VOA标准英语2013--Keith Urban Pushes His Musical Boundaries on 'Fuse'

 

Keith Urban Pushes His Musical Boundaries on 'Fuse' 

It’s been three years since Country star Keith Urban released a studio album.  The New Zealand-born singer made good use of that time to create a collection of songs  that he describes as “liberating.” 

“Little Bit of Everything” was the first single from Urban’s new album, “Fuse.”  The song became his 14th Number One Country hit and fueled the album’s chart- topping debut¹ on the Billboard² 200 and Country charts

Urban experimented with different sounds to challenge him musically, but also stayed true to his distinctive³ style.  He worked with nine producers, including R&B  hitmakers Benny Blanco and the Norwegian duo Stargate, rock producer Butch Walker, and Mike Elizondo, who’s known for his collaborations with rappers Eminem, 50 Cent  and Jay-Z.  Pushing his musical boundaries led Urban to title the album “Fuse.”

“It started with just trying to bring things together - instruments, sounds, rhythms and so forth⁴ - to fuse things together that I hadn’t done before to this  degree," he said. "And, it was also then bringing some writers and producers together that I hadn’t worked with.  It was just all these elements, from writers,  producers, instruments, sounds, everything being fused together in a way that was different for me.”

Urban says collaborating⁵ is his favorite part of creating an album.  His goal for “Fuse” was to bring a new energy to his sound, which he feels he achieved by using  the diverse group of producers.  Among the album’s highlights are duets with Country stars Eric Church and Miranda Lambert.

“Eric [Church] I’ve known for a couple years and I came upon this song called ‘Raise ‘Em Up’ that was just a perfect song for us, and I’m really glad he wanted  to be on the record," he said. "And then Miranda opened some shows for us many years ago and we used to sing together at the end of the night.  I always loved the way  our voices sounded together so in the back of my mind I’ve always had the hope that I could find a song one day that we could do.  This song called ‘We Were Us’  came along and it was just the right song at the right time.”

Urban’s duet with Miranda Lambert took only three weeks to enter the Top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, making it one of the fastest climbing songs of his  career.  

Urban is supporting his new album with a North American tour.  His “Light the Fuse” concerts wrap up in early February.  Urban has also signed on to judge Season 13  of “American Idol⁶.”  His second year on the reality show teams him with Harry⁷ Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez.

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

6 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。