Even pop stars have a creative director

2024 was a record-breaking year for female pop stars, with Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Sabrina Carpenter dominating the American streaming charts, closely followed by Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, and Chappell Roan, according to the report by Luminate. This year seems to be no different: January saw the highly anticipated return of FKA Twigs with Eusexua, while in March and May we will witness the release of new albums by Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey. At the Grammys, held last Sunday, pop stars shone alongside Kendrick Lamar, with the most-watched performances of the night belonging to Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and rising star Doechii, who made history by becoming the third woman to win the Best Rap Album award after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. In short, it’s a golden era for female pop, but perhaps not everyone knows that behind every successful project—whether it’s Brat or The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess—there are creative directors. Or, even better, female creative directors. 

The secret to the success of the new decade's pop stars seems to be the complete dedication each of them gives to their artistic vision. Beyond delivering impeccable music productions, artists like Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter exercise perfect control over their image, from the words they speak to the tweets they share, from the people they associate with (and are photographed with) to what they wear on and off stage. At the end of 2024, after topping international charts with the electronic pop of Brat, Charli XCX shared the album’s manifesto on social media. The definitions that stand out from the list, written in the summer of 2023, refer to the album’s creative direction: «The artwork will be obnoxious, arrogant, and bold, some people will hate it […] the whole album campaign is high art but it is also crucial to understand the benefit of low art and celebrity,» confirming how Brat’s green vision was ingeniously and carefully planned. If we all now associate acid green with Charli XCX, it’s not just because of the singer: alongside her was Imogene Strauss, creative director, longtime collaborator of the British artist, and creative partner of other renowned artists like Clairo and Caroline Polachek. Strauss’s role in Charli XCX’s project was decisive, helping to make Brat a complete, recognizable, and immediate vision. However, as she explains in an interview with The Cut, a creative director’s job is not to change artists «or give them an identity, but rather to help them develop their own identity and maintain it in a precise and cohesive way.»

From collaborations to vinyl packaging, from graphics and elements chosen for a music video to on-stage styling, pop stars' creative directors help their clients best channel the message they want to share with the public. Another star who shook the international charts last year was Chappell Roan, whose debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess garnered industry-wide acclaim (including from Lady Gaga, whom the artist has often cited as an inspiration) and won her the Grammy for Best New Artist. While Roan brought '80s pop, unrelenting energy, and a good dose of surreal looks to stages worldwide, behind the scenes, she collaborated with an equally incredible trio of creatives: creative director Ramisha Sattar, stylist Genesis Webb, and set designer Maris Jones. If we were left in awe this summer as Chappell Roan emerged from an apple-shaped bong dressed as the Statue of Liberty, they deserve part of the credit. 

Following the success of Charli XCX and Chappell Roan in 2024, the new year kicked off in style with the release of Eusexua, the most ambitious project yet from artist FKA Twigs. As she confirmed in an interview with Spotify alongside Imogen Heap, before being music, Eusexua was born as a concept. Just like in her past projects, the artist created a cohesive visual narrative to accompany each track, but this time she raised the bar, with exceptional set designs, costumes, and choreography in music videos featuring established artists like Mowalola, Mona Tougaard, Yves Tumor, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Eusexua proves that in 2025, the success of a pop album (even if FKA Twigs' sound is best described as alt-pop) depends more on image than on music: as she explains in her interview with Heap, while she was able to develop her ideas independently in the past, this time FKA Twigs felt compelled to give up her artistic freedom for the sake of the project. To «do something truly weird,» the artist explained, «I had to seek the support of a major label». 

The absolute dedication and research that today’s pop stars invest in every aspect of their music is commendable, and they deserve continued celebration. An interesting aspect of the genre, however, is that despite changes in artistic direction, singer, album palette, and project inspirations, the formula behind every pop release remains the same, especially for artists under the same record label. As Nylon Magazine highlights, the same blanding trend that has affected brand logos in recent years has also infiltrated pop music. The aesthetic is clean, non-descriptive, and devoid of intellectual accents that might make the star appear «smarter or better than their listeners» for fear of not being «relatable.» However, despite Brat and Eusexua following this trend, both artists have shown that a balance can be struck between transgression, nonconformity, innovation, and record labels' desire to “simplify” work for mass appeal. The key is having a clear vision and a skilled creative director—the right audience will follow.