Pharrell Williams takes a breath and considers how the past years have developed for him: ten Grammy Awards and a number of hit singles including a song that has caused countless fans to express how they are "happy".
And the key, says the 43yearold known simply as Pharrell, has been taking advantage of audiences' (听众的) need for heartfelt personal stories.
"I think we've entered a new singersong writer time," said the American singer and producer. "People want a story. They want a story they can connect to. It's not about what you have or what you don't have; it's more about your journey and your viewpoint that's important to people."
Pharrell said he noticed a change in audiences'tastes over the past year in particular with the sudden success of his song Happy, which received little fanfare upon its release but has turned into an international hit. Countless videos populate sites like YouTube with people from Portugal and China to Abu Dhabi and Iran singing and dancing along to the song.
After seeing how far his song travelled, the singer broke down in tears during a televised interview with the famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
"It's just encouraging to people who have something to say, something to express," he said.
The success has made Pharrell realize that people are searching for personal and emotional links (情感纽带), perhaps as a means of getting away from the modern technological world we're living in today.
"People want to feel. There's too much thinking to deal with，" the singer said. "We're different from what we were 15 years ago. The only thing we have left that reminds (提醒) us that we are humans is feeling. It's the most important thing ever."
In midJanuary the weather stayed clear and cold for several days. Jess had to 1 a week of school to stay home and2his father to manure (给……施肥) the fields. This was his bad 3, for he would have to make up his lessons as best as he could. It wasn't 4, though. All the boys and girls at Pumpkin Hollow School were often kept home when they were needed.
Jess 5 manuring, but he couldn't get out of it. Filling the wagon (马车) with heavy manure was a tiring 6. With a full load (装载), his father drove over the fields; Jess stood in the back and spread the manure.
After several days at this job, both Jess and his father grew 7 and impatient. It seemed as though life was too 8 to stand. They fell into bed at night worn out, with nothing to 9 but another day of the same hard work. Jess was even 10 with it. "Why does brother Ben stay in a warm prison while I myself tried to do his work? It's not 11!" Jess thought.
His mother watched him 12. "You're looking thin," she said. Then she turned to Jess's father and said, "Joseph, couldn't we hire (雇佣) somebody to help 13 the manuring is done?"
Mr Wright didn't 14, and Jess guessed why. His father couldn't 15 to hire a man. The hundred dollars he had paid for Ben's fine had wiped out the family's savings. Jess said, "No, Ma, we don't 16 to hire anybody. Pa and I can manage. 17 I'm tired, and so is Pa. We'll 18 it in a few days."
The 19 look his father gave him for understanding the problem was reward enough. When they went to the fields and were silently working together, Jess was 20 he'd spoken up.
The Beatles were an English rock musical band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The four members-John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr-were considered (be) the greatest and most influential (有影响的) artists in rock music.
The Beatles built their fame by (play) in clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a threeyear period. In late 1962, they released their first hit Love Me Do, after they gained great popularity in the United Kingdom. By early 1964, they (become) international pop stars, even playing a big part in the United States pop market. From 1965 on, the Beatles produced many critics consider as their finest material, including the (wide) influential albums Rubber Soul ( 1965 ), Revolver ( 1966 ), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967 ), The Beatles ( 1968 ) and Abbey Road ( 1969 ).
After their breakup in 1970, they enjoyed (success) musical careers. Although Lennon (shoot) by a crazy fan in 1980, and Harrison died cancer in 2001, McCartney and Starr, the surviving members, continue to remain musically active. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Beatles as the greatest (music) of all time.
