VOA标准英语2010-Easton Corbin Stays True to Traditional C

It's not every day when a new singer earns comparisons to the "King of Country" George Strait.  But, that is what's happening to newcomer, Easton Corbin.

Corbin's debut¹ single, "A Little More Country Than That," reached Number One on the Country chart.  Although he didn't write the track, he says, "This song identifies who I am.  It shows character and that's important where I'm from."

Easton grew up in a rural farming town in Gilchrist County, Florida.  His parents and grandparents introduced him to traditional Country legends like Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and George Jones.  While attending the University of Florida's College of Agriculture, Easton began making trips to Nashville.  Following graduation, he got married, and one month later made the permanent move to Music City.

It didn't take long for Easton to land an audition² at Universal Music Group, which led to a recording³ deal with Mercury Nashville.  At a time when Country-pop is dominating the genre⁴, the label allowed Easton to stay true to his traditional roots.

"When we went to write this thing [the album], the goal was to keep it traditional, yet keep it fresh," he said.  "[I] feel like we're filling a slot that probably isn't being filled out there right now.  Who am I to say?  I just do what I know and love what I do."

Easton co-wrote four songs on his album.  He worked in the studio with award-winning songwriter and producer Carson Chamberlain, a former member of the late Keith Whitley's band.  Carson is best known for writing hits for Alan Jackson and George Strait and producing albums for Mark Wills and Country star Billy Currington.

Easton began dreaming of a career in Country music as a young child.  He explains how it feels to have reached that goal.

"It's truly an exciting point in my life,"  he said. "To actually have a CD out there in stores is a dream come true.  To actually be able to go to Wal-Mart [department store], and see your face on the [display] stand there, this is certainly a milestone⁵ for me personally and for my career."

Easton has been given a coveted⁶ spot on Brad Paisley's upcoming "H2O World Tour," which begins in late-May and runs through September.

 

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 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

3 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。

4 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

5 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

6 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》