title: Prudence

text: In a 2011 report on the financial crisis of 2007–08, the British House of Lords bemoaned the demotion of prudence as a governing principle of accounting and audit. Their comments, however, were disputed by some leading practitioners.


title: Paul Frees

text: Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during the Golden Age of Animation and for providing the voice of Boris Badenov in "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Voice actor Mel Blanc said Frees was known as "The Man of a Thousand Voices", though the appellation was bestowed on Blanc himself.


title: Paul Frees

text: Solomon Hersh Frees was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22, 1920. He grew up in the Albany Park neighborhood and attended Von Steuben Junior High School. He had an unusually wide four-octave voice range that enabled him to voice a scale from the thundering "basso profundo" of the unseen "Ghost Host" in the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland in California and at Walt Disney World in Florida to the voice of the farmer who educates the Little Green Sprout (voiced by Ike Eisenmann) about vegetable products of the Jolly Green Giant in the Green Giant vegetable commercials.


title: Paul Frees

text: In the 1930s, Frees first appeared in vaudeville as an impressionist, under the name Buddy Green. He began his career on radio in 1942 and remained active for more than 40 years. During that time, he was involved in more than 250 films, cartoons, and TV appearances; as was the case for many voice actors of the time, his appearances were often uncredited.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees's early radio career was cut short when he was drafted into the United States Army during World War II, where he fought at Normandy, France, on D-Day. He was wounded in action and was returned to the United States for a year of recuperation. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute under the G.I. Bill. When his first wife's health failed, he decided to drop out and return to radio work.


title: Paul Frees

text: He appeared frequently on Hollywood radio series, including "Escape", playing lead roles and alternating with William Conrad as the opening announcer of "Suspense" in the late 1940s, and parts on "Gunsmoke" (doing an impersonation of Howard McNear as Doc Adams for at least one episode, "The Cast"), and "Crime Classics". One of his few starring roles in this medium was as Jethro Dumont/Green Lama in the 1949 series "The Green Lama", as well as a syndicated anthology series "The Player", in which Frees narrated and played all the parts.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees was often called upon in the 1950s and 1960s to "reloop" the dialogue of other actors, often to correct for foreign accents, lack of English proficiency, or poor line readings by nonprofessionals. These dubs extended from a few lines to entire roles. This can be noticed rather clearly in the films "Grand Prix" (as Izo Yamura) and "Midway", wherein Frees reads for Toshiro Mifune's performances as Admiral Yamamoto; or in the film "Some Like It Hot", in which Frees provides the voice of funeral director Mozzarella as well as much of the falsetto voice for Tony Curtis' female character Josephine. Frees also dubbed the entire role of Eddie in the Disney film "The Ugly Dachshund", replacing actor Dick Wessel, who had died of a sudden heart attack after completion of principal photography. Frees also dubbed Humphrey Bogart in his final film "The Harder They Fall". Bogart was suffering at the time from what was later diagnosed as esophageal cancer, thus could barely be heard in some takes, hence the need for Frees to dub in his voice. He also voiced the cars in the comedy "The Great Race".


title: Paul Frees

text: Unlike many voice actors who did most of their work for one studio, Frees worked extensively with at least nine of the major animation production companies of the 20th century: Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Walter Lantz Productions, UPA, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Filmation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Jay Ward Productions, Rankin/Bass, and Ruby-Spears.


title: Paul Frees

text: Some of Frees' most memorable voices were for various Disney projects. Frees voiced Disney's Professor Ludwig Von Drake in 18 episodes of the Disney anthology television series, beginning with the first episode of the newly renamed "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" on September 24, 1961. The character also appeared on many Disneyland Records. Von Drake's introductory cartoon, "An Adventure in Color", featured "The Spectrum Song", sung by Frees as Von Drake. A different Frees recording of this song appeared on a children's record, and was later reissued on CD.


title: Paul Frees

text: In addition to voicing characters, Frees narrated a number of Disney cartoons, including the Disney educational short film "Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land". This short originally aired in the same television episode as Von Drake's first appearance.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees also provided voices for numerous characters at Disney parks. He voiced the unseen "Ghost Host", or narrator, at both the Haunted Mansion Attraction and Adventure Thru Innerspace (now Star Tours) at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.


title: Paul Frees

text: For the Pirates of the Caribbean, Frees recorded the iconic "Dead Men Tell No Tales" used in the ride, as well as lending his voice to several audio-animatronic pirates, including the Auctioneer, Magistrate Carlos, and the "Pooped Pirate" in the ride. Disney eventually issued limited edition compact discs commemorating the two rides, featuring some outtakes and unused audio tracks by Frees and others. Frees also provided narration for the Tomorrowland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space (1967–1985) and the original Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Audio clips from the attractions in Frees's distinctive voice have even appeared in fireworks shows at Disneyland.


title: Paul Frees

text: A computer-animated singing bust in Frees's likeness appeared in the 2003 film "The Haunted Mansion" as a tribute. Similarly, audio recordings of Frees from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction can be heard in "" in an "homage" to the ride.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees also had a small live-action role for Disney in the 1959 film "The Shaggy Dog", playing Dr. Galvin, a military psychiatrist who attempts to understand why Mr. Daniels believes a shaggy dog can uncover a spy ring and also spoke the film's opening narration.


title: Paul Frees

text: His other Disney credits, most of them narration for segments of the Disney anthology television series, include:


title: Paul Frees

text: For his contributions to the Disney legacy, Frees was honored posthumously as a Disney Legend on October 9, 2006.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees was a regular presence in Jay Ward cartoons, providing the voices of Boris Badenov (from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show"), Inspector Fenwick (from "Dudley Do-Right", impersonating Eric Blore), Ape (impersonating Ronald Colman), District Commissioner Alistair and Weevil Plumtree in "George of the Jungle", Baron Otto Matic in "Tom Slick", Fred in "Super Chicken", and the "Hoppity Hooper" narrator, among numerous others.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees is well-remembered for providing the voices for many characters in Rankin/Bass cartoons and stop-motion animated TV specials, most notably for a number of holiday-themed specials. In 1968, he appeared as Captain Jones in the Thanksgiving special "The Mouse on the Mayflower", and that Christmas he appeared as the father of the Drummer Boy, Ali, and as the three Wise Men in "The Little Drummer Boy". He was also Hocus Pocus, the traffic cop, the ticket-taker, and Santa Claus in "Frosty the Snowman" in 1969 and played the central villain, Burgermeister Meisterburger, and his assistant Grimsley in "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" in 1970. He provided several voices, including Aeon the Terrible, for "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" in 1976.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees also voiced King Haggard's wizard Mabruk and the Cat in "The Last Unicorn" and provided several voices for the Jackson Five cartoon series between 1971 and 1973. He provided the voices for several J. R. R. Tolkien characters (most notably the dwarf Bombur) in Rankin/Bass animated versions of "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King".


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees portrayed the Orson Welles sound-alike radio reporter in George Pal's film "The War of the Worlds" (1953), where he is seen dictating into a tape recorder as the military prepares the atomic bomb for use against the invading Martians. Memorably, his character says the recording is being made "for future history... if any". Frees also provided the film's dramatic opening narration, prior to Sir Cedric Hardwicke's voice-over tour of the solar system.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees subsequently provided the apocalyptic voice for the "talking rings" in Pal's later film "The Time Machine" (1960), in which he explains the ultimate fate of humanity from which the time traveler realizes the origin of the Morlocks and Eloi.


title: Paul Frees

text: Producer Pal later put Frees to work again in his fantasy film "Atlantis, the Lost Continent" (also 1960) and doing the opening voice-over narration for Pal's "" (1975) film.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees did the narration for the George Pal documentary "The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal" (1985), written, produced, and directed by Arnold Leibovit. Two years later, Frees provided the voice for Arnie the Dinosaur and the Pillsbury Doughboy in "The Puppetoon Movie" (1987), also produced and directed by Leibovit.


title: Paul Frees

text: The talented actor voiced several characters, including three of the main characters in the US versions of Belvision's "Hergé's Adventures of Tintin" cartoons, based on the books by Hergé.


title: Paul Frees

text: He had also done work for Hanna-Barbera in their Tom and Jerry shorts at MGM. In the 1956 Cinemascope Tom and Jerry cartoon, "Blue Cat Blues", he was Jerry's voice who narrated the short; he had also voiced Jerry's cousin Muscles in "Jerry's Cousin" five years earlier and the cannibals in the Tom and Jerry episode "His Mouse Friday" where he said the lines "Mmmmm, barbecued cat!" and "Mmmmm, barbecued mouse!"


title: Paul Frees

text: At the MGM Animation studio, he also did multiple voice roles for the legendary Tex Avery's films, notably playing every role in "Cellbound" in 1955.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees worked with Spike Jones on his 1960 album "Omnibust", appearing as announcer "Billy Playtex" and several other characters on "The Late Late Late Late Movies, Part I and II".


title: Paul Frees

text: From October 1961 through September 1962, Paul Frees provided the voice for the shady lawyer named Judge Oliver Wendell Clutch, a weasel on the animated program "Calvin and the Colonel" starring the voices of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, the series was an animated television remake of their radio series "Amos 'n Andy".


title: Paul Frees

text: For the 1962 Christmas special "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol", produced by UPA, Paul Frees voiced several characters, including Fezziwig, the Charity Man, two of the opportunists who steal from the dead man (Eyepatch Man and Tall Tophat Man) and Mister Magoo's Broadway theatre director. He subsequently provided numerous voices for further cartoons in the series that followed, "The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo".


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees provided the voices of both John Lennon and George Harrison in the 1965 "The Beatles" cartoon series, the narrator, Big D and Fluid Man in the 1966 cartoon series, "Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles" and of The Thing in the 1967 series "Fantastic Four", as well as President James Norcross in the 1967 cartoon series "Super President". He played several rolesnarrator, Chef of State, the judges and the bailiffin the George Lucas / John Korty animated film, "Twice Upon a Time".


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees provided the voice-over for the trailer to the 1971 Clint Eastwood thriller, "Play Misty for Me".


title: Paul Frees

text: In television commercials, he was the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy, the 7-Up bird Fresh-Up Freddie, Froot Loops spokesbird Toucan Sam (previously voiced by Mel Blanc, later voiced by Maurice LaMarche), Boo-Berry in the series of monster cereal commercials, and The Farmer who helps The Little Green Sprout, (voiced by Ike Eisenmann), who called out to the Jolly Green Giant, "So what's new besides ho-ho-ho, Green Giant?"


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees narrated many live action films and television series, including "Naked City" (1958–1963). Frees also provided the voice of the eccentric billionaire John Beresford Tipton, always seated in his chair with his back to the viewer while talking to his employee Michael Anthony (fellow voice-artist Marvin Miller), on the dramatic series "The Millionaire".


title: Paul Frees

text: He was the narrator at the beginning of the film "The Disorderly Orderly" starring Jerry Lewis. He also "looped" an actor's voice in the film "The Ladies Man", also starring Jerry Lewis.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees had a wide range of other roles, usually heard but not seen, and frequently without screen credit. The resonance of his natural voice was similar to that of Orson Welles, and he performed a Welles impression several times. Some highlights of his voice work:


title: Paul Frees

text: Although Frees was primarily known for his voice work (like Mel Blanc, he was known in the industry as "The Man of a Thousand Voices"), he was also a songwriter and screenwriter. His most notable screenwriting work was the little-seen 1960 film "The Beatniks", a screed against the then-rising Beat counterculture in the vein of "Reefer Madness". In 1992, the film was mocked on an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000".


title: Paul Frees

text: On rare occasions, Frees appeared on-camera, usually in minor roles. In 1954, he appeared in the film noir classic "Suddenly" starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden. He played a scientist in "The Thing from Another World", a death-row priest in "A Place in the Sun", and French fur trader McMasters in "The Big Sky". In 1955, he appeared as an irate husband suing his wife (played by Ann Doran) for alimony in an episode of CBS's sitcom "The Ray Milland Show"; and, in 1957, in an uncredited role as a helicopter pilot in the 1957 science-fiction movie, "Beginning of the End".


title: Paul Frees

text: In "Jet Pilot", Frees plays a menacing Soviet officer whose job is to watchdog pilot Janet Leigh, but instead manages to eject himself from a parked jet, enabling Leigh to rescue John Wayne and fly back to the West. In the 1970 film "Patton", Frees provided the voices of a war correspondent interviewing Patton while Patton rides his horse, and of a member of Patton's staff, as well as voice-overs for several other actors, including the Moroccan official hosting a troop review for Patton. Frees is also heard in "Tora! Tora! Tora!" as the English-language voice of the Japanese ambassador to the United States. He also does the final narration in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", the first sequel to "Planet of the Apes".


title: Paul Frees

text: Since Frees's death, voice actor Corey Burton has provided voices for some of Frees's characters. Burton, who met Frees in the late 1970s, has often re-recorded dialogue for some Disneyland attractions originally recorded by Frees. In some cases, Frees's original, pre-digital recordings had simply deteriorated over time, and in others the dialogue had been rewritten to reflect plot changes or introduce new characters, such as the "Stuffed Pirate" replacing Frees's "Pooped Pirate" in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 1997. Dialogue that was slightly rewritten to reflect newer safety standards is performed by actors Joe Leahy (English) and Fabio Rodriguez (Spanish). In 2001, Burton provided a Paul Frees impression for the new "Ghost Host" of Haunted Mansion Holiday, a seasonal, holiday-themed overlay for the Haunted Mansion attraction. Burton also recorded Frees's Ghost Host lines for Walt Disney Pictures' 2003 film adaptation of the ride.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees was married five times. His first marriage was to Anelle McCloud, from 1943 until her death in 1945. He then married Kleda June Hansen in 1947, but they divorced three years later in 1950. His third wife was Joyce Schultz. They married in 1951 and had two childrena son, Fred; and a daughter, Sabrinabefore eventually divorcing. His fourth marriage was to Jeri J. Cole in 1967, but they divorced after just two years, in 1969. Beverly T. Marlow was Frees's fifth wife. They married in 1971 but were estranged at the time of his death fifteen years later.


title: Paul Frees

text: For the last two years of his life, Frees suffered from multiple ailments, including arthritis, diabetes, and loss of vision, and had mentioned to friends that he was in near constant pain. Frees died at his home in Tiburon, California on November 2, 1986, at the age of 66, from a self-administered overdose of pain medication. Though the official cause of death is listed as suicide, his agent issued a press release stating that he died from heart failure.


title: Paul Frees

text: Frees was survived by his son and daughter, and by Marlow, who had moved to Mesa, Arizona. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Alexander Igorevich Rybak () or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak (; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Though based in Oslo, Rybak extensively worked on television programmes and on tours in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Sweden throughout the early 2010s. Singing in mainly English and Russian, Rybak, in his early twenties, held on to a teen idol status in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and to a certain extent in Western Asia. His debut 2009 album, "Fairytales", charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a top position in Norway and Russia. After two pop albums in 2009 and 2010, Rybak desired to be more of a family-oriented artist, focusing on children's and classical music alongside and frequently performed with youth orchestras throughout the world.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak is known for his extensive involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest. Representing Norway in the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia, he won the competition with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision under the then voting system—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. Winning at the age of 23, Rybak remains the youngest solo male winner of the contest and the only Belarusian-born winner. His win was celebrated all across Europe for crushing stereotypes about the contest, such as needing an over-the-top performance or the negative influence of neighbour voting.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Since then Rybak has been involved several times in the contest. He represented Norway again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "That's How You Write a Song", winning the second semi-final and finishing in 15th place in the Grand Final. He provided as an opening act to the Grand Final in 2010 and as an interval act in 2012 and 2016. Rybak has frequently provided commentary on the contest, working as a journalist in 2011, as once-off judge on the Belgian preselection in 2016 and as commentator on his personal social media.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak was born in Minsk, Belarus, which at that time was the Belarusian SSR in the Soviet Union. His parents and most of his other family hail from the town Vitebsk, in Northern Belarus. His father Igor Rybak, a well-known classical violinist who performed alongside Pinchas Zukerman, defected to Norway in 1991 after a concert tour of a Belarusian chamber orchestra which he was part of. Rybak's father lived with a musical family who gave him shelter and food in exchange for violin lessons for their son. Alexander Rybak and his mother Natalia Rybak (née Gurina), who worked as a music journalist and a piano teacher, arrived in Norway on a tourist visa and were initially refused a residence permit. Eventually, the Rybak family settled in Nesodden in the early 1990s. Rybak and his family received Norwegian citizenship after seven years of residing in Norway.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: At the age of five, Rybak began to play piano, but eventually picked up violin as his main instrument. He stated "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation". He became a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo at the age of 10. As a result of his success in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest he took a break from his bachelor's degree studies at the institute, but in 2011 he returned to his studies and in June 2012 he graduated from the institute with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2004, Rybak was awarded the Anders Jahre Culture Prize at the annual culture festival in Madrid, Spain. In 2005, he entered the Norwegian version of Idol, "Idol: Jakten på en superstjerne", reaching the semifinal. In 2006, Rybak won "Kjempesjansen" ("The Great Opportunity"), a talent competition hosted by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), with his own song, "Foolin". Rybak has collaborated with artists such as a-ha's lead singer Morten Harket and Arve Tellefsen. In 2007, Rybak played the fiddle in Oslo Nye Teater's production of "Fiddler on the Roof" and won the Hedda Award for this role.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak won the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, with a record 387 points, singing "Fairytale", a song inspired by Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak and was performed with the modern folk dance company Frikar. The song received good reviews with a score of 6 out of 6 in the Norwegian newspaper "Dagbladet", and, in an "ESCtoday" poll, he scored 71.3%, making him the favourite to get into the final.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In the 2009 Norwegian national heats, Rybak achieved a clean sweep, gaining the top score from all nine voting districts and ending with a combined televote and jury score of 747,888, while the runner up, Tone Damli Aaberge, received a combined score of only 121,856 (out of a total population of less than 5 million)


title: Alexander Rybak

text: The song then competed in the second semi-final and won the place in the Eurovision final. Rybak later won the Eurovision final with a landslide victory, receiving votes from all the other participating countries. Rybak finished with a total of 387 points, breaking the previous record of 292 points scored by Lordi in 2006 and scoring 169 points more than the runner-up, Iceland.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak's first album, "Fairytales", was released after his Eurovision win. Rybak also co-stars as Levi in the film "" directed by Grete Salomonsen, which was released in March 2010. Rybak also went on a tour in Norway with former Norwegian Eurovision winner Elisabeth Andreassen, something that had been decided before his Eurovision win and participation. He and Frikar also toured Norway and Europe in 2009.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In a December 2009 performance of his hit "Fairytale" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, held at the Oslo Spektrum, Rybak shared the stage with nine other acts. EMI Norway has just released a film entitled Fairytale, the movie, directed by acclaimed Norwegian director, Rune Langlo, documenting the journey of Alexander Rybak since claiming the top prize for Norway in Moscow.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2009, he recorded the theme song, called "I Don't Believe in Miracles/Superhero", for the Russian action movie "Black Lightning" produced by Timur Bekmambetov.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: On 30 January 2010, Rybak performed one of his new singles, "Europe's Skies", in national final, Euroviisut 2010, to select the 2010 Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. On 12 March 2010, Alexander Rybak performed his Eurovision 2009 winning song "Fairytale" on UK TV show "". In April 2010, Rybak released a new song, featuring Opptur, called "Fela Igjen".


title: Alexander Rybak

text: On 8 June 2010, Rybak released the first single from his second album "Oah". A music video was made for the single. It was directed by Lars Kristian Flemmen, produced by Eirik Heldal and shot by Martin J. Edelsteen. It is filmed in a university or college. He also recorded and released a Russian version of this song called "Strela Amura" (Russian: Стрела Амура, Cupid's arrow).


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Alexander released his second album on 14 June 2010, called "No Boundaries". It was not as successful as his first album, so far it has peaked at number 7 in Norway, number 8 in Sweden and 32 in Finland.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: On 7 January 2011, Rybak was one of twelve contestants on the next Swedish season of the dancing show "Let's Dance" (Swedish version of television franchise "Strictly Come Dancing"), in the show Rybak danced to win the competition against other Swedish celebrities. Rybak made it to the Top 4 before being voted off on 11 March, having received the lowest scores from both juries and the voting public. In 2011 he released the album "Visa vid vindens ängar", a collaboration with Mats Paulson whom he describes as "a legend and a great friend"


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2012 he released a new music video for his Russian song "Strela Amura". "Strela Amura" is the Russian version of Oah which is one of his previous singles released in 2010. The music video was shot in Kyiv, Ukraine. Alexander said: "For me the main thing is what is going on inside a person, not the events around them. The video for the song "Strela Amura" is about me, about my life, which consists of the airports and hotels. You give happiness to others, and you are left alone yourself."


title: Alexander Rybak

text: On 30 May 2012 he released a duet with Paula Seling called "I'll Show You". Seling placed third at the 2010 Eurovision. The song had already been promoted on Romanian television and radio. The German label Capsounds has signed the song and will be promoting it throughout Europe.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: A new single by Rybak titled "Leave Me Alone" was released worldwide on 12 October 2012. The premiere of the music video was also released shortly after the single which was on 23 October. The release of the Russian version of the song "Dostala" was on 12 November "Leave Me Alone" is about a particular female fan from Israel (but speaks Russian like many others there) who has been stalking him in various ways for quite some time. The new track which will be released during the day is co-written by David Eriksen who is well known to fans of the Eurovision Song Contest for writing "Butterflies" for Tone Damli Aaberge which was the runner-up to Rybak in the 2009 Melodi Grand Prix.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak released a Christmas album on 23 November 2012 entitled "Christmas-tales". Recording started spring 2012. Around the same time, it was revealed that Rybak wrote a song for Norwegian singer Annsofi for Melodi Grand Prix 2013. The entry "I'm With You" reached the final of the competition and finished fourth overall.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In October 2013, he released a new music video called "5 to 7 Years". This was a gift he made for his fans after reaching 600,000 followers on Facebook.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak recorded a song for the 2014 "How to Train Your Dragon 2" soundtrack, entitled "Into a Fantasy". "Into a Fantasy" was added as a European and Slavic bonus track to the album and was played during the closing credits in the European and Russian releases of the film. Rybak had sent in the track unsolicited to film company DreamWorks, which was charmed by the song and decided to include it in the soundtrack for the closing credits.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: On 4 May 2014, he released a song alongside another Eurovision winner, Marija Šerifović, titled "Gorka Hrabrost" meaning ""Bitter Bravery"".


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak took part in "The Hit", a live TV show on Norwegian broadcaster NRK on 10 October 2014. Rybak performed "What I Long For", a song written by Elisabet Mjanger. Despite it being the most played track ahead of the results show, it lost out to Trine Rein with "The Story of Love", which went on to eventually win the whole show.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak wrote two entries for national selections for Eurovision in 2015. Rybak wrote a song for Maltese singer Franklin Calleja titled "Still Here". The song was received well and finished fourth in Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In Autumn 2014, Rybak travelled to Belarus to form a girlband to represent Belarus at Eurovision 2015, after having thought about the idea for over a year. Auditions were held in five different cities across the country. In early November, Rybak revealed his girlband MILKI and shortly after that premiered their track "Accent". The song quickly became the favourite to represent Belarus at Eurovision 2015 among fans and receiving positive feedback from former Eurovision participants Marija Šerifović and Philipp Kirkorov. On 26 December, MILKI finished fourth in the Belarusian national final, receiving the second-highest tally of votes from the public. The result led to great controversy and Rybak critiqued the jury for putting the entry fifth.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In early 2015, Rybak took part in the Russian television show "Odin v Odin!", in which the participants impersonated legendary artists. The premiere episode was broadcast on 8 February in which he impersonated Elvis Presley. Despite initially refusing to portray female artists, Rybak impersonated Gloria Gaynor, Conchita Wurst and Russian folk singer Lyudmila Ryumina, for which he received top marks from the jury. After the fourteenth show, Rybak was placed 6th and therefore was not among the five who automatically went to the final. However, the judges said that he deserved a place in the final and made an exception. In the final results, he was the runner-up. With the televoting results, he took a clear second place with 32.1% of the votes, behind Ruslan Alehno.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak released a new Russian single entitled ""/"Kotik". The music video of this song which was filmed in Moscow, Russia, and it was released on 3 June 2015. "Kotik" quickly reached positive acclaim and its music video attracted a lot of views. It topped Belarusian Bel Muz-TV's charts. "Kotik" became one of the most watched Russian-language music videos in 2015. Despite it being a hit online, "Kotik" did not manage to crack the Russian radio charts. Rybak later declared that radio DJs refused to play the song as they felt it was a childish song and some DJs were asking Rybak for financial compensation for playing it.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: While announcing his desire to stay a children's musical in 2013, Rybak could not find the funds and support for this project. Instead, he decided to create a children's book with a CD with songs and an audio book attached to it. Rybak initially struggled to find a publisher for this, as most publishers were only interested in the physical book. Eventually, Rybak released "Trolle og den magiske fela" through Cappelen Damm. Quickly after that, the Danish rights were secured and the book was also complimented by Edward van de Vendel, who proof translated the book's first chapters into Dutch. On 12 June, a new Norwegian song "" (Among Mountains) was released.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In early 2016, Rybak was a one-off jury member in Eurosong, Belgium's selection for Eurovision 2016. Rybak also performed as a part of the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, in a musical number satirising Eurovision songs. Shortly after that, he released his lead single "I Came To Love You", which music video was shot in Greece.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2016, Rybak marked his ten-year's anniversary as an artist with re-releasing former singles such as his debut single "Foolin'" and "5 To 7 Years". Next to that, he held several concert shows under the title "Entertainer".


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak sang "Fairytale" during the final of "You Decide", the preselection of the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. That same year, Rybak teamed up with German singer and violinist Franziska Wiese and had a duet with her on his singles "Fairytale" and "Kotik", while also performing the former at the annual Schlagerboom festival.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: During the Eurovision 2017, Rybak publicly supported Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral to win the contest. Sobral eventually won Eurovision with "Amar pelos dois", breaking Rybak's 2009 record. Rybak released his own version of the song, including self-written English lyrics. This version was later covered by others including Eurovision 2018 contestants Sennek and Ari Olafsson.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Although Rybak previously disliked the idea of returning to Eurovision, he revealed in late 2017 that he was thinking of returning to "Melodi Grand Prix".


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In January 2018, it was revealed that Rybak would be taking part in the Norwegian national selection "Melodi Grand Prix 2018", to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "That's How You Write a Song". The song initially received very mixed reviews. Rybak stated that he wanted to take part mostly for pleasure, rather than wanting to win the competition, stating that Norwegian singer Jahn Teigen, who participated fourteen times in the Norwegian selection and won three times, was his inspiration.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak was not the bookmakers and experts' favourite to win the selection, but topped several public polls ahead of the competition. To his own surprise and to the surprise of both of the presenters, Rybak won the selection. During the show, Rybak topped four international juries – Russia, Estonia, North Macedonia and Czechia – more than any other contestant. Rybak proceeded to the last four, where he first beat Aleksander Walmann in a duel and then proceeded to the final duel with singer Rebecca, which he also won.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: After the show, several news outlets claimed that Norwegian broadcaster NRK had favourised Rybak, putting him last in the running order. NRK denied this, pointing to the voting statistics that showed that Rybak had won with a large margin. He won his first duel with 94.3% of the votes and his final duel by 71% of the votes, receiving a total of 306,393 votes, the third-highest number of votes an entry ever reached in "Melodi Grand Prix" history.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak was drawn to perform first in second semi-final on 10 May and finished first overall, becoming the first ever Eurovision performer to win two semi-finals after he also won the second semi-final in 2009. In the final, on 12 May 2018, Rybak performed seventh in the running order and finished in fifteenth place, receiving a top jury score from Italy.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2019, Rybak's children's musical "Trolle og den magiske fela" premiered in Kristiansand and received wide critical acclaim by reviewers. The show sold over 10,000 tickets and had to schedule extra performances to curb the demand.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2020, Rybak co-wrote an entry for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 together with JOWST for singer Magnus Bokn called "Over the Sea". The song won the fourth-semi final of the selection show and proceeded to the final, where it eventually lost out to Ulrikke Brandstorp's "Attention".


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak was set to appear as part of an interval act at Eurovision 2020, which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the contest cancellation, several countries organised a produced show or held a vote to determine their country's favourite Eurovision song of all times. Rybak's "Fairytale" finished 3rd in Wallonia's "Votre top 20", 17th in the Netherlands's NPO Radio 2 "Songfestival Top 50" list, and 6th in the United Kingdom's special "Eurovision: Come Together" show. "Fairytale" therefore re-entered the UK sales chart at #65 in late May 2020. A year prior, the Norwegians had voted "Fairytale" as their all-time favourite Eurovision song.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In August 2020, Rybak announced that he had enrolled in Columbia College Chicago for an MFA degree in film music composition. His interest in the field was solidified after the positive feedback he received from producers for his song "Into a Fantasy" from the "How to Train Your Dragon 2" soundtrack. He was convinced to attend Columbia by Kubilay Uner, director of the film music composition MFA program. He graduated from Columbia in July 2022.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: About his own musical style, Rybak has said: "Generally, I do everything from writing folklore, children’s music, DreamWorks songs to arranging for symphony orchestra and making cover versions of Eurovision songs.(...) I do not make more albums, I like to publish one and a song on YouTube. It can be a classic piece, a pop song, a collaboration with Philip Cecil or just a cover song, but I will always have something visual to my songs, and maybe a music video."


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak is often classified as having a tenore di grazia voice. Rybak has also been noted multiple times for having a strong natural vibrato in his voice. His voice has been appreciated for creating whole and clear sounds.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak was raised in the Orthodox religion. In family circles and in his childhood, he used to be referred to as Sasha, the Russian diminutive for his first name.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak did not visit his country of birth for 17 years between his emigration to Norway and his first performance in Belarus in the Summer of 2009. Though he grew up as an only child, Rybak revealed that he had a sister from whom he was estranged, from an earlier marriage of his father's. In 2012, Rybak met his half-sister for the first time in many years.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: Rybak bought a new apartment and lives now at Aker Brygge (Oslo, Norway). Rybak speaks Norwegian, Russian and English fluently, and has performed songs in all three languages. Rybak has also performed in Belarusian and, with Elisabeth Andreassen, in Swedish.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: In 2010, Rybak was featured in the media negatively after a few incidents of uncontrolled anger. Both times, Rybak had a heated discussion with a sound technician. It resulted in Rybak breaking his fingers in May 2010, and during a later instance, also breaking his violin on stage. Rybak then said: "I never raised my voice before, and that's why I did what I did. I'm just a human being—and perhaps not the glossy image many believe. So it was good to get out frustrations so I could go on. It's only me that goes beyond the same." Rybak later blamed the behaviour on his hectic touring schedule, which led to him being overworked, also opening up about battling with depression due to his touring schedule, calling early 2011 the toughest moment of his life. He later stated he had to learn to say "no". In 2018 and 2019, Rybak struggled a lot with an unidentified illness, which led him to cancel several performances.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: To Ukrainian newspaper KP, Rybak said he was initially diagnosed with fatigue-related problems after his second Eurovision participation. In October 2019, Rybak declared he was hypochondriac, stating "all people above 20 have their own battle with something". Rybak stated working in a group for his children's musical "Trolle og den magisken fela" has helped him. For this production, he temporarily moved to coastal city Kristiansand. In May 2020, Rybak revealed that he had been addicted to sleep medications and antidepressants for 11 years, and had begun to recover after entering rehab in January.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: He began attending Columbia College Chicago virtually from his home in Norway in fall 2020, and subsequently moved to Chicago to continue his studies in person by August 2021. He graduated from Columbia in July 2022.


title: Alexander Rybak

text: The song "Into a Fantasy" is played during the ending credits to the movie "How to Train Your Dragon 2" in European releases. Rybak provided the Norwegian voice-over for the animated character Hiccup.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Marvel Animated Features (MAF) is a series of the first eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: In 2004, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Comics' new parent corporation, struck a deal with Lions Gate Entertainment to produce a series of eight to ten direct-to-video animated movies under the name of Marvel Animated Features in conjunction with Marvel Studios, Marvel's direct film subsidiary.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: The first two features, "Ultimate Avengers: The Movie" and "Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther", were released February 2006 and August 2006 respectively. As of November 2006, "UA" and "UA2" combined had sold over 1.5 million units and both were in the top 10 children's releases for the year.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: After the pair of "Ultimate Avengers" ("UA") DVDs, the next "MAF" film, "The Invincible Iron Man", was released in January 2007. As of January 2007, "Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme" was slated next for summer 2007 with the tentatively titled "Teen Avengers" under early development. The Invincible Iron Man and Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme features existed separately from the UA movie universe. A possible cross over or a third UA movie was hinted at being considered at that time. Originally, the MAF were being released two per year until "Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme"; while it was an Annie Awards nominee for "Best Home Entertainment Production" of 2007, it only sold half the number of DVD as either "UA" feature. After which, the "MAFs" releases were slowed to one per year.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Marvel Animation was incorporated in January 2008 to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets, including Marvel Animation Features.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: A proposed "Ultimate War/Thor" dual film DVD was passed over for the 2009 released "Hulk vs." dual film DVD. "Ultimate War" would have adapted the Ultimate Marvel comic book of the same name, whilst the Thor movie would have selected Walt Simonson's "Thor" storyline (the original selection being a Beta Ray Bill story).


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Ultimate Avengers: The Movie is the first film in the Marvel Animated Features based loosely on the first six issues of the Ultimates by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. The film was released on February 21, 2006, and produced by DongWoo Animation. The movie focuses on Captain America, a super soldier who was frozen in ice for about 60 years after stopping a Nazi/extraterrestrial plot in 1945. The Captain is assigned to lead a team of heroes found by General Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D, to fight the alien threat.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, is the second film in the series and a sequel to "Ultimate Avengers: The Movie", produced by Dong Woo Animation. The film was released on August 8, 2006. In the film, the Black Panther teams up with the Ultimate Avengers to continue their fight against the aliens when they invade Africa.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were not in the initial Ultimate Avengers movie and were originally planned to be in the second movie. Using Hawkeye as an example, VP of Marvel Studios' Animation Development Craig Kyle did not want him to be a background character but "he's going to matter" if he appears.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: The Invincible Iron Man is the third film in the series and is based on the classic Marvel Universe version by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The film was produced by Starburst Entertainment and was released on January 23, 2007. Marc Worden returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man from the Ultimate Avengers films. In "The Invincible Iron Man", Tony Stark, billionaire manufacturer, finds a lost Chinese city where he accidentally unleashes an evil powerful force. Stark creates his armor to become Iron Man and defeat the malevolent being.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme (with the on-screen title of Doctor Strange) is the fourth film in the series and is based on the character of the same name by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, separate from the Ultimate Avengers universe. The film was released on August 14, 2007, and was nominated for "Best Home Entertainment Production" of 2007 for the 35th Annual Annie Awards. "Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme" tells the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, a bitter and arrogant neurosurgeon who falls victim to a car crash that injures the nerves in his hands, such that he can no longer perform surgery. Looking for a cure, he instead finds a different and higher pursuit as the new Sorcerer Supreme, the top master of the mystical arts.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, tentatively titled Teen Avengers then Avengers Reborn, is the fifth movie in the Marvel Animated Features, and was released on September 2, 2008. Preliminary work had begun on "Teen Avengers" before January 18, 2007. By the release of its first look preview in August 2007, the title had changed to "Avengers Reborn". Fred Tatasciore repeats as the Hulk from the Ultimate Avengers movies. With the loss of their Avengers parents at the hands of Ultron and raised by billionaire bachelor Tony Stark/Iron Man, four orphaned teens, James Rogers (son of Captain America and Black Widow), Torunn (daughter of Thor and Sif), Henry Pym Jr. (son of Giant Man and Wasp), and Azari (son of Black Panther and Storm), must live up to their parents' legacy and defeat Ultron, the mechanical and maniacal foe that defeated them. Additional allies are recruited including Vision, the Hulk and Francis Barton (son of Hawkeye and Mockingbird).


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Hulk vs. is a double feature film released on January 27, 2009, and the sixth in the series. The two features are "Hulk vs. Thor" and "Hulk vs. Wolverine". In "Hulk vs. Thor", Thor's villainous half-brother Loki teams up with the Enchantress in order to use the Hulk against him. However, separating Bruce Banner from his rampaging persona leads to a dire consequence in Asgard. In "Hulk vs. Wolverine", Logan is sent by the Canadian government to take care of the Hulk. However, they both get captured and must deal with a mysterious figure and his own mutant team.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: The latter is based on "The Incredible Hulk" #181 by Roy Thomas, Len Wein and John Romita Sr. "Hulk vs." was selected over a proposed "Ultimate War/Thor" double feature film. The film was produced by Madhouse. The DVD was originally called "Hulk Smash", with an expected released date of October 2008. The double feature was released on DVD, Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, and Blu-ray.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Planet Hulk is the seventh film in the series. The movie was released on February 2, 2010 as a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, Special Edition Blu-ray, Standard DVD, and Digital Download. It was the second film produced by Madhouse. The movie is based on the Planet Hulk story line in the comic book published in 2006–2007 by Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan. The Hulk was sent to a harsh planet where he is enslaved as he was weakened because of the travel through space. As a slave, he becomes a gladiator in a society ruled by the despotic Red King. After relying on his savage instincts, he becomes the leader of a gladiator group.


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed said, "It gave me what I wanted, in terms of entertainment, acting, animation, and sheer style…" Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media called it an "average animated action tale [that] features troubled superheroes." David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com said, "It's too violent for younger viewers, but not mature enough for older ones. It's a movie trapped in between target audiences."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed said, "If this story doesn't widen its ideas, it's going to get much worse…" Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media said, "[This] downbeat superhero story has less character, more violence." Marc Kandel of eFilmCritic.com said, "Turns out the sequel's just as bland as the first."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com said, "It's enough to tide fans over until the live action flick arrives." Todd Gilchrist of IGN said that "there are some great details that really bring this story to life," concluding that the film is "not quite invincible, but for a film about a guy made out of iron, it's pretty tough." Mike Pinsky of DVD Verdict said "the first act takes a very long time to get going," "the villains have no personality whatsoever," and "the art design and animation frame rate are really no better than the average television cartoon." Pinsky added that "there are some nice touches" and "the third act does generate some suspense," but concluded that "given all these obstacles, I don't know if even Iron Man could win this battle." Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk said, "I enjoyed watching "The Invincible Iron Man", but it didn't open any new doors for me as an Iron Man fan. From the start the story was pretty straightforward and predictable, though a few twists kept the adventure exciting along the way. Some of the character development also felt kind of forced to me with things simply happening for no reason other than to further the plot." Douglass concluded, "In the end, "The Invincible Iron Man" should be considered an achievement by comic book fans. The solid adventure features a lot of action and a rich comic book atmosphere that will leave you wanting more DVDs just like it."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Christopher Monfette of IGN said the film "plays out as expected" and has "[a] middle section [that] sags," but features "action sequences [that are] beautifully choreographed and emotionally resonant," and concluded that "strong animation, good acting, and resonant character work bring the icon to life." Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict said the film "fails to live up to its narrative potential" and criticized the "rushed ending," but praised its "sharp animation" and described the DVD as a "solid rental." Nick Lyons of DVD Talk said that "the visuals are engaging," but criticized the film for "dramatically alter[ing]" the character, saying: "Instead of characterizing Stephen Strange as a cocky, personable, confident jackass like in the comic books he has been reduced to an emo wimp with a useless tacked-on backstory about the death of his sister. The lifeless voice work by Bryce Johnson doesn't help the character, either." Lyons concluded, "Comic book fans looking for a faithful adaptation of Dr. Strange will sadly be disappointed by this animated feature. For a superior Marvel animated movie, I'd advise checking out the first "Ultimate Avengers". "


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed said, "[This is] the antithesis of what should be done to grab new demographics." Nancy Davis Kho of Common Sense Media called it a "rollicking young superhero tale." David Cornelius of DVD Talk called it, "Another batch of lost opportunities for Marvel." Felix Gonzalez Jr. of DVD Review said, "With by-the-numbers characters and only a marginally interesting setup, however, even younger viewers may grow impatient as the film makes its way to a pretty good climax."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Cindy White of IGN stated, "Rather than the wild, forest landscapes of Canada, this one deals with the stately architecture of Asgard, and there are a lot more characters. Being less familiar with Thor as a series, some of the shout-outs to the comics were lost on me, for the most part, but I'm sure Thor fans will appreciate them. Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk said, "In Hulk vs. Thor the plot is a little more calculated and it feels balanced by comparison." and actually like the battles "One of the joys of Hulk vs. Thor was watching the monster tear his way across Odin's world. Nothing can stand in his way and there are many outstanding moments and fight scenes peppered throughout the film." Kerry Birmingham of DVD Verdict stated, "Kyle and Yost have less of an affinity for Thor, and it shows; their Thor script, despite its violence, lacks the glee of the Wolverine installment. In approaching Thor's Hulk as a raging counterpart to Wolverine's more reactive, childlike Hulk, the creators commendably draw a distinction between their interpretations of the character, but the Asgard throw down is simply less fun than its more gonzo counterpart."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Cindy White of IGN said, "The benefits of a direct-to-DVD project like this is that the creators didn't have to shy away from the kind of gore that would be unacceptable for a Saturday-morning audience" commenting on how Wolverine uses his claws on a living entity and not just on robots as in other animated features. Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk described it as fast-paced, but criticized the Weapon X backstory as "a bit out of place" and said it "also takes away from the Hulk versus Wolverine storyline." Kerry Birmingham of DVD Verdict stated, "The most immediately successful of the two is Wolverine, enlivened by a punchier script than its Norse cousin. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, screenwriters for both episodes, are veteran comic book writers and well-versed in the world of the X-Men, and as such seem to have injected Wolverine with a bit more energy."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed said, "All in all strong voice work tops what is a truly entertaining installment from the Marvel animated film gallery." Rick Marshall of MTV said, "In the end, "Planet Hulk" is a fun film that should prove entertaining for mainstream audiences and fans of the character. Marvel Studios and Lionsgate are headed in the right direction with their animated features, and "Planet Hulk" feels like another step forward."


title: Marvel Animated Features

text: Brian Costello of Common Sense Media criticized the film for its use of violence, drinking, and sexual innuendo. Cindy White of IGN gave it a 7.0 out of 10 stating, "When it comes to content made just for DVD, DC and Warner Bros. have consistently edged out Marvel with their series of original animated movies, in quality of storytelling as well as animation. There's nothing about "Thor: Tales of Asgard" that reverses that trend". Kofi Outlaw of Screen Rant said "All in all, Tales of Asgard is an enjoyable Thor adventure -- even with the titular character reduced to teen age. It's not necessarily one of those animated features you'll want to watch over and over again, but if you're a collector of every Marvel animated movie released, or are looking for an entertaining superhero adventure to rent, definitely check it out". James O'Ehley of Sci-Fi Movie Page said, "Don't judge this DVD by its cover: the movie might as well be called "Young Thor" or "I Was a Teenaged Norse Deity"."


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Taryn Nicole Dryden (née Terrell; born December 28, 1985) is an American model, actress, stuntwoman, ring announcer, and a retired professional wrestler.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under her real name, and for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Tiffany. She is a former TNA Knockouts Champion, where her 279-day reign stood as the longest reign in the title's history until 2019. During her time in WWE, she trained at WWE's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), and served as the final general manager of the now-defunct ECW brand. She's has worked National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 2021 up until her retirment on November 10, 2022


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell tried out for the 2007 WWE Diva Search. She made it to the final eight, but was eliminated fourth. In February 2008, WWE signed her to a developmental contract.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental territory, alongside Beverly Mullins, and they competed in various matches together, including lingerie matches. Soon afterwards, Terrell and Mullins drifted apart, leading to Terrell receiving a larger singles wrestling role as she competed against various other FCW Divas, including Mullins (now renamed to Wesley Holiday), Miss Angela, The Bella Twins, Alicia Fox, and Roucka. Terrell made her FCW television debut when she competed in a twist competition, which ended in a no contest. She and Angela were then used as ring announcers. On the March 11, 2008, episode of "FCW TV", Terrell teamed up with Nic Nemeth and Brad Allen to defeat The Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eric Pérez, Eddie Colón and Angela Fong). On the August 2, 2008, episode of "FCW TV", Terrell teamed up with The Bella Twins to defeat Alicia Fox, Roucka and Daisy and again on August 9, 2008.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Later on, Terrell, now renamed Tiffany, lost her first FCW televised match in a fatal four-way match including Roucka, Holiday, and Fox. She then teamed with Nikki Bella and Eve Torres on the December 14 episode of "FCW TV" to defeat Roucka, Holiday, and Fox. Tiffany participated in the tournament to determine the inaugural Queen of FCW, and defeated Holiday in the first round before losing to Fox in the semi-finals. She teamed up with Angela Fong on several occasions, and also competed against Serena Mancini, AJ Lee, and Fox in a four-pack challenge to determine the new number one contender to the Queen of FCW crown, but was unsuccessful.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On July 30, 2009, episode of "FCW TV", Tiffany tamed up with Angela Fong and April Lee to defeat Alicia Fox, Roucka and Serena Deeb in a 6-Diva tag team match. On the August 6 episode of "FCW TV", Tiffany and Yoshi Tatsu defeated Fox and Ricky Ortiz in a mixed tag team match. Tiffany unsuccessfully challenged the newly crowned Serena Mancini for the Queen of FCW crown and injured her humerus bone, on the September 24 taping of "FCW TV". She returned on the February 19, 2010, episode of "FCW TV", teaming with Aksana to defeat Courtney Taylor and Liviana in a tag team match.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the June 10, 2008, episode of "ECW", Terrell made her main roster debut as Tiffany, the on-screen Assistant General Manager under Theodore Long. Tiffany participated in the Halloween costume contest on October 26 at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, and was dressed as a nun. Tiffany made her in-ring debut in a 16-Diva tag team match on the 800th episode of "Raw" teaming up with Mickie James, Candice Michelle, Michelle McCool, Brie Bella, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres and WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young against Beth Phoenix, Layla, Lena Yada, Jillian Hall, Natalya, Maryse, Victoria and Katie Lea Burchill, which her team lost, despite Tiffany never being tagged into the match.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the March 30, 2009, episode of "Raw", Tiffany competed in an 18-Diva tag team match, which she won for her team by pinning Katie Lea Burchill. On April 5, Tiffany made her WrestleMania debut as she competed in a 25 Diva battle royal at WrestleMania XXV to crown the first-ever "Miss WrestleMania", which was won by Santina Marella. On the April 7 episode of "ECW", Tiffany was announced by Theodore Long as the new General Manager of ECW due to Long returning to SmackDown to again become its General Manager. As the new General Manager, her first order was to announce an elimination chase to determine who would face Jack Swagger for the ECW Championship at Backlash, with the participants being Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, Christian and Finlay, which Christian would ultimately win. In late June 2009, Tiffany was promoted to full-time General Manager of ECW. However, Tiffany was absent from television due to a storyline car accident with William Regal. In reality, Tiffany had injured her arm in an FCW match. She returned on the October 6 episode of "ECW". On the final episode of "ECW" on February 16, 2010, Tiffany speared Rosa Mendes after she and Zack Ryder interfered in the ECW Championship match.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the March 5, 2010, episode of "SmackDown", Tiffany made her debut for the brand in a backstage segment, being welcomed by Rey Mysterio. On the March 12 episode of "SmackDown", Tiffany made her in-ring debut, winning a match against Michelle McCool via disqualification after Vickie Guerrero interfered. Following the match, McCool, Guerrero, and Layla attacked Tiffany, until she was saved by Beth Phoenix. The following week, Tiffany and Phoenix defeated McCool and Layla (collectively known as LayCool) in a tag team match, and again in a rematch on the April 2 episode of "SmackDown".


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Tiffany then formed an alliance with Kelly Kelly, with the pair being dubbed "The Blondetourage", and they continued to feud with LayCool. On the June 12 of "SmackDown!", Tiffany lost her first singles match to Layla after an interference from McCool. On May 21 episode of "SmackDown!", Tiffany and Kelly lost to LayCool in a tag team match. On the July 2 episode of "SmackDown!", Tiffany managed Kelly where she defeated McCool, and during the match Tiffany stopped Layla from interfering. On the July 10 episode of "Superstars", Tiffany and Kelly again lost to LayCool. On the July 16 episode of "SmackDown!", Tiffany managed Kelly and Chris Masters where they defeated Layla and Trent Barreta after interference from Rosa Mendes. She also managed Kelly in her WWE Women's Championship match against Layla at Money in the Bank. On July 23 episode of "SmackDown!", Theodore Long announced that Tiffany would receive a match for the Women's Championship, which occurred on the July 30 episode of "Smackdown", however she failed to capture the championship. She was originally scheduled to fight Layla, however, she instead fought McCool, as the two defended the title under the Freebird rule.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On August 13, 2010, it was reported that WWE had suspended Terrell because of an incident involving her real-life husband, Drew McIntyre. Before she could return to WWE programming, Terrell was released from her contract on November 19, 2010.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On December 4, 2010, it was announced that Terrell would make her independent circuit debut in a match against Alissa Flash at the Pro Wrestling Revolution's ChickFight event in San Francisco, California on February 5, 2011. On January 4, 2011, it was announced that Terrell had pulled out of the show, citing personal reasons. ChickFight later claimed that the promotion could not cater to Terrell's requests that she had made despite already having an agreement with the promotion.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On April 5, 2012, Terrell made her debut for Powerslam Brewsky Brawl, where she teamed up with Jack Jameson to defeat Barbi Hayden and Houston Carson. On April 8, Terrell made appearance at Coastal Wrestling Federation, where she teamed with Sho Funaki in a winning effort, again defeating Hayden and Carson. Earlier in that event, Terrell defeated Jen Alise in singles match. Terrell also appeared at Maryland Championship Wrestling's "Bodyslam Autism" event on April 27, 2013.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On November 4, 2012, Terrell made her debut for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)'s then-developmental branch, at OVW's "Saturday Night Special" event, being introduced as the special guest referee for the OVW Women's Championship match between Josette Bynum, Taeler Hendrix, and Heidi Lovelace. During the match, Terrell ignited a feud with Hendrix after Terrell cost Hendrix the match, after she put her hands on Terrell. On the November 10 episode of "OVW", Terrell was interrupted by Hendrix during an interview, who then provoked Terrell, only to get attacked in return. Later that event, Terrell refereed a tag team match between Lovelace, Jessie Belle against Hendrix and Epiphany.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell made her in-ring debut on the November 17 episode of "OVW", where she defeated Heidi Lovelace with Hendrix as special guest referee to win the OVW Women's Championship. On the November 24 episode of "OVW", Terrell defeated Scarlett Bordeaux in a non-title match, but was attacked by Hendrix post-match. On the November 28 episode "OVW", Terrell attacked Hendrix during a in-ring segment, but was stopped by Bostic.<ref name="OVW11/28/12"></ref> OVW announced that Terrell issued a challenged to Hendrix at "OVW's Saturday Night Special" with the OVW Women's Championship on the line, with the stipulation that the loser will swim in a pool of "animal feces". At the event on December 1, Terrell lost the Women's Championship to Hendrix. After the match, Hendrix tried to attack Terrell, but she gained a measure of revenge when she moved out the way and Hendrix fell in the pool.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On August 16, 2012, Terrell made her debut for TNA, being introduced by the Vice President of the Knockouts Division, Brooke Hogan, as the special guest referee for the Impact Women's Knockout Championship match between Madison Rayne and Miss Tessmacher. Terrell later became the official referee for the Knockouts division.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On January 13, 2013, at Genesis, Terrell began a storyline with Gail Kim after making a bad call during a gauntlet match, thus costing Kim's chance to become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. On the following episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell appeared backstage with Kim, who told Terrell not to make another mistake. Later that night, during Kim's match with Velvet Sky, Kim would argue with Terrell, costing herself the match in the process. On the February 21 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell helped Sky defeat Tara, Miss Tessmacher and Kim in a fatal four–way elimination match, with Sky lastly eliminating Kim to win the Knockouts Championship after Kim provoked Terrell into getting involved in the match. On March 10 at Lockdown, towards the end of the Knockouts Championship match, Terrell would attack Kim, again costing her the title. After the match, Terrell was attacked by Kim backstage during an interview. On the following episode of "Impact Wrestling", Kim revealed that Brooke Hogan put Terrell on probation for attacking Kim. In a tag team match between Mickie James and Velvet Sky against Gail Kim and Tara, Terrell would again cost Kim the match by attacking her.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the March 21 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell was terminated as Knockouts referee by Hogan, and was subsequently signed as an impact Knockout. On the March 28 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell challenged Kim to a match, however the match never started when Kim and Tara attacked Terrell, only to be saved by the Knockouts Champion, Velvet Sky. On the April 4 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell and Sky were defeated by Kim and Tara after the special guest referee Joey Ryan made a fast count on Terrell. Terrell finally faced Kim in a match on the April 11 episode of "Impact Wrestling", which Terrell won.<ref name="Impact4/11/13"></ref> On the May 2 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell and Mickie James defeated Kim and Tara. After the match, Kim attacked Terrell. The rivalry between Terrell and Kim culminated in a Last Knockout Standing match on June 2 at Slammiversary XI, which Terrell would win. On the July 11 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell was defeated by Kim in a ladder match to determine the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. The following month, Terrell was granted time off from Impact Wrestling due to her real life pregnancy.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell made her televised return on the June 19, 2014, episode of "Impact Wrestling", being welcomed by her former rival Gail Kim and later interrupted by The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky). This led to Terrell's in–ring return, the following week on "Impact Wrestling", where Kim and Terrell defeated Love and Sky in a tag team match. Terrell went on to unsuccessfully challenge Kim for the TNA Knockouts Championship on July 24 and on August 14 in a fatal four–way match also involving Love and Sky. After defeating the evil Madison Rayne on August 27 to become the number one contender, Terrell received her title match on the September 3 episode of "Impact Wrestling", where she was again unsuccessful. After the match, both Terrell and Kim were attacked by the debuting Havok.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the November 19 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Terrell defeated newly crowned champion Havok and Gail Kim in a three–way match to win the TNA Knockouts Championship for the first time. On January 7, 2015, during "Impact Wrestling"'s debut on Destination America, Terrell successfully defended the championship in a battle royal against the other TNA Knockouts, lastly eliminating Havok. Terrell went on to successfully retain her championship in various matches: on January 30 against Kim and Madison Rayne in a three–way match and against Angelina Love on February 20. After that Terrell started a feud with the recently returned Awesome Kong, after Kong attacked her. This led to a match between the two, on March 6, which Taryn won via disqualification and Kong would continue her attack after the match, with Kim making the save. This led to a three–way match, where Terrell again prevailed. On April 18, Terrell became the new longest reigning TNA Knockouts Champion in history, surpassing Kim's previous record of 210 days.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On the special episode of "Impact Wrestling", titled "TKO: Night of Knockouts" on April 24, Terrell retained her championship against Kong in a no disqualification match after The Dollhouse (Jade and Marti Bell) interfered and attacked Kong, ultimately assisting Terrell in putting Kong through a table as a "receipt" for an earlier attack in which Kong put Terrell through a table. After the match, Terrell transitioned into a villainess for the first time in her wrestling career and joined The Dollhouse as their leader. Terrell retained her championship on the "Hardcore Justice" episode of "Impact Wrestling" on May 1, against Brooke, with help from Jade and Marti. In their first match as a team, the following week, The Dollhouse were defeated by Kong and Kim in a three–on–two handicap match. On the May 29 episode of "Impact Wrestling", in a steel cage match, Terrell again retained her championship against Kim. At Slammiversary XIII, The Dollhouse were defeated by Kong and Brooke in another three–on–two handicap match. After successfully retaining her championship against Brooke and Kong in a three–way match, Terrell lost the championship to Brooke, on the July 15 episode of "Impact Wrestling", after interference from Gail Kim, ending her reign at 279 days. After her loss, Terrell went on a hiatus citing a hand injury, courtesy of Kim but continued to appear in segments on the jumbotron, orchestrating attacks on various Knockouts. During her absence, Rebel joined The Dollhouse. On January 4, 2016, Terrell announced that she had parted ways with the company, describing her departure as a personal decision.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On October 2, 2016, Terrell made an appearance at Bound for Glory alongside Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, and Chairman Dixie Carter to induct Gail Kim into the TNA Hall of Fame.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On August 17, 2017, at Destination X, Terrell made her return to the newly rebranded Impact Wrestling, attacking Gail Kim during her GFW Knockouts Championship match against Sienna. On the September 7 episode of "Impact!", in her first match back after her one and a half year hiatus, Terrell teamed with Sienna and defeated Kim and Allie in a tag team match. On October 20, 2017, it was announced that Terrell had departed Impact Wrestling.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On March 21, 2021, Terrell made her NWA debut on commentary during the women's match between Thunder Rosa and Kamille. On the June 6, at When Our Shadows Fall, Terrell teamed with Kylie Rae and won their debut match against Thunder Rosa and Melina Perez. With her arrival to NWA, Terrell started managing Jennacide and Paola Blaze. The trio teamed together on August 29 at the pre-show of NWA 73rd Anniversary Show to challenge the NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle), alongside Lady Frost in a six-woman tag team match, but were unsuccessful.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: On February 12, 2022, at NWA PowerrrTrip, Terrell received a title match for the NWA World Women's Championship when she challenged the champion Kamille, but was unsuccessful. On the March 21 episode of "Powerrr", as Blaze and Jennacide lost to Women's World Tag Team Champions The Hex in a title match, they were forced to dissolved as a team, due to a stipulation that was made before the match, thus ending Terrell managing the two. Terrell would quickly find an ally in Natalia Markova. On November 10th, Terrell confirmed her retirement from professional wrestling and leaving NWA.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell made a special appearance on "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" in 2007. Terrell was featured in a segment on "Lopez Tonight" on August 4, 2010. She received her start in acting after appearing alongside Will Ferrell in the 2012 comedy film "The Campaign". She was later hired as a stunt double for Kayla Ewell in the film "The Demented".


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell attended the University of New Orleans, majoring in marketing. Terrell is a co-leader for a volunteer mission group called Hope Children's Home that provides love and time to children that have been neglected, abused, and discarded. Terrell is a founder for a volunteer mission foundation called Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: In 2008, Terrell became a vegan due to animal rights. However, she revealed she was no longer a vegan in 2010.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell first appeared in "Playboy" in the special College Girls edition of January 2007. She next appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of the "Playboy Lingerie Special Edition". The photos were an accumulation of previous photoshoots that she had done for the magazine prior to signing with WWE, and show her fully naked. She appeared again in "Playboy" in November 2010, in the special issue "Big Boobs, Hot Buns", with the photos having been taken prior to her signing with WWE. Terrell has appeared in an issue of "Maxim" and on "Sky Sports.com".


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell previously dated Alfonso Ribeiro in 2008. Terrell became engaged to Drew Galloway, who appears on-screen as wrestler Drew McIntyre, in July 2009. The couple married in Las Vegas in May 2010. On May 24, 2011, Terrell announced that she and Galloway were divorcing.


title: Taryn Terrell

text: Terrell gave birth to a girl named Emerson on March 2, 2014. Terrell married professional motorcyclist and stunt man Joseph Dryden in 2015.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people dance to a short excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake". The meme became viral in early February 2013, with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Despite its name, the meme does not actually involve participants performing the original Harlem Shake dance, a street and hip hop dance that originated in 1980s Harlem, New York City; rather, the meme usually features participants performing flailing or convulsive movements. The meme form was established in a video uploaded on February 2, 2013, by YouTube personality George Miller on his DizastaMusic channel. The video featured the character "Pink Guy" from "The Filthy Frank Show" entitled "Filthy Compilation #6 - Smell My Fingers", which featured a section where several costumed people danced to the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer. The video opens with the first use of the Harlem Shake meme, and started a viral trend of people uploading their own "Harlem Shake" videos to YouTube.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The videos usually last about 30 seconds and feature an excerpt of the 2012 song "Harlem Shake" by American music producer and DJ Baauer. Baauer's song starts with a 15-second intro, a bass drop, then 15 seconds with the bass, and a lion roar at the end of the first 30 seconds. Usually, a video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or seemingly unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video cuts to the entire group dancing for the rest of the video. The dancing style should not be confused with the original Harlem Shake dance. Additionally, in the second half of the video, people often wear either a minimum of clothes or outlandish outfits or costumes while wielding strange props. Typically, but not always, the video will end by converting to slow motion on the feline growl.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: This success of the videos was in part attributed to the anticipation of the breakout moment and short length, making them very accessible to watch. "The Washington Post" explained the meme's instant virality by referring to the jump cuts, hypnotic beat, quick setups, and half minute routines.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The Harlem Shake is technically very easy for fans to reproduce, as it consists of a single locked camera shot and one jump cut. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the concept allows fans considerable scope in creating their own distinctive variant and making their mark, while retaining the basic elements. In its simplest form, it could be made with just one person; a more sophisticated version might even involve a crowded stadium. Moreover, there is a level playing field for celebrities and fans alike, with no guarantee of success for either group. There is a strong vein of humour running through each video that is not dependent on language, further increasing its potential to spread virally.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The "Harlem Shake" was first featured as the opening segment in a video by Japanese comedians George Miller and Sonya Fetina, under the moniker of YouTube user "DizastaMusic". Five teenagers from Australia, using the name TheSunnyCoastSkate, replicated this segment in their own video, which quickly gained popularity. As more people replicated the original video and uploaded their own versions to YouTube, Harlem Shake rapidly became an Internet meme.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On February 10, 2013, the upload rate of Harlem Shake videos reached 4,000 per day, or one every 21.6 seconds. As of February 11, about 12,000 versions of the popular Internet meme had been uploaded to YouTube, garnering over 44 million unique views. By February 15, about 40,000 Harlem Shake spinoff videos had been uploaded, generating over 700 million views.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Harlem Shake hit the 1 billion view mark on March 24, 2013, just 40 days after its first upload, according to Visible Measures. From the day when the first video was uploaded until it hit 1 billion views, the videos were accumulating an average of more than 20 million views a day. The time it took for Harlem Shake to hit 1 billion views is half the time "Gangnam Style" took to hit 1 billion views and almost a sixth of the time that it took "Call Me Maybe". On April 4, Harlem Shake had 1.21 billion views.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Baauer's single reached #1 on the iTunes America chart and #2 on iTunes in the UK and Australia on February 15, 2013.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Its popularity has spread in many countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, and much of Europe, China, India, Latin America, the United Arab Emirates, and Jamaica.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The Guinness World Record for the largest crowd doing the Harlem shake was created in 2013 with a crowd of 3,444 people taking part. Matt and Kim organised the record, it was performed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Houston Field House arena in Troy, New York on 11 February 2013.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The unexpected success of Harlem Shake caused "Billboard" to bring forward its plans, following two years of discussions, to incorporate data on YouTube views as one of three metrics used to calculate the influential "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. This marked an important recognition that YouTube now plays a vital role in shaping cultural trends, defining hit songs ahead of radio programmers.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In consequence of this significant change, Baauer's "Harlem Shake" made its debut at No. 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on February 21, 2013. Without the change the song would only have debuted in the Top 15. In the year-end chart on that same year, "Harlem Shake" became the 4th best song of 2013, behind "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. This makes it the only song to become an internet meme to hit the top 10 on the "Billboard" year-end chart through the 2010s.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The success of Harlem Shake also highlights a change of direction for music rights holders. With the exception of a takedown notice issued when artist Azealia Banks tried to upload her own version of the track, Baauer and his label, Mad Decent records, instead made use of YouTube's Content ID database to assert copyright over the fan-made videos and claim a proportion of advertising revenue in respect of each one.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Numerous commenters have compared the Harlem Shake to "Gangnam Style". But the business magazine "Forbes" pointed out that unlike "Gangnam Style" and other notable hits from 2012, Harlem Shake is more of a meme, since a wide variety of groups and individuals have uploaded variants of the dance.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Martin Talbot, managing director of "The Official Charts Company" in the UK, described "Harlem Shake" as a "phenomenon", the first ever "crowd sourced video" to significantly drive sales of a song. Previously, as happened with "Gangnam Style", there was always an initial video created by an artist which would start a dance craze that was subsequently adopted by fans.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: There were reports that Harlem residents were upset because of the dance called "Harlem shake" in the meme videos not being the real Harlem shake. Many felt that people in the videos were "disrespecting" the real dance and making the whole neighborhood of Harlem "look bad". Harlemite Elaine Caesar was quoted as saying "Don’t offend us with that nonsense you’re calling the Harlem Shake." The meme was described as "cultural gentrification" and cultural appropriation. The meme inspired a number of videos demonstrating authentic dance.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On the other hand, some Harlem shake dancers expressed the hopes of the Harlem shake dance making a comeback, becoming popular all over again as a result of the sudden exposure it got.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: "The Atlantic" magazine declared the "meme murder[ed]" when the mainstream "Today" television program broadcast their version of the Harlem Shake on February 13.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: "The Los Angeles Times" cited a number of reasons why it felt the meme was nearing its peak, including what it described as an "extravagant" departure from the meme's humble origins, adoption by a very broad demographic including the elderly, choreographed corporate versions by ad agencies and marketing departments, apparent boredom of video participants, and significant departures from the original formula, such as the use of multiple camera angles and visual effects.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: After numerous companies and startups began uploading their own Harlem Shake videos for what appeared to be promotional purposes, the business magazine "Forbes" advised them to produce their own original content instead of variants of the same video. It stated that there were too many versions already on YouTube, and that such publicity efforts could become "lost amidst all the noise."


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Similarly, "Ad Age" begged advertising agencies not to "attempt to surf on the now-crashed viral wave." "Ad Age" later identified sixty advertising agencies exploiting the meme, calling it "played-out" after Pepsico released a Harlem Shake video featuring dancing soft drinks. Gabrielle Levy of UPI called the Pepsi ad "a bridge too far," noting that low production values had been "part of the charm" of the meme. "Time" asked, "do you really want to open a can of soda after it’s done the Harlem Shake?"


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: A KQED blog declared on February 19 that the phenomenon had "jumped the shark" after heavy exposure in the mass media and a plethora of "forced and forgettable" efforts.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On March 4, YTD YouTube Downloader created a "post mortem" infographic looking back on the craze. The infographic highlights several shocking data points, such as the fact that the world spent roughly 2,782 years watching Harlem Shake videos in one month.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Various groups that shot videos of themselves doing the Harlem Shake included the staff of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", a squadron of the Norwegian Army; basketball players from the Dallas Mavericks, and the Miami Heat whose version was called perhaps "the best ... [o]r at least the most irreverent" by Matt Eppers of USA Today; IMG Academy American football players, the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and LSU Tigers football team, the Canterbury Crusaders and Auckland Blues rugby union sides, football clubs from Manchester City, Swansea City, Fulham, Juventus, Crystal Palace, and SC Cambuur, the colleagues of CNN newsanchor Anderson Cooper, the last of whom received a Twitter shout-out from Baauer himself. Cooper showed video of his staff performing the dance, while declaring himself "horrified" and "uncomfortable" about it. Other participants in the craze included the University of Georgia swim team, whose video received at least 38 million views, music producer and international DJ Markus Schulz, "a senior community," NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, musicians Matt & Kim, musician Azealia Banks, the staff of "The Daily Show", Ryan Seacrest, Stephen Colbert, Rhett & Link, members of the WWE, "EastEnders" actors Himesh Patel and Ricky Norwood and Playboy Playmates.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: A video titled "Harlem Shake (Grandma Edition)", in which a man and his two octogenarian grandmothers dance, received over a million views online within three days. It was broadcast on the "Today" show and CNN.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On February 20, 2013, the cast of American reality television series "Splash" including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katherine Webb, Ndamukong Suh and Louie Anderson also uploaded a video of them dancing on the clip. The same day, Australian singer Cody Simpson uploaded a video of his crew and him doing the Harlem Shake in his tour bus.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On Valentine's Day (February 14), developers at Moovweb released an open source bookmarklet that replicated the Harlem Shake online by making the items on any web page move. Soon after YouTube made its own version of the Harlem Shake by making the interface of the page shake when the user searches for "do the Harlem Shake".


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On March 1, 2013, Fox uploaded the "Homer Shake" on YouTube, an animated video where members of the Simpson family danced to the eponymous song. It was the couch gag for the "Gorgeous Grampa" episode.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On March 3, 2013, Sony Pictures Animation uploaded "The Cloudy 2 Shuffle" on YouTube, an animated video where characters from "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" danced to the eponymous song.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The March 9, 2013, episode of "Saturday Night Live" substituted "con los terroristas" with "tofu burritos" and "do the Harlem shake" with "drink a vegan shake." Justin Timberlake appeared as his street performer character, dressed as a block of tofu.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On March 18, 2013, the cast of the Armenian TV series "Kargin Serial" uploaded their Harlem Shake on YouTube.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: On March 23, 2013, Nickelodeon did their own version of the Harlem Shake at the Kids' Choice Awards, which was called the Kids' Choice Shake.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: At the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament in March 2013, an entire stand of spectators took part in a Harlem Shake.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The TV series "Supernatural", starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, did its own Harlem Shake version. It began with a normal shot of Jensen, dancing randomly, with Jared on his phone behind him, seemingly unaware.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The Harlem Shake was also performed in "Sweet Dreams," the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the Fox TV series "Glee". The dance was performed by fictional students at the University of Lima, while Finn (Cory Monteith) monologues about life at college. "Harlem Shake" is listed as a featured song in the episode, as it was not covered by the cast or released on a single or soundtrack album.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In February 2013, a New York boys' ice hockey team was forced to forfeit a first-round playoff game as a result of a Harlem Shake video uploaded to YouTube. The team's video, shot in a locker room, depicts scantily clad team members, notably, one player wearing nothing but a sock.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: Two Israeli soldiers received prison sentences, and one was also relieved of his command, after they posted a video of soldiers performing the Harlem Shake around a cannon, even though they were reported to have notified their commanders of the project, taken care to ensure that no sensitive military equipment was shown, and sought approval for the finished video. The video was reported to have received a generally positive reaction from mainstream Israeli media and online.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In Russia, police arrested five people after they uploaded a video of themselves doing the Harlem Shake on a war memorial, an army tank from World War II.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: A group of up to 15 miners in Australia were fired for breaching safety rules after uploading a video where they performed the Harlem Shake underground.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: A Harlem Shake video was filmed by a group of Colorado College students and team players of the college's athletic team on a Frontier Airlines flight bound for San Diego from Colorado. The students and team players were flying for a tournament in San Diego. After the video was uploaded on February 15, 2013, it gained media attention, causing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to launch an investigation. Three of the college students, who organized the event, said in an interview that the flight attendants and the purser approved their permission before the performance began, saying it was a great idea and the participating passengers also found it fun. The case was finally solved when a spokesperson for the airline said that "all safety measures were strictly enforced and followed and that the seat belt sign was turned off during the course of filming".


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In a controversial move, a student at St Hilda's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom lost her temporary job as a part-time library invigilator and student organisers were fined after a Harlem Shake video was filmed in the college library. By way of contrast, Professor Roger Ainsworth, Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford, praised his students for their version of the meme, which he described as "the best example of the genre, at least in the UK".


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: A religious education teacher at Caldicot Comprehensive School in the United Kingdom was suspended after a Harlem Shake video was posted online which allegedly showed him dancing with a lifesize cardboard figure of Pope Benedict XVI. According to Monmouthshire council the teacher may have behaved in an "unacceptable way".


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: The "Washington Post" reported that according to the National Coalition against Censorship, about 100 students across the US have been suspended for participating in various versions of the Harlem Shake Meme. NCAC Director Joan Bertin referred to the suspensions as "a rather disproportionate response by educators" to what she described as "teenage hijinks".


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: At the end of February 2013, hundreds of protesters chanted "Leave! Leave!" as they performed the Harlem Shake outside the headquarters of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi. In a separate incident, people were filmed doing the Harlem Shake in front of the pyramids. Four pharmaceutical students had been arrested the previous week for breaching decency laws by performing the dance in their underwear.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In Tunisia, after students in a wealthy suburb of Tunis filmed a Harlem Shake video in which they parodied Salafists and Gulf Emirs, the school director was suspended by the Ministry of Education. The resulting backlash saw the Ministry's website hacked by activists, and according to some reports there were scuffles between Salafists and students wishing to perform the dance elsewhere in the country.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In the United States, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election team uploaded their own Harlem Shake video as part of his campaign to win a sixth term in the chamber in the 2014 midterm elections.


title: Harlem Shake (meme)

text: In the same country on December 14, 2017, conservative site The Daily Caller uploaded a video titled 'PSA from Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai' in the wake of the FCC's decision to repeal the net neutrality policy, which received severe backlash upon upload. The video features Pai condescendingly acting out various things that can still 'be done on the Internet', incorporating the Harlem Shake into a segment at the end of it. However, for the first time in the history of the usage of the meme, Baauer and eventually the record label he is signed to, Mad Decent, took legal action against Pai for unauthorized use of his music.


title: Emerson Electric

text: Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri. The "Fortune" 500 company manufactures products and provides engineering services for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.


title: Emerson Electric

text: Emerson was established in 1890 in St. Louis, Missouri, as "Emerson Electric Manufacturing Co." by Civil War Union veteran John Wesley Emerson to manufacture electric motors using a patent owned by the Scottish-born brothers Charles and Alexander Meston. In 1892, it became the first to sell electric fans in the United States. It quickly expanded its product line to include electric sewing machines, electric dental drills, and power tools.


title: Emerson Electric

text: During World War II, under the leadership of Stuart Symington, Emerson became the world's largest manufacturer of airplane armament. Emerson ranked 52nd among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.


title: Emerson Electric

text: In 1954, W.R. "Buck" Persons was named company president. Under his leadership, Emerson diversified its business by acquiring 36 companies. When he retired in 1973, the company had 82 plants, 31,000 employees and $800 million in sales.


title: Emerson Electric

text: In 1962, acquired United States Electrical Manufacturing Company as the U.S. Electrical Motors Division, including the brand U.S. Motors. In 1968, it acquired the InSinkErator company.


title: Emerson Electric

text: Charles F. Knight served as CEO from 1973 to 2000, and was chairman from 1974 to 2004. His tenure was marked by the development of a rigorous planning process, new product and technology development, acquisitions and joint ventures, and international growth. David Farr succeeded him as chairman, who was also the CEO until 2021.


title: Emerson Electric

text: On December 15, 1999, Emerson Electric agreed to acquire Jordan Industries Inc.'s telecommunications equipment business for $440 million.


title: Emerson Electric

text: On July 26, 2011, Emerson announced it would locate its Latin America headquarters in Sunrise, Florida.


title: Emerson Electric

text: On December 1, 2016, Platinum Equity acquired the Emerson Network Power business for over $4 billion and rebranded it Vertiv. The acquisition included the brands ASCO, Chloride, Liebert, NetSure, and Trellis.


title: Emerson Electric

text: In July 2018, Emerson completed the purchase of Textron Tools and Test Businesses for $810 million (Including Greenlee, Klauke, HD Electric, and Sherman + Reilly).


title: Emerson Electric

text: On April 1, 2020, Emerson acquired American Governor Company to boost its presence in the hydropower controls systems market.


title: Emerson Electric

text: In October 2022, Emerson agreed to sell a 55 percent majority stake in its climate technologies business to private equity firm Blackstone Inc. in a $14billion deal including debt.