For this year’s annual White House Easter celebration, US first lady Michelle Obama danced to the song Uptown Funk with cast members from US TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”.
在今年的白宫复活节庆典上,伴着“Uptown Funk”,美国第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马和美国真人秀节目《舞林争霸》的成员们一起热舞。
Uptown Funk, recorded by American pop singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and English producer Mark Ronson, has ruled the US Billboard1 Hot 100 Chart for 14 consecutive2 weeks, tying it for the second-longest run on the chart in history.
Uptown Funk出自美国创作型流行歌手“火星哥”布鲁诺•马尔斯与英国制作人马克•罗森之手。这首歌已经连续14周蝉联美国公告牌百强单曲榜冠军,蝉联时间有望跻身历史第二。
The Billboard chart measures songs’ sales, radio airplay and streaming data. Members of its “10 or more weeks at No 1” club include Happy by Pharrell Williams (10 weeks), We Belong Together by Mariah Carey (14 weeks), and I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (14 weeks), all of which enjoyed international popularity.
美国公告牌排行榜是依据单曲销量、电台播放量以及在线收听量综合评选而出。目前“蝉联十周以上冠军”的单曲包括:法瑞尔•威廉姆斯的《Happy》(10周),玛丽亚•凯莉的《We Belong Together》(14周),以及惠特尼•休斯顿的《I Will Always Love You》(14周),这些歌曲都享誉国际。
The top honor belongs to Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s One Sweet Day, which reigned3 for 16 weeks about 20 years ago.
而蝉联冠军的最长记录由玛丽亚•凯莉与Boyz II Men乐队合唱的《One Sweet Day》创造。二十年前,这首歌曾占据榜首长达16周之久。
MTV music journalist Brenna Ehrlich wrote Uptown Funk had made such a big splash due to its structural4 simplicity5 and unique dynamism. You can hardly just sit listening to it and resist the urge to rock your body to it, she said.
MTV电视台?的音乐记者布伦纳•埃利希认为,简单的结构以及独特的动感是《Uptown Funk》颇受关注的原因。她说,你根本不可能坐着听完这首歌,因为你的身体会情不自禁地想要(随着音乐)摇摆。
With only two studio albums under his belt, 29-year-old Mars has already scored five No 1 songs on the Billboard charts, including the soulful ballad6 When I Was Your Man and the reggae-rock-style Locked Out of Heaven.
今年29岁的“火星哥”虽然只发行过两张录音室专辑,但是已有5首单曲登顶公告牌排行榜,其中既有深情民谣《When I Was Your Man》,也有雷鬼摇滚风的《Locked Out of Heaven》。
People tend to pin labels on singers – Taylor Swift is country and pop, Pharrell Williams is hip-hop. But for Mars, it seems hard to place him under just one category.
人们总喜欢给歌手们贴标签,比如:泰勒•斯威夫特代表乡村流行音乐,法瑞尔•威廉姆斯则是嘻哈的代表。但是人们却很难用一种音乐风格形容“火星哥”。
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times believes that Mars’ fame comes particularly from his genius in displaying a wide variety of musical styles.
纽约时报》的音乐评论家乔恩•卡拉曼尼卡认为“火星哥”的成功很大程度上是因为他玩转了多种音乐风格。
“Mars is one of the most versatile7 and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles. There’s nowhere he doesn’t belong,” wrote the music critic.
他在乐评中写道: “布鲁斯•马尔斯是流行音乐中最具多元性、最有亲和力的歌手之一。他的声音轻柔却能感动心灵,可以轻松胜任各种音乐风格。因此,他无所不在。”
“I don’t really know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing as no one knows what to categorize my voice or my music,” Mars told Vibe.com.
而“火星哥”自己在接受Vibe.com网站采访时则表示:“没人知道如何给我的声音或者音乐进行分类,我不知道这是好事还是坏事。”
“I just know that I’m a fan of all different kinds of genres8. You’re supposed to be free doing music and that’s how I feel. So when we get in the studio – whether it’s a hip-hop song, or a big ballad – I want to do it all,” he said.
“我只知道,我热爱所有的音乐风格。做音乐就要自由,而这也是我的感受。所以,每当走进录音室,各种风格的音乐我都想做,不管是嘻哈还是抒情。”
1 billboard [ˈbɪlbɔ:d] 第8级 | |
n.布告板,揭示栏,广告牌 | |
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2 consecutive [kənˈsekjətɪv] 第7级 | |
adj.连续的,联贯的,始终一贯的 | |
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vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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4 structural [ˈstrʌktʃərəl] 第8级 | |
adj.构造的,组织的,建筑(用)的 | |
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5 simplicity [sɪmˈplɪsəti] 第7级 | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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6 ballad [ˈbæləd] 第8级 | |
n.歌谣,民谣,流行爱情歌曲 | |
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