Adele, whose 2011 album 21 recently reached 30 million in worldwide sales, is still taking her time to make new music. While her fans are anxiously waiting, a “male version Adele” is quickly rising to stardom in the UK, singing his soul out and touching listeners’ hearts, just like Adele.
阿黛尔的专辑《21》在全球的发行量超越了3000万，而她目前仍在创作新的音乐。当阿黛尔的粉们苦苦等待时，一位“男版”阿黛尔在英国飞速蹿红，像阿黛尔一样，他不只唱出了我们的灵魂之音，更打动了无数听者的心。
Sam Smith, winner of the 2014 BRIT Critics’ Choice Award and the BBC’s Sound of 2014, grabbed the spotlight even before his debut album In the Lonely Hour was released in June. At the age of 22, he seems far beyond his years, with a charm that stems from years of professional training.
他就是山姆•史密斯——2014年全英音乐奖“评论选择奖”及英国BBC年度之声冠军获得者，在6月发布第一张专辑《In the Lonely Hour》之前就已经备受瞩目。这位年仅22岁的男歌手有着超越年龄的成熟与淡定，而多年的专业练习也为他带来了另一种魔力。
Born in the rural county of Cambridgeshire, England, Smith was put in formal vocal training at the age of 8 after his parents heard him singing along to Whitney Houston’s My Love Is Your Love one morning on the drive to school. Thereafter, much of his childhood and adolescence was spent in theater rehearsals.
史密斯出生在英国剑桥的乡村，在他8岁时，爸爸妈妈在送他上学的路上听到了他唱的惠特妮•休斯顿的《My Love Is Your Love》，之后便决定让他同意专业的声乐练习。自那之后，他的大多数童年与青春时光都在剧场的排练中度过。
Smith moved to London at the age of 18 and became a pub singer. In October 2012, he was featured on British house duo Disclosure’s breakthrough single Latch, which also became Smith’s breakthrough. Not only did Smith rise to fame along with the song, it also helped him find something he hadn’t yet explored musically: contrast. His voice has a traditional sound and lends itself well to old standards. But pairing up with Disclosure added a contemporary edge to his voice. Suddenly, he was relevant.
史密斯十八岁时搬到伦敦，成为一名夜店歌手。2012年十月，史密斯为英国浩室音乐组合 Disclosure的成名单曲《Latch》献声，成为他音乐生涯的新突破。这首歌不只让他一夜蹿红，也让他发现了之前从未尝试过的音乐风格：反差感。他正统的嗓音好像更合适传统音乐，而与Disclosure的合作却为他的声音增添了一丝现代韵味。瞬间，他的歌就变得平易近人。
Speaking of Smith’s voice — his biggest selling point — it is deep, rich, soulful, and surprisingly mature for his young age. Thanks to that, with only one album, Smith has successfully produced the same brand of soul music with which Adele exploded onto the pop scene.
史密斯声音的最大卖点就是：深沉、饱满、穿透灵魂，总携带让人惊讶的成熟味道。正因这样，史密斯才能单凭一张专辑就帮自己塑造了好似当初阿黛尔闯入时尚乐坛一样的灵魂音乐品牌。
However, Smith sounds even rawer. On In the Lonely Hour, Smith’s vocals are mostly out in front of the background music, which has a direct impact on listeners. He may sing about loneliness, but what you get is the painful, suffocating feeling fostered by unrequited love.
而相比之下，史密斯的嗓音愈加自然。在《In the Lonely Hour》中，他的声音总能从背景音乐中崭露头角，直接打动听者。他用歌声诉说着孤单，你却可以从中感觉到无望之爱所带来的那份痛苦与压抑。
If Adele’s 21 was about a busted relationship, then Smith’s In the Lonely Hour deals with a love that never happened at all. And his vocal approach perfectly suits that theme.
假如说阿黛尔的专辑《21》诉说了一段失败的感情，那样史密斯的《In the Lonely Hour》则讲述了一段从未发生过的爱情。而他的嗓音则完美的解释了这个主题。
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