美国国家公共电台 NPR MO Finds Her Voice On 'Forever Neverland'

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In 2015, one song became not only that year's summer anthem¹. It generated² over 1 billion streams since then. Its name, "Lean On."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LEAN ON ")

MO: (Singing) Blow a kiss. Fire a gun. We need someone to lean on. Blow a kiss. Fire a gun. All we need is somebody to lean on.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: "Lean On," a song by Major Lazer and DJ Snake, featured the singer MO.

MO: So my name is Karen Marie Aagaard Orsted Andersen. You probably know me as the singer MO. But in Danish, we actually say (speaking Danish).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: MO or (speaking Danish) spent the next couple of years touring, writing and recording³ new music. We caught up with her as she was in a car driving to her next interview promoting her sophomore⁴ album "Forever Neverland." But first, we wanted to know how she got started.

MO: I got into music around the age of - I think I was, like, 8 years old. And I think the reason why I got the idea that music was what I wanted to do was because I discovered the Spice Girls. And I fell in love with them. And it was the first time I ever had that music like falling in love with some music. And you felt like the music was just directed directly to me, you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STOP")

GERI HALLIWELL: (Singing) You just walk in. I make you smile. It's cool but...

MO: My favorite spice girl was Sporty Spice, Melanie C.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STOP")

MELANIE CHISHOLM: (Singing) You take an inch. I run a mile - can't win. You're always right behind me.

MO: Because I feel like I could really relate to her and her personality, you know? And also, I thought she was the one that sang the best, you know? She was singing so good. And I think the thing for me as a kid, like, in school, you know, I wasn't really very good at school because I was bad at keeping my attention. I'm not very good at things if I'm not feeling passionate⁵ about it. And so I think that was really why I started getting into music was because it was something I felt super passionate about. And I really liked doing it. And I felt like I was good at it. And that obviously empowered me to keep doing it, you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IF IT'S OVER (FEAT. CHARLI XCX)")

MO: (Singing) Finally coming down off of all that hurt - got a fresh, new side. Now, I really don't see you.

Yeah. I guess I'm the first musician ever in the history of my family. My grandfather - he was a painter. But that's it. My father - he's a psychologist. And my brother is a psychiatrist⁶. My mom was a teacher. And so I kind of come from a brainy family. But, I mean, there's some creative blood running there somewhere. At least, I guess I'm kind of creative (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PURPLE LIKE THE SUMMER RAIN")

MO: (Singing) This is what I wanted all my life. No one can take it, no. Pour me all the wine, and let me picture that I made it, oh. This is what a universal fairytale is made of - sugar in my veins⁷, purple like the summer rain.

With this album, "Forever Neverland," I started writing songs for it four and a half year ago. But I didn't really know what direction I was going. I was kind of just starting out. And I moved to LA for a couple of months. And I guess just in the hope of finding the sound and, like, my voice I was really happy about my first album. But I really, really wanted the second one to evolve from that.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUN IN OUR EYES")

MO: (Singing) I feel the sunlight on my head, the scent⁸ of summer in my bed - when we were footprints in the sand, stealing liquor, making plans. I can see your face...

It was weird⁹ because, you know, you are in this city where all the most exciting music is happening. But I had a moment of just feeling like I didn't know who I was and what my sound was going to be like and what direction I was going. And that was what inspired "Blur¹⁰."

(SOUNDBITE OF MO SONG, "BLUR")

MO: It was kind of like the turning point when I wrote that song. That was just around the time where I started to figure out my sound and my voice. And so "Blur" kind of started that. And I think it's quite beautiful that the theme of that song was about being completely lost. But then it started to go better after that, you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLUR")

MO: (Singing) Under the bad, bad moon tonight - or, baby, is it just me? Or is it something in the air we breathe 'cause I'm feeling dizzy, dizzy, ah.

It might sound kind of basic. But I think it was that moment of realizing that, oh, you know, it's OK to actually just be like, no. I love to have a little guitar and to have that kind of rock vibe. But then mix that with, like, a current sound and then also to be vulnerable¹¹ because I guess after the whole success with "Lean On" and everything kind of - you know, me being introduced into this more mainstream¹² audience, I guess I was a little scared of being my true self and being vulnerable and being ready, you know? And so I was. But it was really nice to get reminded that I should not be afraid.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IMAGINARY FRIEND")

MO: (Singing) I'm not the type, but I will let you - I will let you in tonight. I'm a little shy, but we could turn down - we could turn down all the lights.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: MO's album is called "Forever Neverland."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IMAGINARY FRIEND")

MO: (Singing) If you can picture it is real - you - you don't need your eyes to feel. Just watch me, watch me, watch me, with your hands.

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 generated   

a.生成的

参考例句：

• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
• It generated much excitement and frenetic activity. 这使人们非常激动并导致了狂热的行动。

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 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

7 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

11 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

12 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。