英语名人堂：克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉

克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉（Christina Aguilera），1980年12月18日出生于美国纽约史泰登岛，美国女歌手、演员。

童年时期，克里斯蒂娜加入电视节目“米老鼠俱乐部”后开始演艺生涯。1998年与RCA唱片公司签约，同年为迪士尼电影《Mulan》演唱主题曲《Reflection》，获金球奖最佳原创歌曲提名。1999年发行首张同名专辑，凭借歌曲《What a Girl Wants》获得第42届格莱美最佳新人奖。2002年发行专辑《Stripped》，凭借歌曲《Beautiful》获得第46届格莱美最佳流行女歌手奖。[1]  2006年发行第三张专辑《Back to Basics》，凭借歌曲《Ain't No Other Man》获得第49届格莱美最佳流行女歌手奖。[2]  2010年留名于好莱坞星光大道，同年主演电影歌舞剧《滑稽戏》，自创歌曲《Bound To You》入围金球奖最佳原创歌曲奖。2012年11月13日发行专辑《Lotus》。2013年为电影《饥饿游戏2：星火燎原》献唱歌曲《We Remain》。[3]  2015年2月与乐队“A Great Big World”合作的歌曲《Say Something》在57届格莱美奖中获得最佳流行组合奖[4]  ；同年回归音乐评论节目《美国好声音》第八季担任导师。

 

Christina Aguilera was born in December, 1980. She is a highly successful singer and songwriter. She signed a recording¹ contract with RCA Records after recording the song ‘Reflection’ for the 1998 Disney film ‘Mulan’. She is popular with Latin and English-speaking audiences. Aguilera is known for her extraordinary vocal² range. Celine Dion described her as "probably the best vocalist in the world”.

 

Aguilera was born in New York and had a troubled childhood. She suffered physical and emotional abuse from her father. As a child, Aguilera desperately³ wanted to be a singer. One of her biggest influences was the musical ‘The Sound of Music’. She sang in local talent shows and people called her "the little girl with the big voice."

 

As a youngster, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of tens of thousands at major sporting events in Pittsburgh. Her first major role came in 1993 when she joined a Disney Channel show. Aguilera’s co-stars included Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, who called her "the Diva”. Aguilera recorded her first song when she was 14, a hit duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi.

 

Aguilera's self-titled debut⁴ album ‘Christina Aguilera’ was released in August, 1999. It sold over 14 million copies worldwide. In 2001 she recorded an album in Spanish and won the World Music Award as the best selling Latin artist. Her next two albums marked a change in direction and image, from a pop singer to the soulful and versatile⁵ singer she is today.

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 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。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 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。

5 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。