2007年VOA标准英语-Failed Idol Hits Big Time

By Larry London
Washington, D.C.
23 July 2007
 

Chris Daughtry is one of the biggest new names in rock music. It has been a hard and surprising climb. A year ago, he was voted off the American Idol¹ TV talent contest and seemed to be just another failed contestant². But Daughtry was just getting started. He went on to form his own band and create a debut³ CD that has already sold over three million copies in the U.S.  VOA's Larry London recently sat down with Chris to talk about his quick rise to success.

Chris Daughtry

It has been an incredible year for Chris Daughtry. His debut album is the top seller of 2007 and his live shows are garnering⁴ rave⁵ reviews. Now his band, Daughtry, is on tour with the Canadian rock band Nickleback. But the rising star did not always think he was going to be a rock star.

"I wanted to become a comic artist,” says Daughtry. “I was in every possible art class through high school you could do. When I (finally) got into music, I knew that's the thing I wanted to do."

It was Daughtry's wife Deanna who encouraged him to audition⁶ for American Idol.

"She was the one who talked me into it. She wanted me to do it for years.  I was, like, 'I'm going to do this and see what happens.'"

Chris Daughtry's current hit, "Home", was written before he produced his debut album. It became so popular it was played on American Idol this season whenever contestants⁷ got voted off the show. Its success was a surprise to him.

"It just started playing on random⁸ radio stations without us knowing about it, and people just started calling in requests on it. And we said, 'Wow, what do you do now?' Obviously, they want it ? Give them what they want!"

A scene from the music video for "Home"

Chris named his band "Daughtry" as an expression of his confidence in his talent to write and sing his own songs.

"I never was [thinking], 'Well, that person is successful. Maybe if I do a song that they did ?' I never wanted to do that. I know who I am. I've been doing this since I was 16 years old. I'm going to go out there and show everyone who I am. If people like it, they know why. And if people don't like it, they also know why. I am who I am."

1 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

2 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

3 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。

4 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

5 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

6 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。

7 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。