美国国家公共电台 NPR Meet H.E.R., A Rising Voice Whose Face Remains A Mystery

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Now we'd like to talk with a breakout artist. She's won accolades¹ from big names such as Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean. Her debut² EP "H.E.R. Volume 1" shot to number one on the iTunes R&B chart. But here's the twist, nobody knows who she is.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FACTS")

H.E.R.: (Singing) Come mess a real one, you're one in a million. Don't let a lot of people in, but you get admission. And I don't let my walls down, but I see us building and you ain't a feeling 'cause that's how I'm feeling.

MARTIN: She is H.E.R. You heard me right - H.E.R. - as in H - E - R - which we are told is an acronym³ for having everything revealed which is pretty funny because she's chosen to remain anonymous⁴ for now, at least. She's not using her real name. We don't even know it. The photo on her album cover is a darkened silhouette⁵ and in an industry where images are meticulously⁶ created, she's chosen to let her music speak for her. And H.E.R. is with us now from our bureau in New York. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining us.

H.E.R.: Yeah. Thank you for having me.

MARTIN: So why this route? Why conceal⁷ your identity? Is this a response to something?

H.E.R.: No. I just felt like everybody is really about lifestyle. And I really just wanted it to be about the music, you know, and get away from who is she with and the way that I'm living or, you know, whatever...

MARTIN: What you're wearing, having a stylist - all that business.

H.E.R.: (Laughter) Right.

MARTIN: Honestly, this is a little bit of a risk on our part. I mean, to be really frank about it, you know, we are in an era when people don't necessarily trust and believe what they hear, you know, on the media. And so we are actually trusting you that you are who you say you are that you are, H.E.R. Can you reassure⁸ us in any way?

H.E.R.: Of course.

MARTIN: Is there anything you can do to - can you sing a few bars for us so that we know it's really you?

H.E.R.: (Laughter). I am H.E.R. No, I'm definitely H.E.R., but, yeah, I'm - just sing a little bit of a song from "Volume 1." Let's do that.

(Singing) You only show me love when it comes to the music. It's like when I feel lonely that's when you start acting⁹ choosey. I don't want to keep playing them games 'cause I feel like I'm losing.

MARTIN: Well, that definitely sounds like H.E.R. (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOSING")

H.E.R.: (Singing) I feel like I'm losing. What we doin'? What we doin'? What we doin'? What we doin'? Let me know. Let me know. What we doin'? Been on my grind. I know that my schedule is busy, but I always make sure I call you when...

MARTIN: It's very - it is still very personal. It's interesting that the music itself feels very revealing.

H.E.R.: Yeah. The music, I think for me - it's the evolution of woman. And I feel like throughout, let's say, my teenage years, I've made mistakes and I've felt like, you know, I'm the only one that has done that or I feel bad about, you know, this or I fell for the wrong guy - never thought I would fall for the wrong guy. You know, I never thought I would be that girl, and I became H.E.R. And that's kind of how the concept came to be. So having everything revealed is ironic¹⁰ because, you know, I'm not revealing myself, but through my emotion, you can pretty much tell what my story is. And through the music, you can pretty much tell what I've been through and releasing it has made me realize I'm not alone in it because of the reactions I've been getting.

MARTIN: There's another song I'd like to play. It's the last song on the EP. It's called "Pigment¹¹."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PIGMENT")

H.E.R.: (Singing) I'm giving you a chance to finally make a good impression on me, yeah, on me. I'll make you feel like it's forever because it's clear I'm getting bigger. I know you visualize¹² my figure. I was the one that made you look at your old girl and reconsider. You see me in that black dress on the first day, and I'm causing frustration¹³ on your mind only in the best ways.

Actually a funny story about the song - a friend of mine made this track. And I wrote to it for fun because poetry is actually one of my passions, and I decided¹⁴ to do this like song-poem kind of thing. And I didn't want to show it to anybody. I felt like it was very, very personal. I showed it to a producer that I worked with. You know, I told him don't play for anybody, so he ended up going back to Sony and playing it. And they fell in love with it, and they're saying we need to put this on "Volume 1." And, at first, I didn't want to do it, but eventually they convinced me to put it on there.

MARTIN: Well, how do you feel about your producer bringing this to Sony, even though you were asking to kind of keep it private? I could argue - one might experience that as a bit of a betrayal.

H.E.R.: (Laughter) No. It was more so he knew it was amazing and wanted me to not be afraid to show it. And, you know, I was extremely happy that he did that to be honest.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PIGMENT")

H.E.R.: (Singing) Secretly I'm anxious because the thirst has never been mutual¹⁵. It's unusual that someone like you thinks I'm beautiful. It's beautiful, yeah. What we have is beautiful.

MARTIN: This is actually the way the song ends. It kind of trails off like there should be more. You want to tell me about that?

H.E.R.: I think you can expect more pretty soon. I'm working on this "Volume 2" and I'm super, super excited to drop it, but it'll come as a surprise. It's definitely a plot twist.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAIT FOR IT")

H.E.R.: (Singing) Yeah. I'ma need for you to wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. Baby, can you wait for it, wait for it, wait for it?

MARTIN: That was the singer H.E.R. Her debut EP "H.E.R. Volume 1" is out now. She joined us from the NPR bureau in New York City.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAIT FOR IT")

H.E.R.: (Singing) I know you want to wait, but now...

1 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

4 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

5 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

6 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

7 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

11 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

12 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

13 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。