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Controversial song leads to elimination on “American Idol” 選錯歌成不了美國偶像

Carly Smithson at the American Idol top 12 party on March 6, 2008, in West Hollywood, California, US. 三月六日，卡莉．史蜜森在美國加州西好萊塢出席《美國偶像》十二強派對。 照片：美聯社 PHOTO: AP

Carly Smithson might be the first American Idol contestant to be voted off the show for blasphemy.

Online chat boards devoted to American Idol have been abuzz since Smithson performed the title song from Jesus Christ Superstar, a 1970 rock opera which many Christians consider offensive. Smithson received the fewest votes of the six remaining contestants following her performance. Her elimination was announced late last month. The week’s performances were drawn from the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote Jesus Christ Superstar with Tim Rice.

Since its debut, and particularly following the release of the 1973 film version, Jesus Christ Superstar has been railed against by some Christians. The opera portrays Jesus as confused and at times unwilling to accept his role and hints that he had a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene.

In the title song, Judas Iscariot rebukes Jesus for poor planning in his choice of when and where to present himself on earth and asks Jesus to contrast himself with Buddha and Mohammed.

Within hours of Smithson’s performance, which was hailed by one American Idol judge as one of the best of the night, questions were being raised online about the song. On one thread on the show’s official Web site, AmericanIdol.com, a viewer warned shortly after the performance that Smithson’s choice of the song would put her in danger of elimination.

Some contestants on American Idol have used the religious overtones of songs to their benefit. Several weeks ago Kristy Lee Cook, a country singer who had been on the verge of elimination, improved her standing with a performance of the song God Bless the USA.

Simon Cowell, one of the show’s judges, called the effort “the most clever song choice I have heard in years.”

(NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE)

卡莉．史蜜森可能成為首位在《美國偶像》比賽中，因選唱褻瀆上帝的歌曲而被觀眾票選出局的參賽者。

史蜜森演唱了令許多基督徒反感的一九七Ｏ年搖滾音樂劇「萬世巨星」的主打歌後，在《美國偶像》專屬線上聊天室中引發激烈討論；史蜜森的演唱在最後六強中得到最少票數，上個月底她已被該節目淘汰出局。該周比賽指定歌曲須從安德烈．韋伯的作品中挑選，而「萬世巨星」就是他和提姆．萊斯合寫的歌曲。

「萬世巨星」自發行以來就一直受到部分基督徒的譴責，尤其是在一九七三年電影版本現世後；該音樂劇中的耶穌不但在面對使命時感到困惑，有時甚至不願接受自己的角色，劇中還暗示他和抹大拉馬利亞有肉體關係。

在該音樂劇的主打歌中，猶大指責耶穌在不適當的時間、出現在不適當的地方，實在是有欠考慮，並要耶穌拿自己和佛祖及穆罕默德比較看看。

史蜜森的表演被《美國偶像》其中一位評審讚譽為當晚最佳表演之一，但之後幾個小時內，她的演唱就在網路上引起爭議；史蜜森演唱完後不久，該節目官方網站AmericanIdol.com上的一個討論串中就有人提到，史蜜森選唱這首歌可能會害她被淘汰出局。

《美國偶像》節目中有若干參賽者曾選唱帶有宗教色彩的歌曲來為自己加分；原本在淘汰邊緣的鄉村歌手克莉絲蒂．李．庫克數週前就是演唱了《天佑美國》才讓她的排名攀升。

該節目評審之一的賽門．柯威爾稱讚說，「這是我多年來聽到最聰明的選歌了。」

（紐約時報／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. blasphemy n. 褻瀆上帝的行為 (xie4 du2 shang4 di4 de5 xing2 wei2) 例: Many people consider these comics to be blasphemy. (很多人覺得這些漫畫對上帝不敬。)   2. elimination n. 淘汰 (tao2 tai4) 例: The baseball team faces elimination tonight. (這支籃球隊今晚將面臨淘汰。)   3. rebuke v.t. 指責 (zhi3 ze2) 例: He tried to rebuke Rachel for printing the controversial article. (他想訓斥瑞秋出版這篇爭議文稿的行為。)   4. overtone n. 絃外之音 (xian2 wai4 zhi1 yin1) 例: The story that Tyler wrote has many sexual overtones. (泰勒寫的那個故事充滿性暗示。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 rail against 譴責 The phrase rail against means to attack with very strong language. For example, “Brianna railed against the decision to award the contract to Simon Systematics,” or “You can rail against the development plan all you want, but it’s still going to be approved by the council.” Another phrase with a similar meaning is protest against. The difference is that while rail against implies very harsh language, a protest against something might be light in tone. For example, “They handed out leaflets to protest against building a McDonald’s near the landmark.” 「rail against」這個片語是指用很激烈的言語攻擊，例如：「白安娜嚴厲譴責和賽門系統開發簽約一事」，或是「你可以隨意批評這項開發計畫，但是國會仍會核准該計畫」。 另一個意義相近的片語是「protest against」，這兩者的差異在於「rail against」帶有非常嚴厲的口吻，而「protest against」在語氣上可能沒有那麼強烈。 例如：「為了抗議在此地標附近興建麥當勞，他們四處發放傳單」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Sarah: What are you doing tonight? Logan: Some friends and I are going to go to a KTV. Do you want to come along? Sarah: No, I can’t stand KTV. I’m allergic to bad singing. Logan: Bad singing! We’re not bad singers. Sarah: I've seen your friends and find it hard to believe that none of them are tone deaf. 莎拉：你今晚打算做什麼啊？ 羅根：我和一些朋友要去唱歌，你要一起來嗎？ 莎拉：不了，我受不了KTV，我超討厭聽到難聽的歌聲。 羅根：難聽的歌聲！我們唱歌不難聽啊。 莎拉：我見過你的朋友，我不太相信其中沒有半個音痴。 allergic to 極度討厭 The phrase allergic to can be used informally to say that you detest something. For example, “I wouldn’t recommend Brett for the position. He’s allergic to hard work.” 「allergic to」這個片語是表示憎恨某事的非正式用法，例如：「我不建議讓布萊德擔任那個職務，他討厭繁重工作」。

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