音乐星空璀璨,且看一代新星闪耀
2017-10-25两袖清风
两袖清风
音樂,有一种魔力。
它可以让人心如止水,
也可以让人心潮澎湃。
它可以勾起伤痛的回忆,
也可以抚慰人们的心灵。
它激励人前行,
它带给人希望,
它就像是哈利·波特的魔法棒,
神奇,
美妙。
这大抵就是那么多人,
不论是像你我这样的音乐小白,
还是那些具有音乐天分的音乐人,
都会爱上音乐的缘故吧!
What's it like to become a music star with millions of fans? These young artists know the feeling. Over the course of their relatively short careers, they have attracted the attention of the biggest stars in the world and taken home prizes from major shows. They've accumulated No. 1 hits and No. 1 albums, Grammys and VMAs, and millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Sure enough, they've already accomplished a great deal, but are they safe bets1) to continue finding success as they edge toward adulthood? For now they're just kids that everyone in music is watching. Check out the next generation of stars below.
成为一个拥有百万粉丝的歌星是什么感觉?下面这些年轻的音乐人知道这种感觉。他们出道相对来说并没多久,就已经引起了国际当红巨星的关注,并从各大选秀节目中把奖杯捧回了家。他们创下了歌曲、专辑热度排名第一的成绩,拿过格莱美奖和音乐录影带大奖,在推特和Instagram上拥有数百万粉丝。诚然,他们已经硕果累累,但随着渐渐步入成年,他们还会继续书写辉煌,稳能成功吗?眼下,他们还只是音乐圈里人人瞩目的小娃娃。下面就来欣赏一下这些新生代歌星的风采吧!
Fifth Harmony 五美组合
20世纪90年代是女子组合的辉煌十年:天命真女、辣妹组合、TLC组合、风尚合唱团、美玉组合……但自从天命真女解散(编注:2005年)以后,鲜有组合能够轰动一时。这似乎并未对五美组合造成困扰。2016年,她们推出了自己音乐生涯的巅峰之作《在家工作》,这是一首鼓励人们多请病假的流行歌曲。该单曲当时登上了《公告牌》百强单曲榜第四名,这是近十年来第一次有女子组合打进单曲榜前五名。除了在排行榜上获得逆潮流的成功外,五美组合的《脑海萦绕》还获得了MTV音乐录影带大奖的夏季金曲奖。“很快你们就能听到抚慰心灵的音乐,一切都会好起来,我们爱死你们了,我们是不会散的。我发誓。”五美成员劳伦在接受《公告牌》杂志采访时这样说道。在2017年1月17日举办的第43届美国人民选择奖颁奖典礼上,她们不仅表演了《在家工作》的改编版,而且还赢得了“最受欢迎团体奖”。
The '90s was a glorious decade for girl groups: Destiny's Child, the Spice Girls, TLC, En Vogue, Jade ... But after the breakup of Destiny's Child, few groups have been able to make much of an impact. This doesn't seem to bother Fifth Harmony, who landed the biggest hit of their career in 2016 with "Work from Home", a pop song that encourages everyone to call in sick2) more often. When the single climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was the first time a girl group had cracked3) the top 5 in a decade. In addition to their trend-defying chart4) success, Fifth Harmony's "All in My Head (Flex)" was dubbed5) Song of the Summer at the MTV VMAs. "You'll have music to soothe6) your soul soon, everything will be fine, we love you to death and we're not going anywhere. I promise," member Lauren told Billboard. At the 43rd People's Choice Awards on January 17, 2017, they performed an edited version of "Work from Home", and went on to win the award for "Favorite Group".endprint
1. safe bet: 准能赢的打赌(或事情);准能成功的人
2. call in sick: 打电话请病假
3. crack [kr.k] vt. 打入;达到
4. chart [t.ɑ.t] n. 排行榜
5. dub [d.b] vt. 称……为,将……冠以
6. soothe [su.e] vt. 使平静,安慰
Shawn Mendes 肖恩·门德斯
肖恩·门德斯的故事听起来有点儿熟悉:加拿大年轻歌手从网红变成了真正的流行巨星。不过,他却是位相当有自己个性的音乐人。2015年,门德斯不再局限于“下一个贾斯汀·比伯”这种标签,以其首张个人专辑《手写体》大获成功,该专辑一经推出就登上了《公告牌》200张热销专辑排行榜的榜首。这位曾在Vine (编注:短视频应用)上引起轰动的网红还凭借单曲《缝线》第一次登上了《公告牌》百强单曲榜前五名。这首歌他曾有幸在好友泰勒·斯威夫特的“1989世界巡回演唱会”(编注:“1989”是泰勒的专辑名)上作为开场表演嘉宾为体育馆的众多歌迷演唱过。门德斯在社交媒体上依旧风生水起,但即便互联网明天垮掉,这位怀抱吉他的创作型歌手也自会有一批听众。
Shawn Mendes' backstory sounds a little familiar: young Canadian singer goes from Internet celebrity to real pop titan7), yet he is very much his own artist. In 2015, Mendes moved beyond the "next Justin Bieber" thing and scored big with his debut album, Handwritten, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The former Vine sensation also notched8) his first top-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Stitches", a song he's sung to huge stadium crowds thanks to his gig9) opening for buddy Taylor Swift on her 1989 World Tour. Mendes is still crushing it10) on social media, but even if the Internet went down tomorrow, this guitar-toting11) singer-songwriter would command an audience.
Lorde 洛德
It's been four years since the release of Pure Heroine—the mega-12) selling debut that made her a 16-year-old global sensation and the spokeswoman for a new generation of smart, strong-minded, innovative female pop artists—and yet Lorde continues to captivate13). Since conquering the charts with "Royals", the New Zealand phenom14) hasn't released any solo material. Instead she contributed to The Hunger Games soundtrack in 2014, collaborated with Disclosure on "Magnets" in 2015, and co-wrote "Heartlines" with Broods, which arrived last summer. What might she do next? Maybe, we should expect something totally different.
從洛德的第一张专辑《天生英雄》发行到现在,已经有四年的时间了。这一专辑的大卖让年仅16岁的她一跃成为国际巨星,并成为聪明、坚毅且具有创新精神的新生代流行女歌手的代言人。而且今日的洛德魅力依旧。自从单曲《皇家》横扫各大榜单以来,这位新西兰当红歌手就没有再推出任何个人单曲,反而在2014年为电影《饥饿游戏》献唱了插曲,紧接着在2015年与解密兄弟(编注:英国的电子音乐组合)合作推出了歌曲《磁铁》,而后又与兄妹组合(编注:新西兰组合)共同创作了歌曲《情感线》(于去年夏天发布)。接下来她会有什么动作?或许,我们应该期待她带来迥然不同的作品。
Troye Sivan 特洛耶·希文
You might recognize the rising star Troye Sivan from YouTube, where he's been uploading videos since he was 12 and his channel already has millions of subscribers, or from the movies, where he played a young Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And by now, you may also be familiar with his budding15) music career. This singer, songwriter, actor and Internet star is making a play for16) the pop charts. On the heels of two top-five EPs on the Billboard 200, TRXYE (2014) and Wild (2015), the South Africa-born, Australia-raised multi-talent returned December 4, 2015 with Blue Neighbourhood, his anticipated full-length debut. Since signing with EMI in 2013, the soulful Sivan has pursued a sonically adventurous brand of ambient pop17). "I'm on the path to being someone I'm equally terrified by, and obsessed with. My true self," he told his fans.endprint
你或許能从YouTube上认出特洛耶·希文这位后起之秀,他从12岁开始就在YouTube上上传视频,如今他的频道已有数百万订阅者;或是从电影中认出他,他在《金刚狼》里饰演了小时候的金刚狼。如今,你可能对他正在起步的音乐事业也有所了解。这位创作型歌手、演员兼网红正为挺进流行歌曲排行榜而努力着。在两张迷你专辑《特X耶》(2014年)和《狂野》(2015年)打入《公告牌》200张热销专辑排行榜前五名后,这位南非出生、澳大利亚长大的多面才子再度来袭,于2015年12月4日推出了他备受歌迷期盼的首张完整专辑《蓝色街区》。自从2013年签约百代唱片(编注:全球历史最悠久的唱片公司之一)以来,多愁善感的特洛耶就一直在追求一种声音前卫的氛围流行乐。“我正在成为一个我既畏惧又崇拜的人,一个真正的我。”他这样对粉丝说。
7. titan [.ta.tn] n. 泰斗;巨子;巨人
8. notch [n.t.] vt. 赢得,获得
9. gig [ɡ.ɡ] n. (尤指演奏现代或流行乐的)演奏会
10. crush it: 做得非常好;做得很成功
11. tote [t..t] v. 携带;手提
12. mega-: 百万倍的;巨大的;非常多的
13. captivate [.k.pt.ve.t] v. 迷住;吸引
14. phenom [f..n.m] n. 成功的人(或事物)
15. budding [.b.d..] adj. 开始发展的;崭露头角的
16. make a play for: 想方设法得到;千方百计追求
17. ambient pop: 氛围流行乐,是一种结合了宁静和欢快两种不同风格的音乐。ambient [..mbi.nt] adj. 周围的;周围环境条件的
Hailee Steinfeld 海莉·斯坦菲尔德
在这些年轻音乐人当中,有几个可谓年少有为,在电影和流行乐中一样如鱼得水玩转自如。斯坦菲尔德就是其中之一。在科恩兄弟(编注:美国著名电影导演)执导的西部片《大地惊雷》中取得突破性表现后,斯坦菲尔德又参演了诸如《安德的游戏》《完美音调2》之类的电影,更不用说还在泰勒·斯威夫特的单曲《敌对》的MV中露了脸。2015年,她又同时开创了流行音乐事业,推出了颂扬身心两方面都要自爱的歌曲《爱自己》。这首歌是她和颇受欢迎的创作团队朱莉娅·迈克尔斯以及贾斯廷·特兰特共同创作完成的。之后,斯坦菲尔德再次和迈克尔斯搭档,创作了她的下一首单曲《低潮》,并与美国放克流行乐队DNCE合作演唱了这首歌。而她最新发布的单曲《饥饿》则是跟俄裔德籍音乐制作人泽德合作完成的。再回头说说电影这一块儿:这位获得奥斯卡奖提名的演员主演了电影《成长边缘》,该片于去年9月在多伦多电影节上首映。对大多数人来说,同时兼顾两份事业可能很难;在接受采访时,斯坦菲尔德则说她协调起来“天衣无缝”。
Steinfeld is one of several precocious18) artists on this list who star in film as easily as they do in pop. After her breakout performance in the Coen Brothers' western True Grit, Steinfeld found roles in movies like Ender's Game and Pitch Perfect 2—not to mention an appearance in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video. In 2015, she launched a parallel pop career with "Love Myself", an ode to both kinds of self-love, co-written by the hit writing team of Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. Steinfeld reunited with Michaels to compose her next single, "Rock Bottom", a collaboration with American funk pop band DNCE, while her latest release, "Starving", features contributions from Russian-German producer Zedd. Then it's back to the big screen: The Academy Award nominee stars in The Edge of Seventeen, which premiered19) at the Toronto Film Festival last September. Maintaining two careers may be difficult for most; in an interview, Steinfeld described the balancing act as "pretty seamless".
5 Seconds of Summer 五秒盛夏
Some would say the boys of 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) are hot just because they have tattoos, play guitars and wear sleeveless band tees. But those aren't the only factors that have made the quartet20) rise from relative unknowns to superstar status in less than a year. After becoming famous via YouTube, the Australian band got its big break by opening for One Direction on its 2013 Take Me Home tour. However, 5SOS just did fine on its own. The band had millions of Twitter followers and rocked 2014's Billboard Music Awards well before they even had an album to their name. 5SOS's self-titled debut dropped on June 27, 2014 and songs like "Amnesia21)" and "She Looks So Perfect" quickly surged on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2015, from May through September, the boys rocked the world with its Rock Out with Your Socks Out tour and on October 23, they made waves22) with their sophomore effort, Sounds Good Feels Good. Last year, the band recorded one of their better singles "Girls Talk Boys", a song that appeared on the soundtrack for 2016 American supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters. If the momentum keeps up, 5 Seconds of Summer have a good chance of sticking around much longer than their name implies.endprint
有些人会觉得五秒盛夏的这几个男孩时髦性感,只因他们刺文身,玩吉他,穿无袖的乐队T恤。但这些并非这个四人组合在不到一年的时间从相对的籍籍无名跃居超级巨星地位的全部原因。在YouTube上走红后,这支澳大利亚乐队在单向乐队2013年的“带我回家”巡回演唱会上做了开场表演,得以声名大振。不过,五秒盛夏本身就表现不俗。甚至早在推出同名专辑之前,该乐队就在推特上拥有了数百万粉丝,还在2014年《公告牌》音乐大奖颁奖典礼上演唱了摇滚歌曲。2014年6月27日,五秒盛夏推出了首张同名专辑,其中诸如《健忘》和《正点女孩》这类的歌曲很快就打入了《公告牌》百强单曲榜。从2015年5月份开始到9月份为止,这几个男孩的“脱掉袜子嗨翻天”巡回演唱会震撼了全球;10月23日,他们推出了第二张专辑《听起来不错感觉良好》,再次引起了轰动。去年,乐队录制了他们众多优秀单曲中的一首《女孩聊男孩》,这首歌成为2016年美国奇幻喜剧电影《超能敢死队》的插曲。如果继续保持这个势头,五秒盛夏很可能会比他们名字中的五秒要红更长的时间。
18. precocious [pr..k....s] adj. 智力超常的,早慧的
19. premier [.premi.(r)] vi. 首次上映;首次上演
20. quartet [kw...tet] n. 四重奏乐团;四重唱组合
21. amnesia [.m.ni.zi.] n. 失忆症;健忘症
22. make waves: 引起轩然大波
23. presumptive [pr..z.mpt.v] adj. 可据以推定的
24. ascend [..send] vi. 上升;攀登
Austin Mahone 奥斯汀·马洪
Austin Mahone, the heir presumptive23) to the teen-pop throne Justin Bieber, continued to ascend24) these years. His first EP, The Secret, reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. With "Dirty Work", a song he released in July, 2015, Mahone sent a clear message: "Baby Bieber" has grown up. If The Secret suggested the young American boy was becoming a man, his debut album, This Is Not the Album, showed even greater evolution. Chatting with Billboard, Mahone repeatedly used the phrase "next level" to describe the music; given that his previous levels have earned him millions of fans and allowed him to tour as both a headliner and an opener for the likes of Taylor Swift and Jason Derulo, he's getting ready to really blow up.
奧斯汀·马洪是公认的青少年流行歌王贾斯汀·比伯的接班人(编注:因长相和比伯酷似,且翻唱好几首比伯的歌曲,有“小比伯”之称),这些年可谓步步高升。他的第一张迷你专辑《秘密》曾登上《公告牌》200张热销专辑排行榜第五名。2015年7月,他推出了单曲《苦差》,并释放出了一个明确的信息:“小比伯”已经长大了。如果说《秘密》表明这个美国少年正在长大成人,那么他的首张个人专辑《这不是那张专辑》则带来了更大的变化。在接受《公告牌》采访时,马洪多次用“新高度”这个词语来形容自己的音乐。鉴于他先前的高度已经让他赢得了数百万粉丝,还让他可以作为泰勒·斯威夫特和杰森·德鲁罗(编注:美国说唱歌手)这类歌手的主要演员和开场嘉宾进行巡回演唱,如今的他已经准备好来一场大爆发。endprint