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.
PHOTO: AP
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)
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」。
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once
A: “Forbes” magazine just revealed Hollywood’s top 10 highest-paid stars of 2023. B: How much did those superstars make last year? A: Denzel Washington was at No. 10, having made US$24 million, which is about NT$771 million. B: That’s an astronomical figure to me. A: No. 9 to No. 6 were: Ben Affleck with US$38 million, Jason Statham with US$41 million, Leonardo DiCaprio with US$41 million, and Jennifer Aniston with US$42 million. A: 《富比世》最近公布了好萊塢去年的片酬排行榜。 B: 大明星的片酬到底有多高? A: 第10名是丹佐華盛頓、片酬2400萬美元,大約7.7億台幣。 B: 天啊這根本是天文數字! A: 第9到6名是︰班艾佛列克、3800萬美元,傑森史塔森、4100萬美元,李奧納多狄卡皮歐、4100萬美元,珍妮佛安妮斯頓、4200萬美元。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)