Pop princess, prima donna and broken heart expert Marina and the Diamonds released the music video for the title track off her upcoming album, "FROOT," on Nov. 11. The album will be released April 6, 2015.
The singer, whose real name is Marina Diamandis, left fans waiting with little to no word since the last tour for her most recent album, "Electra Heart," which wrapped in June 2013. Fans got a taste of her new music when she began teasing "FROOT" on Instagram in October, eventually dropping the lead single on Oct. 10.
Fans come to Diamandis looking for a particular brand, and "FROOT" delivers it without a doubt. As Diamandis smirks, shakes and shimmies around a mansion in glittering, slinky dresses ("Primadonna" throwback?), it's clear that the core of her pop persona has not vanished. The now-executed Electra Heart's defining traits are all still there in bulk: Flirtation, attitude, biting innuendo and, most of all, the voice that fans came to love with her last album's persona. The sound, the personality and the aesthetic that surround her all rotate around the beautiful artistic brand she has curated.
Goodbye, Electra Heart !
— Marina Diamandis (@MarinasDiamonds) August 8, 2013
The skill with which Diamandis maneuvers her artistic development is staggering. She manages to move on from her previous sounds and personas while maintaining a strong enough thread of continuity to satisfy old fans while attracting new ones as she goes. As she evolves, one thing stays the same: At the center of it all, Diamandis plays a role.
Marina and the Diamonds performing at the Assembly Room in Edinburgh on May 30, 2010. (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia/Creative Commons)Meanwhile, fans are left to decipher what role that is. An album from her is an entire experience, from the entity she takes on to the new look it brings. She is unapologetically fake, particularly in concert, as she puts on costumes and purrs and giggles her way across the stage. She makes it work with the help of her heartbreakingly real lyrics, vocal delivery and masterful fan engagement strategies.
The latest of these strategies was revealed in a mailing list email sent out late last night. Up until the upcoming album's release, Diamandis will be releasing a "Froot of the Month" to those who preorder the album each month. This month's FROOT, grape, allowed pre-orderers to download the single "FROOT" on iTunes, and was released last night along with the "FROOT" music video and an in-depth interview with lineofbestfit.com.
The "Froot of the Month" promotion reveals yet another key facet to the Marina and the Diamonds philosophy as fans are now receiving the monthly "FROOT" email to count down to the album release with Diamandis. Diamandis is an expert at engaging her fans on a personal level through social media.
She posts teasers, silly selfies and food photos galore on her Instagram, all while taking the time to reply to and like media fans tag her in (she liked my photo once and it was the best day of my life). Fans even take to calling her "mom" on Instagram and Twitter. Diamandis makes fans feel as if they are directly involved in her artistic process, and that's different than how just about any other artist goes about releasing music.
Diamandis remains overall mysterious about the new direction in which "FROOT" will take her. "This is the start of a new musical and visual era for me. I don’t know what this next chapter holds but I’m so excited for us to be on a new journey together," she said in an email to the Froot of the Month club.
If there's one thing that is always certain when it comes to Marina and the Diamonds: Her fan base will remain loyal until the end. As each new FROOT is revealed over the next six months, there's no doubt that fans will eagerly anticipate the new music and emails from Diamandis. From the over the top persona to the unapologetically snarky diva attitude she promotes in her photos and videos, Diamandis is the pop star we need in the 21st century.
That's a brand I would invest in.
Tell the reporter about how long it took you to scrub that black heart off your cheek at ezentner@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @emilymzentner
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