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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.
不久前，阿黛爾的專輯《21》（發布于2011年）在全球的發行量超過了3000萬，而她現在仍在創作新的音樂。當阿黛勒的粉絲們苦苦等待時，一位“男版”阿黛勒在英國迅速躥紅，像阿黛勒一樣，他不僅唱出了自己的靈魂之音，更打動了無數聽者的心。
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年全英音樂獎“評論選擇獎”及英國BBC年度之聲冠軍獲得者，在6月發布第一張專輯《In the Lonely Hour》之前就已經備受矚目。這位年僅22歲的男歌手有著超越年齡的成熟與淡定，而多年的專業訓練也為他帶來了另一種魅力。
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.
史密斯出生在英國劍橋的鄉村，在他8歲時，父母在送他上學的路上聽到了他唱的惠特妮•休斯頓的《My Love Is Your Love》，之后便決定讓他接受專業的聲樂訓練。自那之后，他的大部分童年與青春時光都在劇場的排練中度過。
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18歲時搬到倫敦，成為一名酒吧歌手。2012年10月，史密斯為英國浩室音樂組合Disclosure的成名單曲《Latch》獻聲，成為他音樂生涯的新突破。這首歌不僅讓他一夜躥紅，也讓他發現了之前從未嘗試過的音樂風格：反差感。他正統的嗓音似乎更適合傳統音樂，而與Disclosure的合作卻為他的聲音增添了一絲現代韻味。瞬間，他的歌就變得平易近人。
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.
史密斯聲音的最大賣點就是：深沉、飽滿、穿透靈魂，總帶著令人驚訝的成熟味道。正因如此，史密斯才能單憑一張專輯就幫自己打造了如同當初阿黛勒闖入流行樂壇一樣的靈魂音樂品牌。
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，史密斯的嗓音更加自然。在《In the Lonely Hour》中，他的聲音總能從背景音樂中脫穎而出，直接打動聽者。他用歌聲訴說著孤單，你卻能從中感受到無望之愛所帶來的那份痛苦與壓抑。
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.
如果說阿黛勒的專輯《21》訴說了一段失敗的感情，那么史密斯的《In the Lonely Hour》則講述了一段從未發生過的愛情。而他的嗓音則完美的詮釋了這個主題。
