Chinese pop singer Na Ying to release new album

 　　BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- His skin-fit purple jeans, black T-shirt, that hangs loosely on his strong frame, leather bracelets¹, and huge finger ring scream the rebellious² spirit of a rock singer. But when Vanness Wu begins to talk about his new pop-rock album, C'est La V, his first in three years, he is seriousness personified.

　　"The title of the album borrows from the French phrase 'c'est la vie', which means 'such is life'. My name has a 'v', which is pronounced the same as 'vie'. So the title is meant to say 'this is Vanness, this is me'," he explains.

　　The old Wu, a handsome, arrogant³ playboy, is still coming to terms with the new Wu, earnest and modest.

　　"It took me three years to finish this album, but it feels like 10 years - of growing and maturing," says the 32-year-old American-born-Chinese singer.

　　"I spend at least three hours a day in the gym. My husband loves going to the gym, and this has influenced me," she smiles. "I used to hate the gym even though I had to battle my weight for years. But now I enjoy sweating."

　　When her fans call her a legend, she laughs loudly. "I always know you are there, no matter what I do, whether I sing or not," she says to her screaming fans. "Now I am ready for my comeback.

　　"I just follow my feelings to make decisions," she says explaining the reason for her long break from the pop music scene. For the decade that she's been away, she got married, gave birth to two children, and played full-time⁴ mother and wife.

　　"Now I feel like singing again," she says, smoothing her clean short hair.

　　Na and her record company started preparing for the new album in 2010. She cooperated with Golden Melody Award-winning Singaporean singer-songwriter Tanya Chua for its songs.

　　While the concert she held on the last day of 2009, to mark the 20th anniversary of her singing career, featured a number of her signature songs, the upcoming concert will represent a fresh start. However, she is confident her silky, sometimes haunting, voice will continue to tug⁵ at her fans' heartstrings.

　　"The concert will happen before the release of the new album. Some people worry about the market response saying 'it's been a while since you released new songs'. But I say 'so what'. I want to take the risk."

　　Na, who is not afraid of hard work and is known for her wide vocal⁶ range, grew up in Shenyang, Liaoning province. She was drawn⁷ to music early and made it to the Shenyang Singing and Dancing Troupe⁸, after failing thrice.

　　Her biggest success came in 1988 when she won a national contest singing the songs of Julie Su, one of Taiwan's most famous pop singers. The break enabled her to pursue her career in Beijing.

　　Her partnership⁹ with Faye Wong, one of Na's best friends, at 1998's CCTV Spring Festival Gala, helped her expand her career in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She became the first singer from the mainland to sign a contract with a Taiwan record company and was the first mainland singer to win the best female singer award at the Golden Melody Awards, an annual Taiwanese music award. Her 1998 album, Conquered, sold more than 2 million copies, with all subsequent albums topping the charts not only on the mainland, but Taiwan and Hong Kong as well.

　　Her marriage to Chinese football player Gao Feng in 2001 was the constant subject of tabloid¹⁰ gossip. They divorced in 2005 but their son, Gao Xing, became Na's biggest source of comfort. She stopped singing to devote herself to her son until she married Meng Tong, a club owner in Beijing.

　　As a mother of two, the 7-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter, Na took a long break after releasing her last album in 2001. Though she sang at the closing ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she didn't announce her comeback.

　　"Motherhood helped me slow down and also mellowed¹¹ me.

　　"My family is my top priority. I am now a happy mother and wife," she says. "No matter how glamorous¹² I look on stage, I am an ordinary mother who reads bedtime stories to her children and cooks for them."

　　As to the new singers, she says that she is not afraid of or worried about the competition, but concedes the music market has changed dramatically.

　　"When I turn on the TV and watch singing programs, I am shocked by today's young singers, who are not just good singers, but can also dance and play various instruments. But so what?" she says.

　　"I am getting old and I can't carry off dazzling costumes or dance fiercely. All I have is my voice. I don't worry about my career because it's already there. All I want to do now is enjoy life, be myself and follow my feelings."

1 bracelets   

n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

3 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

11 mellowed   

（使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• She's mellowed over the years. 这些年来他变得成熟了。
• The colours mellowed as the sun went down. 随着太阳的落去，色泽变得柔和了。

12 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。