Clearly Taylor Swift aspires to be more than just another country star. And thus far, her reinvention of herself as a pop star is going quite well.
为了超越“又一个乡村歌星”的称号,泰勒•斯威夫特的努力显而易见。截至目前,她一直在不断蜕变,越来越像一个流行歌手了。
First, let’s take a look at how the 24-year-old singer has been rebranding herself. In March, she moved from Nashville, Tennessee, the center of American country music, to New York City. Since then, intentionally or not, Swift’s social circle has been filled with more “cool people”. Her roommate? Supermodel Karlie Kloss. New best friend? Lena Dunham, creator and star of HBO’s hit series Girls, aka “the voice of a generation”.、
先来看看24岁的她为重塑自我都做了些什么。今年三月,泰勒从美国田纳西州的那什维尔市搬到了纽约市。而不知不觉间,她的社交圈中也出现了更多“酷酷的角色”: 超级名模卡莉•克劳斯成为她的室友,而新闺蜜则是自编自导自演HBO电视剧《衰姐们》的莉娜•杜汉姆,该剧也被誉为反应了“美国一代人的声音”。
Of course, Swift’s new lifestyle is reflected in her music. In August, with the release of Shake It Off, the first single from her forthcoming fifth album 1989, out on Oct 27, Swift announced she’d take a break from country music to produce her first pop album.
泰勒的新生活也体现在音乐中。她将于10月27日发行的第五张新专《1989》,其中的单曲《Shake It Off》已于8月发布。斯威夫特称她将暂时告别乡村音乐,制作首张流行音乐专辑。
During a live video stream on Yahoo.com in August, Swift said that in the two years since she released Red, her last album, she grew and changed in a way that made it necessary for her to change her style of music.
在雅虎8月流出的一段视频中,斯威夫特说,自从两年前发布上一张专辑《Red》以来,她已成长蜕变,音乐风格也因此要有所变化。
Based on the first two released songs —the second single Out of the Woods was released two weeks ago — the country superstar is striding into pop with the same degree of effortlessness as her recent image change in magazines and on red carpets.
《1989》中的第二首单曲《Out of the Woods》也于两周前发布。从目前发布的两首新单中已经可以听出,这位乡村巨星正在大步迈向流行乐坛,就像她改变自己在杂志和红毯上的形象一样卖力。
Whenever Swift releases new music, the public seems to be obsessed with the question of whether the song makes reference to a past relationship. So here comes another big change on her new album: for the first time in years, there are no diss tracks dishing about Swift’s ex-boyfriends. In the cover story of Rolling Stone magazine’s September issue, Swift reveals that a few of the songs on the album are about her relationships and love life, but they’re mostly wistful and nostalgic, not finger-pointy or score-settling.
斯威夫特只要一出新歌,“是否又与过去恋情有关”的问题似乎就会随之而来。如今,她做出了新的改变:这些年来斯威夫特第一次没有在歌中吐槽她的前男友们。在《滚石》杂志9月刊封面文章中,斯威夫特透露,新专中确实有几首歌与感情有关,但最多的只是抒发怀旧和惆怅之情,不会再冷嘲热讽、翻旧账了。
If what she said is true, I’d like to think of this as the biggest surprise to come out of her transition, compared to veering sharply from her earlier country sound. Although it’s natural for musicians to deal with their emotions by writing about them, Swift’s new sensible and balanced approach is a sign of her maturing into a real star.
如果真如她所说,那么这将是她从乡村风突然转变带给我最大的惊喜。虽然对于歌手而言,将自己的感情写进歌中再平常不过,但是斯威夫特对此更加理智、客观的态度,也标志着她正在不断成熟,成为真正的明星。
To that extent, Swift just keeps getting more interesting.
就这一点而言,斯威夫特将会越来越有魅力。