賈斯汀·比伯的成人禮

賈斯汀·比伯的成人禮

Just how fast is Justin Bieber allowed to grow up? And how much? Mr. Bieber, the defining teen star of recent years, turned 18 in March and has been in the public eye for almost four years, long enough to begin chafing. His desire to move in the world as an adult is palpable, but the very scale of his celebrity exacts its own sort of toll. Mr. Bieber can be his own man, sure, so long as he continues to belong to everyone else too.

賈斯汀·比伯(Justin Bieber)究竟能獲準以多快的速度長大?他又究竟該長到多大?比伯無疑是近年來最具有代表性的青春偶像。今年三月滿18歲的他幾乎有四年的時間都在公眾的注視之下，時間長得足以讓他心煩。他想以成年人的姿態(tài)進入世界的渴望顯而易見，只是，他那巨大的知名度也導致他將為此付出相應的代價。比伯當然能夠成為自己的主宰，只要與此同時，他還繼續(xù)屬于所有人。

As much as Mr. Bieber is pop music’s teen prince, he is also one of its victims. Mr. Bieber is in the difficult position of having a tremendous amount of capital to spend and only a few acceptable ways to spend it. He’s an R&B aspirant trapped in a pop universe, and subject to its whims.

盡管比伯是當今流行樂壇的小王子，他也同樣深受其害。比伯的困境在于：他具備太多資本，但利用其資本的可行方法卻太少。他心懷R&B夢想，但又被囚禁在流行樂壇，并且甘受擺布。

A pop star at his level has fewer options than you’d think. To make an album somehow out of lock step with the sounds of the day, and potentially come off as misdirected — or maybe worse, too forward thinking — would be to risk leaving food on the table. By that measure “Believe” (RBMG/Island) — his second full-length album, which is to be released on Tuesday — is gluttonous, full of savvy compromises: between Mr. Bieber’s natural gifts and the exigencies of radio; between warm, intimate vocals and music designed for arenas and nightclubs and arena-size nightclubs; between Mr. Bieber’s beloved R&B and the dance-oriented pop that’s currently in vogue.

像他這樣級別的流行歌星擁有的選擇權(quán)比你想象得少。某種程度上來說，制作一張不跟風的音樂專輯，方向不對，或者更糟糕的是想法太超前，這些都有可能讓你白忙活一場。按這樣的衡量標準，比伯的第二張大碟《Believe》(RBMG/Island唱片公司，6月12日發(fā)行)很貪心，充斥著各種識時務(wù)的妥協(xié)：在比伯的天賦與電臺的需求之間;在溫暖親密的聲線與為舞臺、大小夜店設(shè)計的音樂之間;在比伯熱愛的R&B與時尚的舞曲風流行樂之間。

His first full-length album, “My World 2.0,” was R&B at its core, only occasionally deviating from theme. But the rise of pummeling dance music as a mainstream aesthetic leaves Mr. Bieber, whose voice is sweet but not rickety, in an awkward position. Suddenly he has to find a way to mesh his delicate voice with music that’s designed for subwoofers and Red Bull cravers.

他的首張大碟《My World 2.0》以R&B為核心，僅偶有背離他的理想。但節(jié)奏強勁的舞曲越來越受歡迎，逐漸成為審美主流，這讓音質(zhì)甜美、不夠搖擺的比伯陷入尷尬境地。突然間，他要被迫摸索出一個方法，讓自己精致的音色去適應為低音炮和紅牛愛好者們設(shè)計的音樂。