Rodrigo brought her deluxe Entrails (spilled), She added a splash of red to the mix, complementing the bolder new songs like “Obsessed.” However, she still stays true to purple and recently launched a Stanley Tumbler collaboration that fits her usual aesthetic.

Pastel blue, red and white

At the heart of Carpenter’s retro rollout is a rainbow-hued color palette. “Espresso” started with a focus on sky blue, accentuated by a black-and-white look on the cover and other pastel colors in the music video. She kept the theme going with a black and powder blue dress at the Met Gala before the blue came back in stronger on the album cover, but the red lipstick is also key – it’s reminiscent of the sexy red dresses Carpenter wore SNL and in the “Please Please Please” video, not to mention the red and white striped Dress she wore at Vogue World. Together, the colors play with the tongue-in-cheek pin-up girl image she cultivated for her sixth album.

Neon blue and baby pink

Cabello began this era with a radical reboot, debuting dyed blonde hair in a viral clip of her singing lead single “I Luv It” during a nighttime car ride. Less noticeable but just as important in this video is her light blue top. This color, not blonde, would become the signature shade of her fourth album and appeared in lollipop form on the cover. She paired it with an accenting bright pink, the color she used for the track list and wore in the “I Luv It” video. She even references the color combination in “pretty when i cry.”

Midnight Blue

Monét’s album from 2023, Jaguar XJ, continued the earth-toned visuals of the first project and introduced another color muse. “The new music felt sexy, confident and strong,” says Char “VYLIT” Baker, its creative director. “We wanted to bring out more primary colors that emphasize this energy.” Baker knows that red is typically associated with these feelings, but after seeing Monét in an all-blue shoot with photographer Amber Asaly, she knew Yves Klein’s eponymous shade was just right for the new single, “Alright.” (Monét told a fan that the song “always sounded dark blue to me!”) They began applying the color “drop by drop,” including as an embellishment for their Coachella outfit, before going all out with the song’s music video in June, which featured Monét dancing in blue light and even projecting blue irises.

Deep Blue

Eilish used to mark an album’s era by changing hair color (green roots, blonde bob). But for her ocean-blue third LP, she dropped that strategy because, as she said, Rolling Stone, She had accidentally dyed her hair blue when she was very young. “Blue has always been my least favorite color,” Eilish admitted. But her synesthesia had other plans and inspired the album’s underwater cover. “For the last few years,” she said, “I’ve just been thinking: Wait, blue is who I am at my core.“The song “Blue” is dedicated to this realization.

Lime green

When Charli first met with the design studio Special Offer, Inc. to bratWhen she decided on the campaign, she knew the cover should have text on a green background. Freaney helped find the perfect shade, considering around 500 options. “We wanted to make sure it didn’t look too tasteful – that the green didn’t look like it could Fashion,” he says. “It should feel like there’s something wrong, a little bit off.” (There have been countless comparisons to Shrek.) He calls the resulting aesthetic “digital” and “degraded.” brat Green has inspired memes, DIY accessories, and even the truest sign of a trend: posts from brands.

Yellow

Following her mentor Taylor Swift’s lead, Abrams made a lemon yellow the signature shade for her second album, incorporating it into lettering on merchandise, vinyl and artwork. (And there’ll be no confusion—Swift hasn’t embraced the color.) On social media, where Abrams has done video promos against yellow backgrounds, the heart emoji in that color has become the Bat-signal for her fans, who have embraced the branding like Swifties. They even made yellow friendship bracelets for release day.