title: Novorossiysk

text: Novorossiysk is connected by rail and highways to the main industrial and population centres of Russia, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. The public transportation within the city boundaries consists of city buses, trolleybuses, and "marshrutkas" (routed taxis).


title: Novorossiysk

text: The closest airports (Gelendzhik Airport, Anapa Airport and Krasnodar Airport, situated , and away from the city, respectively, offers flights to many cities in Russia.


title: Novorossiysk

text: The city association football team, FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk, plays in the Russian second Division.


title: Novorossiysk

text: Novorossiysk is not a resort town, but Anapa to the north and Gelendzhik to the south are. There are several urban settlements under the jurisdiction of Novorossiysk. The most famous is Abrau-Dyurso, which consists of a townlet on the shore of Lake Abrau and a village on the coast of the Black Sea, connected by a winding mountain road.


title: Novorossiysk

text: The area of Novorossiysk is one of Russia's main wine-growing regions. The wineries of Abrau-Dyurso, established by Tsar Alexander III in 1870, produce table and sparkling wines for domestic consumption.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: The two films were directed by Shusuke Kaneko, produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. The film was licensed by VIZ Pictures, Warner Bros.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: A spin-off film directed by Hideo Nakata and titled "", was released on February 9, 2008. Another sequel, "", was released in October 2016.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent university student who resents crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of Interpol, as well as a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly deduces that the murderer, dubbed by the public as Kira (a Japanese approximation of the English word "killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a game of psychological "cat and mouse" between the two begins.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Light, pursued by L and by FBI detective Raye Iwamatsu, outsmarts them, killing Raye and his partners in the process. When Raye's fiancée, a former FBI detective named Naomi Misora, kidnaps Light's girlfriend Shiori Akino, Light pleads for her safety. Naomi accidentally shoots Shiori and commits suicide as the police approach. Light acts sorrowful for his girlfriend's death and asks to join the Kira investigation to get revenge, but he reveals to Ryuk that in fact he had learned Naomi's name beforehand and engineered the deaths of both Naomi and Shiori. The end of the film features Misa Amane, who survives an attempt on her life as her would-be assailant has a mysterious heart attack.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: In his production notes, director Shusuke Kaneko explained his desire to convince audiences that, while the killing of bad humans may seem to be fair, it underestimates the corrupting influence of wielding such power (the manga series follows a very similar viewpoint). Kaneko also commented that the psychological fear of dying could be "more nightmarish than "Kaiju" (monsters) destroying cities and killing people".


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Kaneko also stated that he wanted the film to "focus on psychological pain", explain how the deaths occur, and explain how younger people would begin to like Kira. He also removed many of the interior monologues prominent in the manga and anime to allow audiences to develop their own ideas about the characters' thoughts and beliefs, while allowing "dramatic tension".


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Kaneko said that the most difficult portion of the manga to film was the scene when the investigation begins and the authorities conclude that a person is responsible for the killing of criminals. He chose to add a scene in which L explains his logic via his laptop in order to make the film "more believable" and "excite people" for the coming struggle between L and Light.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Kaneko indicated mixed feelings while directing the movie. He said that he felt "a little reservation" at how the movie would perform, since the film "uses 'death' to entertain the audience" and feels "morally unsettling". Kaneko theorized that the film may have performed well because of the Internet culture of Japan, saying that the use of the "Death Note" had similarities to how users attacked one another on message boards and blogs. In addition, Kaneko noted that death is "carefully" concealed, to the point where "people don't even think about it".


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: The owner of the "Death Note" copyright required Kaneko to not change any of the rules of the Death Note, and as the film was developed, new rules of the Death Note were added in the original manga. Kaneko described adhering to this condition as the most difficult aspect of making the film.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Kaneko chartered an underground line to film a particular scene in the first film; this was the first time in Japanese film history that an underground line was used. Kaneko used about 500 extras throughout the first film.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: The film premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006, and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks, pushing "The Da Vinci Code" into second place.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: "Death Note" (死亡筆記) was released in Hong Kong on August 10, 2006, in Taiwan on September 8, 2006, in Singapore on October 19, 2006, and in Malaysia on November 9, 2006, with English and Chinese subtitles. The world premiere was in the UA Langham Place cinema in Hong Kong on October 28, 2006, the first Japanese movie to premiere in Hong Kong. The film was released in the UK on April 25, 2008.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: "Wired"'s Lisa Katayama described the film as "a delightfully suspenseful 126 minutes for anyone who likes suspense, pretty Japanese boys or female detectives".


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: The first movie briefly played in certain North American theaters on May 20–21, 2008. The theatrical version featured actors from the English dub of the anime voicing over their respective characters with a few notable recasts, including Ted Cole as Lind L. Taylor's voice (dubbed in the anime by John Murphy), Ron Halder as Watari's voice (dubbed in the anime by French Tickner), Nicole Oliver as Naomi Misora's voice (dubbed in the anime by Tabitha St. Germain), and Michael Dobson as Rem's voice (dubbed in the anime by Colleen Wheeler). The film was broadcast in Canadian theaters for one night only on September 15, 2008. The DVD was released on September 16, 2008, one day after the Canadian showing.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: "Death Note", "Death Note: The Last Name", and "L: Change the World" were all licensed for UK release by 4Digital Asia, a sublabel of 4Digital Media, formerly Ilc Entertainment. The first title was the inaugural release in this new sublabel, launched in 2008 to fill the gap in the UK for "Asia Extreme" titles created by the demise of Tartan. All have received limited theatrical screenings at arthouse venues around the UK, such as the ICA Cinema in central London. All three have received DVD releases in limited editions, featuring two discs in hardback-book-like packaging, mimicking the item of the title. Regular single-disc editions are replacing the limited ones for long-term release. A dedicated website focused on the franchise was also created for public use. Both films were also broadcast on Film4.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: At the Japanese box office, the film grossed (). Overseas, the film grossed $6,758,126, including over in South Korea and in Hong Kong. This brings the film's worldwide box office gross to .


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: On home video, the DVD releases of "Death Note" and "" sold over 1.027million units in Japan as of March 2007.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 78% approval rating based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10.


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: Hidayah Idris wrote in the Singapore edition of the magazine "Cleo" that the film was "a major hit in Singapore!"


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: In 2007, the Malaysian newspaper "The Star" stated that more than ten film companies in the United States had expressed interest in the "Death Note" franchise. The American production company Vertigo Entertainment was originally set to develop the remake, with Charley and Vlas Parlapanides as screenwriters and Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Dan Lin, and Brian Witten as producers. On April 30, 2009, "Variety" reported that Warner Bros., the distributors for the original Japanese live-action films, had acquired the rights for an American remake, with the original screenwriters and producers still attached. In 2009, Zac Efron responded to rumors that he would be playing the film's lead role by stating that the project was "not on the front burner".


title: Death Note (2006 film)

text: On April 27, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Adam Wingard would direct the film, that Lin, Lee, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka would produce, and that Niija Kuykendall and Nik Mavinkurve would oversee the studio.Producers stated the film would receive an R rating.


title: Paul Muni

text: Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in the Yiddish theater. During the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at the Warner Bros. studio and was given the rare privilege of choosing which parts he wanted.


title: Paul Muni

text: His acting quality, usually playing a powerful character, such as the lead in "Scarface" (1932), was partly a result of his intense preparation for his parts, often immersing himself in the study of the real character's traits and mannerisms. He was also highly skilled in using makeup techniques, a talent he learned from his parents, who were also actors, and from his early years on stage with the Yiddish theater in Chicago. At the age of 12, he played the stage role of an 80-year-old man; in one of his films, "Seven Faces," he played seven different characters.


title: Paul Muni

text: He made 22 films and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1936 film "The Story of Louis Pasteur". He also starred in numerous Broadway plays and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the 1955 production of "Inherit the Wind".


title: Paul Muni

text: His Hebrew name was Meshilem; he was also called Frederich Meier Weisenfreund, born to a Jewish family in Lemberg, Galicia, which was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of his birth. His parents were Salli (born Khaya Tsilke Fishler) and Phillip Weisenfreund. He learned Yiddish as his first language. When he was seven, he emigrated with his family to the United States in 1902; they settled in Chicago.


title: Paul Muni

text: As a boy, he was known as "Moony". He started his acting career in the Yiddish theatre in Chicago with his parents, who were both actors. As a teenager, he developed a skill in creating makeup, which enabled him to play much older characters. Film historian Robert Osborne notes that Muni's makeup skills were so creative that for most of his roles, "he transformed his appearance so completely, he was dubbed 'the new Lon Chaney.'" In his first stage role at the age of 12, Muni played the role of an 80-year-old man.


title: Paul Muni

text: He was quickly recognized by Maurice Schwartz, who signed him up with his Yiddish Art Theater. Edward G. Robinson and Paul Muni were cousins to Charles M. Fritz, who was a notable actor during the Great Depression.


title: Paul Muni

text: A 1925 "New York Times" article singled out Sam Kasten and Muni's performances at the People's Theater as among the highlights of that year's Yiddish theater season, describing them as second only to Ludwig Satz.


title: Paul Muni

text: Muni began acting on Broadway in 1926. His first role was that of an elderly Jewish man in the play "We Americans", written by playwrights Max Siegel and Milton Herbert Gropper. It was the first time that he had ever acted in English.


title: Paul Muni

text: In 1921, he married Bella Finkel (February 8, 1898 – October 1, 1971), an actress in the Yiddish theatre and daughter of Moishe Finkel. They remained married until Muni's death in 1967.


title: Paul Muni

text: In 1929, Muni was signed by Fox. His name was simplified and anglicized to Paul Muni (he had the nickname "Moony" when young). His acting talents were quickly recognized, and he received an Oscar nomination for his first film, "The Valiant" (1929), although the film did poorly at the box office. His second film, "Seven Faces" (also 1929), was also a financial failure. Unhappy with the roles offered to him, he returned to Broadway, where he starred in a major hit play, "Counsellor at Law".


title: Paul Muni

text: Paul Muni soon returned to Hollywood to star in such harrowing pre-Code films as the original "Scarface" and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (both 1932). For the second, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. Muni's acclaim as a result of this performance impressed Warner Bros. that they signed him to a long-term contract, publicizing him as "the screen's greatest actor."


title: Paul Muni

text: "Scarface", part of a cycle of gangster films at the time, was written by Ben Hecht and directed by Howard Hawks. Critic Richard Corliss noted in 1974 that while it was a serious gangster film, it also "manages both to congratulate journalism for its importance and to chastise it for its chicanery, by underlining the newspapers' complicity in promoting the underworld image."


title: Paul Muni

text: In 1935, Muni persuaded Warner Bros. to take a financial risk by producing the historical biography "The Story of Louis Pasteur". This became Muni's first of many biographical roles. He starred as the forward-thinking maverick scientist who fights derision in his native country to prove that his medical theories will save lives. Until that film, most Warner Bros. stories originated from current events and major news stories, with the notable exceptions of George Arliss's earlier biographical films "Disraeli", "Alexander Hamilton", and "Voltaire". The sudden success of "Pasteur" gave Warner's "box office gold", notes Osborne. Muni won an Oscar for his performance (as had Arliss for his performance in "Disraeli" six years earlier).


title: Paul Muni

text: He played other historical figures, including Émile Zola, a "man of conscience", in "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. The film won Best Picture and was interpreted as indirectly attacking the repression of Nazi Germany. He also played the lead role in "Juarez" (1939).


title: Paul Muni

text: In 1937, Muni played a Chinese peasant with a new bride in a film adaptation of Pearl Buck's novel "The Good Earth". It co-starred Luise Rainer as his wife; she won an Academy Award for her part. The film was a recreation of a revolutionary period in China and included special effects for a locust attack and the overthrow of the government. Because Muni was not of Asian descent, when producer Irving Thalberg offered him the role, he said, "I'm about as Chinese as [President] Herbert Hoover."


title: Paul Muni

text: Dissatisfied with life in Hollywood, Muni chose not to renew his contract. He returned to the screen only occasionally in later years for such roles as Frédéric Chopin's teacher in "A Song to Remember" (1945). In 1946, he starred in a rare comic performance, "Angel on My Shoulder", playing a gangster whose early death prompts the Devil (played by Claude Rains) to make mischief by putting his soul into the body of a judge. His new identity turns the former criminal into a model citizen.


title: Paul Muni

text: Muni then focused most of his energies on stage work, and occasionally on television roles. In 1946, he appeared on Broadway in "A Flag is Born", written by Ben Hecht, to help promote the creation of a Jewish state in Israel. This play was directed by Luther Adler and co-starred Marlon Brando. Years later, in response to a question put to him by Alan King, Brando stated that Muni was the greatest actor he ever saw. At London's Phoenix Theatre on July 28, 1949, Muni began a run as Willy Loman in the first British production of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. He took over from Lee J. Cobb, who had played the principal role in the original Broadway production. Both productions were directed by Elia Kazan.


title: Paul Muni

text: In 1952, Muni traveled to Italy to star in "Imbarco a mezzanotte" directed by Joseph Losey, partly as an act of solidarity and support for blacklisted friends living abroad in exile.


title: Paul Muni

text: A few years later, during 1955 and 1956, Muni had his biggest stage success in the United States as the crusading lawyer, Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow), in "Inherit the Wind", winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. In late August 1955, Muni was forced to withdraw from the play due to a serious eye ailment causing deterioration in his eyesight. He was later replaced by actor Melvyn Douglas.


title: Paul Muni

text: In early September 1955, Muni, then 59 years old, was diagnosed with a tumor of the left eye. The eye was removed in an operation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. His right eye was reported to be normal. In early December 1955, Muni returned to his starring role as Henry Drummond in "Inherit the Wind".


title: Paul Muni

text: His last movie role was as an aging doctor in "The Last Angry Man" (1959), and he was again nominated for an Oscar. After that, Muni mostly retired from acting to deal with failing eyesight and other health problems. He made his final screen appearance on television, in a guest role on the dramatic series "Saints and Sinners" in 1962.


title: Paul Muni

text: Muni was noted for his intense preparation for his roles, especially the biographies. While preparing for "The Story of Louis Pasteur", Muni said, "I read most everything that was in the library, and everything I could lay my hands on that had to do with Pasteur, with Lister, or with his contemporaries." He did the same in preparing for his role as Henry Drummond, based on Clarence Darrow, in the play "Inherit the Wind". He read what he could find, talked to people who knew Darrow personally, and studied physical mannerisms from photographs of him. "To Paul Muni, acting was not just a career, but an obsession", writes "The New York Times". They note that despite his enormous success both on Broadway and in films, "he threw himself into each role with a sense of dedication." Playwright Arthur Miller commented that Muni "was pursued by a fear of failure."


title: Paul Muni

text: As Muni was born into an acting family, with both of his parents professional actors, "he learned his craft carefully and thoroughly." On stage, "a Muni whisper could reach the last balcony of any theater", writes the "Times". It wrote that his style "had drawn into it the warmth of the Yiddish stage", in which he made his debut at the age of 12. In addition, his technique in using makeup "was a work of art." Combined with acting which followed no "method", he perfected his control of voice and gestures into an acting style that was "unique."


title: Paul Muni

text: Film historian David Shipman described Muni as "an actor of great integrity", noting he meticulously prepared for his roles. Muni was widely recognized as eccentric if talented: he objected to anyone wearing red in his presence, and he could often be found between sessions playing his violin. Over the years, he became increasingly dependent on his wife, Bella, a dependence which increased as his failing eyesight turned to blindness in his final years. Muni was "inflexible on matters of taste and principle", once turning down an $800,000 movie contract because he was not happy with the studio's choice of film roles.


title: Paul Muni

text: Although Muni was considered one of the best film actors of the 1930s, some film critics such as David Thomson and Andrew Sarris, accuse him of overacting.


title: Paul Muni

text: German director William Dieterle, who directed him in his three biopics, also frequently accused him of overacting, despite his respect for the actor.


title: Paul Muni

text: In his private life, Muni was considered "exceedingly shy", and was discomfited to be recognized while out shopping or dining. He enjoyed reading and going for walks with his wife in secluded sections of Central Park. He always arrived at the theater by 7:30 pm to prepare for that night's performance. After retiring from acting, he lived in California, in what was considered an "austere" setting, where his wife and he enjoyed their privacy. In his den, which he called his "Shangri-La", he spent time reading books and listening to the radio. Muni died of a heart disorder in Montecito, California, in 1967, aged 71. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood.


title: Paul Muni

text: Muni has four official Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning for "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1936) and receiving official nominations for "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932), "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937), and "The Last Angry Man" (1959). His nomination for the film "The Valiant" (1929) is unofficial. The reason for this being that at the 2nd Academy Awards, no acting nominees were announced, only the Best Actor and Actress winners were announced, with the Academy Awards official site stating "Although not official nominations, the additional names in each category, according to in-house records, were under consideration by various boards of judges". Muni's performance in "Black Fury" was not nominated for an Oscar (see note below filmography).


title: Paul Muni

text: Referring to his childhood during the Great Depression, Hawkeye Pierce in the "Hawkeye" episode of the television series "M*A*S*H*", said, "You knew where you stood in those days. Franklin Roosevelt was always president, Joe Louis was always the champ, and Paul Muni played everybody."


title: Paul Muni

text: Muni and George Raft appeared as characters in the fifth season of "Boardwalk Empire", meeting with Al Capone to discuss the film "Scarface".


title: Fred Berry

text: Fred Allen Berry (March 19, 1951 – October 21, 2003) was an American actor and street dancer. He was best known for his role as Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the 1970s television show "What's Happening!!"


title: Fred Berry

text: Berry was born on March 19, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in an inner-city housing estate. He had aspirations of becoming a successful dancer and actor as a child. Early in his career, Berry was a member of the Los Angeles-based dance troupe The Lockers, with whom he appeared on the third episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975. He additionally appeared on the dance music show "Soul Train", and was featured in the program's signature line dance segment doing the memorable early 1970s dance step "the slo-mo".


title: Fred Berry

text: Berry achieved more widespread fame playing the character Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the ABC sitcom "What's Happening!!", which aired from 1976 to 1979 as he was in his mid 20s. The role was originally going to be given by that of a skinny and white actor. His earned Rerun sobriquet was chosen because the character had to continuously repeat all of his classes during summer school. He became one of the show's top characters with a trademark red beret, suspenders, and the dance moves he previously used during his time with The Lockers. In 1985, Berry returned to reprise his role as Rerun in the series "What's Happening Now!!". He was fired before the first season ended due to a salary dispute, when he requested that he receive more money than the rest of the cast.


title: Fred Berry

text: Berry struggled with drug and alcohol issues throughout the span of his career and life. In 1996, he told People magazine “I was a millionaire by the time I was 29, but then the stress of success got to me. The fat jokes got to me. And I got heavily into drugs and alcohol.” In a 1996 interview, he said that he had been experimenting with drugs and alcohol since he was a teenager, but as he became more successful, he could afford more drugs. Berry had attempted suicide three times, but later recovered and spent his time visiting many churches.


title: Fred Berry

text: During the 1990s, Berry became a motivational speaker and Baptist minister, and lost 100 lbs after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.


title: Fred Berry

text: Berry was married six times to four different women, the first two of whom he married twice each. He has three children: DeShannon, Portia and Freddy, who works as Fred Berry Jr.


title: Fred Berry

text: On October 21, 2003, Berry was found dead at his Los Angeles home, where he was recovering from a stroke. The cause of death was listed as natural causes. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Marouane Chamakh (; ; born 10 January 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "link-up play", "tall stature" and "excellent heading ability". Chamakh is also Bordeaux's eleventh highest goalscorer of all-time.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh started his career training with various clubs in the Aquitaine region. In 2000, he signed with Bordeaux. Chamakh made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season. He spent nine years at the club and helped Bordeaux win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2007. In the 2008–09 season, Chamakh won the league title as Bordeaux were crowned champions for the first time since the 1998–99 season. The club also won the Coupe de la Ligue completing the league and league cup double. In May 2010, Chamakh joined Premier League club Arsenal on a free transfer after agreeing a four-year contract with the club. Whilst with the Gunners, he helped take the club to the League Cup final of 2011. During his stay at the Emirates, Chamakh also became the first player in UEFA Champions League history to score in six consecutive games.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh, who was born and raised in France, chose to play international football for Morocco due to his Moroccan parents. He made his national team debut in July 2003 and played in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, including the 2004 tournament in which Morocco finished as runners-up. In August 2010, he captained the national team for the first time.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh began his football career at the age of four playing for local club Nérac FC in the nearby commune of Nérac. After six years at Nérac, Chamakh joined FC Marmandais. While in Marmande, he developed his physical skills and traits, growing as tall as 6 ft (1.83 m) and also earning his first regional selection to play for the Aquitaine regional team in the Coupe Nationale.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: In 2000, Chamakh was pursued by several professional clubs that wanted to obtain his services. He drew interest from Lens, Toulouse, Lorient, and Bordeaux. Chamakh eventually decided to sign with Bordeaux due to the club's infrastructure and training facilities and also because of the close proximity to his family. Upon his arrival, Chamakh was placed into the club's youth academy. For the 2001–02 season, he was promoted to the club's Championnat de France amateur 2 team in the fifth division. Chamakh was involved heavily in the campaign of the team, coached by Jean-Louis Garcia. He appeared in 17 matches and scored six goals as the team finished first in their group, thus earning promotion to the Championnat de France amateur.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Following the season, Chamakh turned professional and signed a three-year contract with Bordeaux. He spent the first half of the 2002–03 campaign playing in the fourth division, but following the winter break, was called up to the senior team by manager Élie Baup. Chamakh made his professional debut on 19 January 2003 in the team's Coupe de la Ligue match against Metz. He appeared as a substitute and played 15 minutes in a 1–0 defeat. Chamakh made his league debut three weeks later in a 2–0 home defeat to Bastia again appearing as a substitute. On 20 May, he scored his first professional goal against Nice, netting the equalizing goal just a minute before injury time in a 1–1 draw. Chamakh appeared in 14 games, always as a substitute, during the campaign. In the 2003–04 season, he was promoted to the senior team permanently by new manager Michel Pavon and made his first professional league start on 1 November 2003 in a 1–0 win over Marseille. In the team's following match, Chamakh scored the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Strasbourg just before halftime. However, midway through the second half, he received his first career red card after incurring a second yellow. Upon returning from his one-game suspension, Chamakh developed into a regular starter for the club, scoring goals in consecutive matches against Metz and Montpellier. He finished the league campaign with six goals in 25 matches. In the club's UEFA Cup campaign, Chamakh netted four times in eight appearances.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: In the 2004–05 season, Pavon decided to move Chamakh into the lead striker position and install Argentine playmaker Juan Pablo Francia as a support striker. The move was a success with Chamakh scoring ten league goals. He opened the campaign by scoring his first professional hat-trick in a 5–1 victory over Nice. In September 2004, Chamakh scored goals in back-to-back matches against Bastia and Derby de la Garonne rivals Toulouse. He finished the campaign by scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Monaco. Despite the positive individual season from Chamakh, Bordeaux finished the campaign in 15th place; its worst finish since ending the league campaign in 16th over a decade before. Pavon, due to heart problems, stepped down from his position and was replaced by Ricardo Gomes. Under Gomes, Chamakh struggled to meet the success of his previous season scoring only 12 league goals in 58 matches over the course of two seasons. Two of his notable performances during Gomes' reign included scoring a double in league matches against Metz and Nancy. In the match against the former club, Chamakh scored both of his goals within a minute of each other. He was later ejected from the match after committing a red card offense. Chamakh ended the 2006–07 Ligue 1 campaign by hoisting the Coupe de la Ligue trophy after featuring in the team's 1–0 victory over Lyon in the final match. It was Chamakh's first major club honour.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Following the departure of Gomes, Bordeaux hired rookie manager Laurent Blanc ahead of the 2007–08 season. Chamakh has stated on several occasions that Blanc was an important figure in his development as a footballer. However, when Blanc first arrived to the club, Chamakh struggled to earn meaningful minutes because Blanc preferred David Bellion, a new recruit. His playing time up front was further hampered by the arrival of striker Fernando Cavenaghi, who had a prolific season scoring 15 goals in only 23 appearances. Due to Cavenaghi's emergence, Chamakh was used as a target man and scored four goals, his lowest output since becoming a professional. In the 2008–09 season, Chamakh was relegated to appearing as a substitute for the first half of the campaign. However, on 21 December 2008, Chamakh convinced Blanc to change his mind. With Bordeaux trailing 3–0 against Monaco, Chamakh appeared as a substitute and, within minutes on the field, scored a goal. Following a goal from Alou Diarra to make the match 3–2, Chamakh equalized three minutes from time and, two minutes later, Cavenaghi netted the game-winner to give Bordeaux a 4–3 victory. Following the winter break, Blanc decided to use both Chamakh and Cavenaghi in the attack with influential playmaker Yoann Gourcuff acting in support. It was the former who developed a consistent partnership with Gourcuff, and Chamakh responded by scoring eight league goals in the second half of the season. On 30 May 2009, Bordeaux sealed their first league title since the 1998–99 season after defeating Caen 1–0 at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Chamakh played the entire match. The club also won the Coupe de la Ligue, completing the league and league cup double.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: During the club's victory parade, with only one year left on his contract Chamakh declared that he would be staying at Bordeaux for the 2009–10 season, despite strong interest from Premier League club Arsenal. Despite the statement, rumors of a move to Arsenal continued to surface with negotiations reportedly having been ongoing throughout the summer. On 3 August 2009, president Jean-Louis Triaud declared that Arsenal had sent a bid of €7 million for Chamakh and that he had rejected it, demanding that Arsenal improve its offer. The following day, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger announced that he would not be offering a better deal and declared the possible transfer dead. The announcement subsequently led Chamakh to confirm his intent to remain at Bordeaux for the 2009–10 season. On 29 August, Chamakh reportedly snubbed a move to West Ham United. The club offered Bordeaux £18 million for the player and offered Chamakh a four-year contract worth £3 million a year. However, Chamakh remained firm on his stance, reiterating his commitment to Bordeaux.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: In his final season with Bordeaux, Chamakh was equally adept in both the league and the Champions League. He began the season claiming his fifth trophy on 25 July 2009 as Bordeaux won the Trophée des Champions in a 2–0 victory over Guingamp. Chamakh scored ten goals in league play and netted five in the Champions League, which included goals against Italian club Juventus and German club Bayern Munich in the group stage. Bordeaux were only one of two clubs to finish the group stage portion undefeated. In the knockout rounds, Chamakh scored a goal in Bordeaux's 2–1 victory over Greek club Olympiacos in the second leg of the team's UEFA Champions League opening knockout round match. Bordeaux won the tie with a 3–1 aggregate scoreline to advance to the quarter-finals, where they faced league rivals Lyon. In the first leg, which Lyon won 3–1, Chamakh scored a vital away goal. In the second leg, Chamakh converted another goal to get the scoreline 3–2 on aggregate. In the second half, however, Bordeaux were unable to score another as Lyon advanced to the semi-finals on the aggregate scoreline. In Ligue 1, Chamakh appeared in all 38 matches for the first time in his career. Despite starting the campaign strong, Bordeaux fell out of the running for the league title in the spring and eventually finished the season in sixth place, failing to qualify for European competition next season.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 21 May 2010, Chamakh completed his move to Arsenal on a free transfer after completing his contract with Bordeaux. The transfer took effect on 1 July 2010. He made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Barnet on 17 July, appearing as a substitute. On 27 July, he scored his first pre-season goal for the club, converting a penalty in a 4–0 victory over Austrian club SC Neusiedl. In the 2010 edition of the Emirates Cup, Chamakh scored on his home debut against Italian club Milan. On 7 August 2010, he scored the first goal in 6-5 win against Legia Warsaw in a friendly match and the last match for pre-season. He made his Premier League debut on 15 August in the team's 1–1 draw with Liverpool. Chamakh contributed to the team's equalising goal by heading a cross off the goal post, which then redirected off goalkeeper Pepe Reina and into the back of the net, resulting in an own goal.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 21 August 2010, Chamakh scored his first Premier League goal with a header against Blackpool. In the same match, he won a penalty when he was fouled by Ian Evatt, which Andrey Arshavin subsequently converted in a 6–0 win for Arsenal. In his third start in four games, Chamakh scored the team's second goal against Bolton Wanderers in a 4–1 victory. On 15 September, in his first Champions League match for the club, he scored the third goal in a 6–0 win against Portuguese club Braga. Two weeks later, Chamakh scored his second Champions League goal for Arsenal against Serbian outfit Partizan. The goal was his seventh goal in eight Champions League matches. Following the international break, Chamakh continued his solid form, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Birmingham City. Three days later, he scored his eighth goal in nine Champions League matches against Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in a 5–1 rout. On 10 November, Chamakh scored both goals in a midweek victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored the opening goal 37 seconds into play, which is the fastest league goal scored in the club's history.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 20 November, Chamakh scored a goal in a 3–2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby. A week later, he converted another goal, this time in a 4–2 win over Aston Villa. Following the goal against Villa, Chamakh went scoreless in the winter months, often appearing as a substitute in a majority of the matches. In matches he did start, he was often substituted on early in the second half. On 15 February 2011, he admitted that he felt burnt-out, stating, "By the start of January I felt that I had completely lost my edge." The striker also admitted he needed some rest and wouldn't return to full form until March. On 20 February, Chamakh played the entire match in Arsenal's 1–1 draw with Leyton Orient in the FA Cup. It was the first time in nearly two months he had played the full 90 minutes in a match. On 2 March, in the replay against Leyton Orient, Chamakh scored his first goal since November in a 5–0 win.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: In the 2011–12 season, Chamakh made just 11 league appearances, most of which as a substitute, and scored only one goal, which came in the 4–3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 30 October 2012, Chamakh made his first start since January, scoring two goals to help Arsenal recover from a 4–0 disadvantage and defeat Reading 7–5 in extra time and advance to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 4 January 2013, it was announced that Chamakh had been loaned to West Ham United until the end of the 2012–13 season. The loan deal was confirmed on West Ham's official site with the striker saying, "I didn't have opportunities to play recently, but I did well before and I know I am a very good striker. We played only one striker at Arsenal, so I didn't play a lot, so I hope to do so more with West Ham." He played only three games for West Ham without scoring.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 10 August 2013, Ian Holloway announced the signing of Chamakh on a one-year deal from Arsenal to Crystal Palace. On 24 August 2013 he scored his first Premier League goal since September 2011 and his first for Crystal Palace, in a 2–1 away defeat to Stoke City.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 9 November 2013, Chamakh was given a standing ovation by the home fans at Selhurst Park whilst being substituted, despite not scoring, impressing with his work rate and attitude against Everton. On 3 December 2013, Chamakh scored in a 1–0 win against West Ham from a cross by Barry Bannan, his first goal in 11 matches. He continued his good form with a well-hit low volley in a 2–0 home win over Cardiff City. On 14 December 2013, he scored his third goal in three matches against Chelsea in a 2–1 away loss; he received a standing ovation for "working his socks off literally" when replaced on the 88th minute.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: At the end of the 2013–14 season, Chamakh was listed as being released by the club, as his contract had expired. On 11 July 2014, however, it was announced that Chamakh had signed a new two-year contract with Palace. On 24 January 2015, he scored a brace in a 2–3 away win against Southampton in the FA Cup.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On the final day of the 2014–15 Premier League season, Chamakh scored the winner in a 1–0 home victory against Swansea City at Selhurst Park, the club's final home goal of the season. Coincidentally, the Moroccan had scored his first Palace home goal of that season, when he scored against his former club West Ham in August. The goal was only his second league goal of the season. On 13 June 2016, it was announced that Chamakh had again been released by Crystal Palace.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 11 October 2016, Chamakh joined Championship side Cardiff City on a short-term contract. He made his debut for the club on 19 October as a second-half substitute in place of Rickie Lambert during a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. He was released by Cardiff in December 2016 having made two appearances, both as a substitute.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 26 May 2019, Chamakh confirmed that he retired from professional football after not playing for almost two-and-a-half years.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh is a Moroccan international at the senior level. Prior to representing Morocco, he played for the under-19 team of France and made his debut on 12 February 2003 in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. That was his only appearance with the team. Chamakh was then selected within the French squad for the 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, but declined the offer after being called up by Moroccan national team coach Badou Zaki for the team's 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification matches against Sierra Leone and Gabon. On 7 June 2003, he made his debut with the team in the match against Sierra Leone. On 10 September 2003, Chamakh scored both goals, which included his first international goal, in a 2–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. He participated in the rest of the qualification matches and was later named to participate in the tournament. Chamakh scored two goals in the competition; one against Benin in the group stage and another in the quarter-finals against Algeria. Morocco beat Mali in the semi-finals to reach the final where they faced Tunisia. In the match, Chamakh played the entire contest as Morocco were defeated 2–1 at the Stade 7 Novembre in Tunis.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: In qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Chamakh scored three goals. One of his goals during qualification occurred on 8 October 2010 against Tunisia. With Morocco needing a win to qualify for the World Cup, Chamakh opened the scoring in the third minute. However, the match finished 2–2, which resulted in the team failing to qualify for the competition. However, the draw did allow Morocco qualification for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In the tournament, Morocco were eliminated in the group stage and departed the tournament without scoring a goal. In 2008, Chamakh was selected to participate in his third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations and was held scoreless in the competition as Morocco were again eliminated in the group stage. In 2009–2010, Chamakh appeared in only four matches and scored no goals as Morocco failed to qualify for both the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: On 11 August 2010, Chamakh captained the national team for the first time in a 2–1 win over the Equatorial Guinea. Three months later, he scored the opening goal in the team's 1–1 away draw to Northern Ireland. After going scoreless for six months at international level, on 4 June 2011, Chamakh scored the second goal in a 4–0 win over Algeria in qualification for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh was excluded from Morocco's squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, with coach Rachid Taoussi explaining that the striker had not been playing enough club football to be considered.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh was born in Tonneins, a small town near the Garonne River, to Moroccan parents, and was raised in the nearby commune of Aiguillon. His father, El Mostafa Chamakh, was a former footballer in Morocco and played for club Difaâ Aïn Sbaâ in Casablanca. In 1979, he left Morocco to locate more favorable living conditions and to find a better job.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: While pursuing his career as a professional footballer, Chamakh was equally adept off the field earning good grades in school. During his early years at Bordeaux, he began attending high school. He hoped to earn a Baccalauréat in accounting, which he later accomplished. In addition to having a Baccalauréat, Chamakh is also very interested in politics and, in February 2010, voiced his support for the Democratic Movement (MoDem) political party ahead of the upcoming regional elections. In the 2010 regional elections, Chamakh was, surprisingly, listed as a candidate by the MoDem for the Gironde department in the Aquitaine region. The lead deputy of the party, Jean Lassalle, stated on the decision to name Chamakh to the ballot: "I want to gather all the forces of Aquitaine to sustain our region, and Marouane is one of those forces who Aquitaine needs." Chamakh was listed as a non-eligible candidate on the ballot and Lasalle was accused of using Chamakh in order to garner votes from football supporters in the region.


title: Marouane Chamakh

text: Chamakh is a practising Muslim and has stated that "I have no problem fasting during Ramadan, it becomes normal. The day before a game and on match days I do not fast, but I'll make up the lost days later."


title: Artemis Pebdani

text: Artemis Pebdani (born August 2, 1977) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Susan Ross on "Scandal", Artemis on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and Gramma Alice on "Big City Greens".


title: Artemis Pebdani

text: Pebdani was born and raised in Texas. Her parents were Iranians who left Iran in the mid-1970s, five years before the Islamic Revolution. She received her BFA in theatre from Southern Methodist University and is also an alum of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, California.


title: Artemis Pebdani

text: In the early 2000s, Pebdani began appearing on television shows such as "The Shield", "Ugly Betty", and "House". From 2005 onwards, she has had the recurring role of Artemis, the foul-mouthed friend of Sweet Dee, in the FX comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".


title: Artemis Pebdani

text: Following her work in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", Pebdani had guest starring roles on "How I Met Your Mother", "Modern Family", "Raising Hope", "Garfunkel and Oates", "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", "Hot in Cleveland", and "House of Lies". Her breakthrough role came in 2014, playing the role of Flo Packer in the second season on the Showtime period drama "Masters of Sex". Her character is the owner of a diet pill company for which Virginia Johnson works as a salesperson for part of the season. Then she becomes involved in a table-turning sexual relationship. In 2015, Pebdani joined the cast of Shonda Rhimes's political drama "Scandal" as Susan Ross, the new Vice President of the United States. In 2016, she joined the cast of the Fox comedy "Son of Zorn" as Linda Orvend (Zorn's boss). In 2018, Pebdani had a voice role on the Disney animated series "Big City Greens". She appeared on Disney's "Godmothered".


title: Artemis Pebdani

text: She played the wallflower in the New Kids on The Block's video "Remix (I Like The)" released in 2013.


Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts (a type of turnkey contract) are a form of contract used to undertake construction works by the private sector on large-scale and complex infrastructure projects.


title: Engineering, procurement, and construction

text: Under an EPC contract, a contractor is obliged to deliver a complete facility to a developer who needs only "turn a key" to start operating the facility; hence EPC contracts are sometimes called turnkey construction contracts. In addition to delivering a complete facility, the contractor must deliver that facility for a guaranteed price by a fixed date and it must perform to the specified level. Failure to comply with any requirement will usually result in the contractor incurring monetary liabilities. The EPC contractor coordinates all design, procurement and construction work and ensures that the whole project is completed as required and in time. They may or may not undertake actual site work.


text: Various abbreviations used for this type of contract are "LSTK" for "lump sum turn key", "EPIC" for "engineering, procurement, installation & commissioning" and "EPCC" for "engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning". Use of EPIC is common, e.g., by FIDIC and most Persian Gulf countries. Use of LSTK is common in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Use of EPCC is common in Qatar and some other countries.


text: An EPC, LSTK, or EPCC all are the same types of contracts. This form of contract is covered by the FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) Silver Book containing the title words "EPC/turnkey". The initials EPCM are also encountered frequently on international projects, but this is very different from EPC. EPCM is a services-only contract, under which the contractor performs engineering, procurement and construction management services. In an EPCM arrangement, the client selects a contractor who provides management services for the whole project on behalf of the client.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: Wings is the second Korean studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on October 10, 2016, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is available in four versions and contains fifteen tracks, with "Blood Sweat & Tears" serving as its lead single. Heavily influenced by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, "Demian", the concept album thematically deals with temptation and growth. It was later reissued as a repackage album, titled You Never Walk Alone, on February 13, 2017, a continuation of the canon for "Wings". Three new songs were added to the track listing, with "Spring Day" and "Not Today" promoted as the lead singles.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: Both albums received positive reviews from critics. They sold a combined 1.8 million physical copies worldwide, the group's highest record sales at the time. This earned BTS the title of "million sellers" due to the outstanding financial reception. According to Gaon Chart, "Wings" was the best-selling album of 2016 in Korea.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On August 31, 2016 Big Hit Entertainment released a statement announcing BTS's third global official fan club concert where they would perform new material for the first time. From September 4 to 13 Big Hit Entertainment released a series of short films for each member to promote the upcoming album. The short films started with Jungkook's "Begin", followed by Jimin's "Lie", V's "Stigma", Suga's "First Love", RM's "Reflection", J-Hope's "Mama", and ended with Jin's "Awake".


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On September 25, BTS released a comeback trailer on YouTube, featuring member J-Hope rapping solo. The video depicted a boy's mind meeting a devil called 'temptation'. From September 28 to October 4 Big Hit Entertainment released concept photos of the album on official Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages revealing the album will be available in four physical versions designated: W, I, N and G. The album's track list was then released on October 5 on the official website and Twitter account. A music video teaser was also released on October 7 on YouTube, indicating "Blood Sweat & Tears" would be the lead single. Big Hit Entertainment lastly revealed the design and details of the physical album which would include a photobook, polaroid, mini standee and poster.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: During the press conference for the release of the album, leader RM explained, "The harder a temptation is to resist, the more you think about it and vacillate. That uncertainty is part of the process of growing. 'Blood Sweat & Tears' is a song that shows how one thinks, chooses, and grows." Symbolism such as the 'wings' were representations of growth, with Suga adding, "The song relays an optimistic determination to use our wings to go far, even if we are met with temptations in life." Jungkook explained during the group's preview show on "V Live", that his solo track, "Begin", was about his journey to Seoul and meeting the BTS members. V described his song, "Stigma", as "a song under the neo-soul genre". J-Hope described his song, "MAMA", as unforgettable, as it was about his childhood emotions for his mother. "Awake" was Jin's first experience in co-composition. RM revealed the 14th track, "Two! Three! (Still Wishing For Better Days)" ("둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를)") was the first official fan song. The album credits Kevin Moore as co-writer and co-producer.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: Wings combined the themes of youth presented in their previous "youth series" with temptation and adversity and, for the first time as a major group effort, included seven solo tracks that demonstrated each member's individual strengths as independent musicians.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On November 18, 2016 Big Hit Entertainment released a teaser trailer for an upcoming concert tour of "Wings"


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: were released on the group's official Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, indicating that the physical album would be available in two versions, designated 'Left' and 'Right'. The track list was then released on BTS' official homepage and Twitter account on February 7, revealing the track "Outro: Wings" as a remake from their previous album. A music video teaser was released on YouTube on February 10 hinting at the new lead single, "Spring Day". They also released the design and details of the physical album, accompanied by a photobook, photocard, mini standee, and poster. On February 11, the second music video teaser was released on YouTube, which indicated that "Not Today" was another single from the album.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: "You Never Walk Alone" is a continuation of "Wings" and contains stories that were not included in the previous album. The album also contains messages of hope and consolation meant to heal the youth of the generation.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: A music video for "Blood Sweat & Tears" was released October 10, 2016 after a month of promotional buildup. The music video tied in heavily with literary, philosophical, and artistic allusions of Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, "Demian". The music video was produced and directed by Lumpens and GDW.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On February 12, 2017, the official music video for "Spring Day" was released. The song delivers a message about never losing hope while waiting to be reunited with an estranged friend. "Spring Day" is an alternative hip-hop song with the essence of British rock and electronic music. The main melody was written by RM. The video was produced and directed by frequent BTS collaborator Lumpens (YongSeok Choi) and GDW.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On February 19 the official music video for "Not Today" was released on YouTube. "Not Today" is an addictive moombahton track and the music video features a powerful moombahton dance performance. The video was produced and directed by GDW. A week later BTS released a second music video for "Not Today", with a dance choreographed by Keone Madrid.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On October 9, 2016 BTS held a comeback preview show on Naver V LIVE. The next day, they held a 'Wings Showcase' for the release of the studio album at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Korea. BTS also promised to have new songs at upcoming concerts. Promotion on local music programs continued for a month, starting with Mnet's "M! Countdown" on October 13 where they performed three songs: the lead single, "Am I Wrong" and "21st Century Girl" the first week. On November 12, the BTS 3RD Muster [ARMY.ZIP +] concert was held with BTS performing "Wings" comeback releases for the first time.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: On February 12, 2017 BTS held a comeback preview show on Naver V LIVE. Starting February 18 BTS held "" in support of their album, having shows in South Korea, the Americas, and various Asian countries. A week of broadcast promotion began on February 23 with singles "Spring Day" and "Not Today" performed on Mnet's "M! Countdown". "Outro: Wings" had been deemed unfit for broadcast by KBS.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: "Wings" pre-orders reached 500,000 copies on its first week, 200,000 more than BTS' previous album, "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2". "Blood Sweat & Tears" then broke the record for fastest K-pop music video to reach 10 million views. Billboard stated that it was the most-viewed K-pop video in America in the month of October 2016.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: Shortly after release, the group achieved an 'all-kill', simultaneously holding the  1 position on all major South Korean music charts. The album's lead single, "Blood Sweat & Tears", became the group's first domestic No. 1 hit on Gaon Digital Chart. All 15 songs on the album charted in the top 50 of the Gaon Digital Chart, garnering over one million digital downloads and over eight million streams. Thirteen of the album's songs charted on Billboard World Digital Songs with the lead single debuted at No. 1 on its first week.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: The album charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 26, making it the highest-charting and best-selling K-pop album on the chart at the time, surpassing 2NE1's "Crush" and Exo's "Exodus" respectively, with 16,000 copies sold and 11,000 in traditional album sales. It spent more than one week on the chart making BTS the first K-pop act to achieve the feat with a single album. In two weeks it sold 100,000 copies, nearly 13,000 of which were in traditional album sales. BTS also topped Billboard World Albums for the week of October 29. In its third week, it moved another 1,000 copies, spending another week as the highest-selling K-pop album in America. BTS made their debut in the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart on the week of October 29, 2016 with a peak position at No. 20. It was the first Korean album listed on the UK Albums Chart, at No. 62. It was listed at No. 6 on the World Album Year End Chart and was selected as the Best Kpop Album of 2016 by "Billboard". It broke South Korea album chart records as the highest-selling album on its Gaon Monthly Chart and was the highest-selling album since the Gaon chart's inception. In addition to being Gaon's best-selling album of the year, it won Record of the Year at the 26th Seoul Music Awards, Album of the Year (4th quarter) at the 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards and Disk "Bonsang" or Album Division at the 31st Golden Disc Awards.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: "You Never Walk Alone" received a record-breaking pre-order of over 700,000 physical copies, the highest pre-order record for the first half of 2017.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: The "Spring Day" music video broke the record set by "Blood Sweat & Tears" for the fastest K-pop music video to reach 10 million views, which was then broken by the music video for "Not Today".


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: BTS also set a record for shortest time between consecutive concerts at the large Gocheok Sky Dome venue for "2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour" in Seoul. Tickets for both domestic and international concerts on the tour sold out within minutes.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: Within an hour of its midnight release, lead single "Spring Day" reached the top spot on eight online music streaming sites, including Melon, Mnet, Genie and Naver Music. The high demand caused an error on Melon where it temporarily became inaccessible.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: It earned BTS four first-place trophies on local music program awards. "Spring Day" debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard World Digital Songs, selling 14,000 digital downloads. Together with "Not Today", "Outro: Wings" and "A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone", the four new tracks held the top four slots on the World Digital Songs chart making BTS the first K-pop act to do so. "Not Today" surpassed "Spring Day" in the following week, rising up the chart to No. 1 and recording BTS' fourth entry as chart-toppers on the ranking.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: The album "You Never Walk Alone" debuted at No. 61 on the Billboard 200, extending BTS' record as the K-pop act with the most entries on the chart. This eventually led to their 6th entry on the chart, unique for a Korean artist at the time. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard World Albums, giving BTS their third chart-topper album on that ranking. Upon its release in China, the album sold 144,400 in the first week on QQ Music, and charted at No. 1 on the best-selling albums of the week. In South Korea, the album charted at No. 1 on Gaon Weekly Chart with 373,750 albums sold in one week, earning the band their 7th weekly chart-topper and breaking the record set by "Wings". It also topped February Gaon Monthly Chart, the highest physical sales for the first half of 2017.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: "Wings" received mostly positive reviews from critics, for tackling social issues such as mental health and female empowerment. Jeff Benjamin of "Fuse" wrote, "The rising K-pop phenoms' new album is doing it right by letting their seven members spread their artistic wings and solidifying their individual identities—all while keeping the band identity strong as ever." "Fuse" listed "Wings" at No. 8 on their list of the 20 Best Albums of 2016, praising the album's "vulnerable and honest song material" and diverse tracks. The album also topped "Billboard"'s "10 Best K-Pop Albums 2016" list. "Billboard" branded the album an "accomplishment all its own", praising BTS' involvement in co-writing and producing and the compositional choice to allow each member a solo song reflecting individual musical styles, showing that "they can compete with top pop acts." The music chart also described BTS' music as "forward-thinking", referring to the tropical house and EDM sounds on the album and lyrics that discussed the darker side of mental health issues.


title: Wings (BTS album)

text: "Rolling Stone"s Nick Murray named "Wings" "one of the most conceptually and sonically ambitious pop albums of 2016." Writing for "Billboard"s Tamar Herman wrote an article on the repackaged album "You Never Walk Alone", in which she described the single "Spring Day" as an "alt hip hop song infused with rock instrumentals and EDM synths" combining the rap elements for which BTS has become known with "dreamy vocals and yearning lyrics." Herman called "Not Today" the dual single counterpart to "Spring Day", a power anthem for "all the underdogs in the world." "Spring Day" ranked No. 1 on "Dazed Digital"'s "20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2017" list, and the magazine described the song as "an intelligent, compelling and elegantly restrained study of loss and longing" that "deliberately avoids cliché pomp and drama". "Wings" was included in "Billboard"s list of "The 25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s".


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the initialism PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 1.8 billion YouTube views and 5.8 million subscribers.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Each week, Postmodern Jukebox releases a new video on YouTube. Although originally most were filmed casually in Bradlee's living room, sets became more elaborate over time. The band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes. Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, Postmodern Jukebox has gone on to feature 70 different performers and tour six continents.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Postmodern Jukebox originated when Scott Bradlee began shooting videos with friends from college in his basement apartment in Astoria. This group included bassist Chris Anderson, saxophonist Ben Golder-Novick, harpist Brandee Younger, and vocalist Emma Walker.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Bradlee struggled for years as a jazz musician in New York City before one of his videos ("a medley of '80s songs done ragtime style") became popular in 2009. He received a message on Twitter from author Neil Gaiman. Two years later his video for "A Motown Tribute to Nickelback" included Drue Davis (emcee), Steve Ujfalussy (saxophone, EWI) Adam Kubota (bass), Allan Mednard (drums), and Tim Kubart (tambourine).


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: With over one million views in its first week, and four million in its first year, Robyn Adele Anderson's cover version of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop" (2012) was Postmodern Jukebox's first viral music video. The song was included on "Introducing Postmodern Jukebox" (2013) and reached No. 8 on the "Billboard" magazine jazz album chart. This was followed by her cover of Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" in 2013. The band performed on "Good Morning America" in September.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In late 2013, Postmodern Jukebox was invited to the New York City offices of "Cosmopolitan" to film a year-end tribute to 2013, covering the year's hit songs with arrangements from different genres and times. The "Just Another Day at the Office" mashup included Robyn Adele Anderson singing "Blurred Lines", Cristina Gatti singing "Holy Grail", Anderson and the Tee Tones singing "We Can't Stop", Karen Marie singing "Roar", Ashley Stroud singing "Royals", and Andromeda Turre singing "What Does the Fox Say?". The production was completed in a single take, and a companion behind-the-scenes video was also produced.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In 2014, Kate Davis performed a cover version of Meghan Trainor's song "All About That Bass" (2014) in Scott Bradlee's living room after three hours of practice. Davis sang and played double bass; her rendition gathered 8 million views in three months. "I knew the song, probably could have done it on the fly. Maybe that's why it's so funny. I remember thinking it was so funny at the time I was going to crack up, maybe five times." The 1940s arrangement and piano accompaniment is by Bradlee with Dave Tedeschi on drums. The single was a success, catching the attention of "Time", "Billboard", "The Huffington Post", and "PBS NewsHour".


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: "BuzzFeed" featured a doo-wop cover of "Timber," with Robyn Adele Anderson and The Tee Tones fronting, in February 2014. The group's cover of Radiohead's seminal 1990s hit "Creep," performed by Haley Reinhart, was called a "stunning listen" by the "Los Angeles Times" in April 2015. As of April 2022, the video had over 105 million views and was their most viewed video.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In 2015, Broadway actress Shoshana Bean became active with the group as a guest artist when Bradlee moved to Los Angeles. "Broadway World" raved about Bean's performance of Sia's "Chandelier" at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and "Billboard" did a feature story on Motown version of Justin Bieber's "Sorry". Bean joined the Postmodern Jukebox 2016 spring European tour at its midway point.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Sara Niemietz performed with the cast in August 2015, covering the Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (1983), PMJ's rendition of "Hey Ya!" (2003) by Outkast, a Dixieland arrangement of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" (2015), and a club version of the "Pokémon Theme". Niemietz joined the band's northeastern leg of its 2015 U.S. tour and the entire 2016 European tour. MTV U.K. caught up with the show in London and spotlighted a big band cover version of Elle King's "Ex's & Oh's" (2014) with Niemietz on vocals and Sarah Reich tap dancing.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In early February 2016, Postmodern Jukebox covered David Bowie's song "Heroes" in honor of World Cancer Day with vocals by Nicole Atkins. The song was released to earn money for the Cancer Research Institute. In 2016, Heineken announced a global partnership with Formula One racing, and in September released the "If You Drive, Never Drink" campaign commercial with driver Sir Jackie Stewart (the "Flying Scot") and "Heroes" as background music.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Around the same time, PMJ started Reboxed, consisting of new versions of songs that had already been covered. The first Reboxed song was by Niemietz and the Sole Sisters singing "Bad Romance", which had been sung by Ariana Savalas with Sarah Reich tap dancing. "Adweek" named Bradlee one of "20 Content Creators Who Are Setting the Bar for Creativity in 2016".


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In late May 2018, PMJ surpassed the one billion view mark on YouTube. Bradlee, members of the band, and guests hosted their first live stream event from the PMJ Manor to celebrate.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: On June 12, 2018, Scott Bradlee released his first book, a memoir entitled "Outside The Jukebox: How I Turned My Vintage Music Obsession Into My Dream Gig". The book received positive reviews from "Publishers Weekly", "The Weekly Standard", and "Billboard".


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In 2014, PMJ started the first annual #PMJSearch contest to discover musical talent. The month-long competition asks fans to submit videos of themselves performing versions of PMJ songs for a chance to perform on an upcoming official video. Out of the many videos that are submitted each year, the winner is selected by Scott Bradlee. Past winners include Holly Campbell-Smith (2015), Devi Ananda (2016), and Olivia Kuper Harris (2017), all of whom went on to be featured in PMJ videos, as well as on tour with the band. Harris' feature on "Last Friday Night" caught the attention of the song's original singer, Katy Perry, during an online feature for "Glamour".


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: On February 24, 2016, Postmodern Jukebox opened at the Dubai International Jazz Festival, alongside Sting, Toto, Chris Botti, and David Gray.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: The 2017 tour included concurrent dates in Europe and the US, with two separate "casts" of musicians.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: PMJ made its first visit of South America in August 2017, with four dates in Brazil and one in Argentina.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: In April 2018, PMJ made their debut in Africa, performing in Tunisia at the Jazz a Carthage Festival and Morocco at the Jazzablanca Festival, marking the sixth continent on which they've performed.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Several former "American Idol" finalists have found success as part of Postmodern Jukebox's ensemble, including Vonzell Solomon (season 4), Blake Lewis (season 6), Melinda Doolittle (season 6), Haley Reinhart (Season 10), Casey Abrams (Season 10), Thia Megia (season 10), and DeAndre Brackensick (season 11). Four Season 14 finalists have also performed lead vocals for the group: Joey Cook, Rayvon Owen, Clark Beckham, and JAX. Additionally, vocalists Aubrey Logan, Von Smith, and Brielle Von Hugel are "Idol" alums who went through the audition process but did not advance to the finals in any season.


title: Postmodern Jukebox

text: Xavier Woods appeared in the cover of "What Is Love", with his trombone "Francesca" and later recorded a video that was released on his channel (UpUpDownDown), in which they cover the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" is the debut single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, included in her debut extended play (EP) "The Love Club EP" (2012) and debut studio album "Pure Heroine" (2013). Lorde wrote the song with producer Joel Little. "Royals" is a minimalist art pop and electropop song with influences of hip hop, R&B, and indie pop. The track's lyrics express disapproval with the sumptuous lifestyle presented in songs and music videos by pop and hip hop-influenced artists.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised its songwriting, production, and Lorde's vocal performance. Since its release, the track has appeared on critics' year-end and decade-end song lists. The single attained international chart success, reaching number one in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In the US, "Royals" spent nine weeks atop the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It sold 10 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also was the second-most consumed song of 2013 in New Zealand and is certified nine-times platinum in Australia, seven-times platinum in Canada, and six-times platinum in New Zealand. In the media, the song has been credited for inspiring some artists to adopt its minimalist sound, and has been called an anthem for millennials.


title: Royals (song)

text: The music video for "Royals" was directed by Joel Kefali and premiered on Lorde's YouTube channel on 12 May 2013. It shows teenagers in a suburban neighbourhood interspersed with minimal shots of Lorde. The track won awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards, and the APRA Silver Scroll Award. Lorde performed "Royals" on her Pure Heroine (2013–14), Melodrama (2017–18) and Solar Power (2022–23) concert tours. Critics have credited the song for paving the way for other alternative-leaning pop artists.


title: Royals (song)

text: In 2009, A&R representative Scott MacLachlan of Universal Music Group (UMG) discovered 12-year-old singer Lorde when he saw footage of her performing at a school talent show in Auckland, New Zealand. At age 13, Lorde began writing songs. In December 2011, after several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters and producers, MacLachlan paired Lorde with Joel Little, a former singer and guitarist of the New Zealand pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse. Her vocal performance and songwriting abilities impressed Little, who composed songs with musical structures that were based on her lyrics.


title: Royals (song)

text: Lorde wrote the lyrics to "Royals" in half an hour at her home in July 2012 and during a school break, she and Little recorded the song at Golden Age Studios in Auckland in one week. Lorde and Little wrote songs for the extended play (EP) "The Love Club EP" in three weeks. The title "Royals" came to Lorde after she saw a 1976 photograph of Kansas City Royals baseball player George Brett signing baseballs with his team's name "Royals" emblazoned on his shirt. She said during a VH1 interview in September 2013, "It was just that word. It's really cool."


title: Royals (song)

text: Lorde's interest in aristocracy and monarchs such as Marie Antoinette and Henry VIII also inspired the song and her stage name. She said the lyric about driving Cadillacs in dreams came from a diary entry she wrote when she was 12. She also stated she took inspiration from pop and hip hop-influenced artists such as ASAP Rocky, Drake, Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Jay-Z—particularly West's and Jay-Z's 2011 collaborative album "Watch the Throne". During the songwriting process, she criticized their references to extravagant alcohol and cars, which did not represent her reality.


title: Royals (song)

text: Lorde self-released "Royals" for free download in conjunction with "The Love Club EP" on SoundCloud on 22 November 2012. She released the EP for no cost because people her age are less likely to have access to a credit card. The song garnered an immediate reaction on social media and that December, "Royals" had its first radio broadcast on New Zealand radio station George FM. On 8 March 2013, UMG removed "Royals" from SoundCloud and release it to online stores in New Zealand and Australia. Lava and Republic Records released it to US radio on 3 June 2013.


title: Royals (song)

text: According to Jason Flom, president of Lava Records, a key step to popularising "Royals" internationally was its addition to a Spotify playlist curated by American entrepreneur Sean Parker on 2 April 2013. The song later debuted on Spotify's Viral Chart, which lists the most popular songs among the service's users. "Royals" peaked at number one in May 2013. Two months later, the song was sent to alternative radio stations in the United States and on 13 August 2013, it was sent to top 40 radio stations. In other regions, "Royals" was made available in August 2013, and in the United Kingdom it was released on 20 October 2013. "Royals" was also promoted through remixes released in partnership with artists The Weeknd, Rick Ross, Wale, and T-Pain. The latter's remix received criticism for making changes to the lyrics, and according to MTV, turning the "original's anti-bling sentiments into a celebration of the extravagant life".


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" is as an art pop and electropop song that incorporates elements of electronic music, and draws influence from R&B and indie pop. Its instrumentation consists of finger snaps, bass, percussion, and a hip hop beat. The track's low-fidelity production is enhanced by synthesisers and Pro Tools software. Its synth-influenced sound was compared to Purity Ring and Noah "40" Shebib.


title: Royals (song)

text: Written in the key of D in Mixolydian mode, the song has a moderate tempo of 85 beats per minute (Andante). Lorde's vocals were compared to those of Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey, and Florence Welch. The National Public Radio's Ann Powers said Lorde's sultry voice, "intriguingly sleepy beats and lyrics ... captured the exquisite ennui of a precocious teenager". On the song, Lorde performs with a mezzo-soprano vocal range, spanning F to F.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Foreign Policy"s Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer noted "Royals" as an observation of conspicuous consumption. The song expresses Lorde's displeasure at the sumptuous lifestyle presented by some pop artists in their songs. She criticises consumerism and ridicules the luxury items mentioned in popular hip hop songs. Other analysts noted themes of income inequality, and "unabashedly pop [songs] attacking unabashedly pop music". Chris Coplan of "Consequence of Sound" described the lyrics of "Royals" as "romantic and playful" while Duncan Greive of "The Guardian" called them "simultaneously vulnerable and imperious".


title: Royals (song)

text: Matthew Perpetua of BuzzFeed said the issue addressed in "Royals" is growing up in New Zealand "immersed in American cultural imperialism" and that the song's core is the alienation of social classes. Sharing similar sentiments, Jon Pareles and Michael M. Grynbaum of "The New York Times" noted the track's verses describe "growing up in drab reality amid a popular culture that flaunts luxury brands and celebrates wildly conspicuous consumption". Jonah Bromwich of "The Village Voice" said "Royals" has the "potential to sound like a celebration of the very things" Lorde is criticising. Lorde said the song is about the opulence one finds in some music videos, which is "far from [her] reality".


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" received widespread acclaim from music critics. Lewis Corner from "Digital Spy" awarded the track a five rating and lauded its "addictive hook that thrives on its simplicity". "The Guardian"s Duncan Grieve was impressed by the song's "direct response" to excess and wealth. "The Boston Globe" writer James Reed selected "Royals" as the highlight of the album "Pure Heroine". Rita Houston of NPR praised its melody, "heartfelt" songwriting, and Lorde's "rhythmic" vocals that combine to create a "polished little gem of a song". Jon Hadusek from "Consequence of Sound" also named the track the album's standout, singling out its "self-reflexive" lyrics and "catchy" production. "PopMatters" writer Scott Interrante felt that the song's sound was "distinct and fresh", while "The New York Times"s Jon Pareles highlighted its clever message, describing it as a "class-conscious critique of pop-culture materialism".


title: Royals (song)

text: The lyrical content of the song was scrutinised after Feministing blogger Véronica Bayetti Flores called it "racist". She felt that "gold teeth, Cristal, and Maybachs" were direct references to items used by mainstream black artists. This prompted responses from several media publications, including "The Washington Times", "Complex", and "Vice", who disagreed with Flores's comments. Journalist Lynda Brendish wrote that the song also critiques other stereotypes associated with affluent, high-profile personalities, such as rock musicians, socialites, and Russian oligarchs. In contrast, "Spin" writer Brandon Soderberg argued that the inclusion of "Royals" on urban radio was an attempt by the music industry to whitewash traditionally black radio stations.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" appeared on several year-end song lists. Many media sources, including "Slant", "The Boston Herald", and "Consequence of Sound" named it the best song of 2013. "Rolling Stone" and "The Guardian" included "Royals" as the runner-up on their year-end lists. "Billboard", "NME", "The Huffington Post", and "Time" included the song in the top ten of their end-of-year lists. "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll to find the best music of 2013 ranked "Royals" at number two after Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" (2013). Listeners' votes placed the song in second place on Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2013, after Vance Joy's "Riptide" (2013).


title: Royals (song)

text: On 15 October 2013, co-writers Lorde and Joel Little won the APRA Silver Scroll award, which honours original New Zealand songwriting. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, "Royals" won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance and was nominated for Record of the Year. Lorde was the youngest New Zealander to win a Grammy and the third-youngest performer overall. "Royals" also won Single of the Year at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards, and the Most Performed Songs distinction at the ASCAP Pop Awards. It received a nomination for Song of the Year at the BBC Music Awards and Best Track at the "Q" Awards.


title: Royals (song)

text: In its first seven days on sale, "Royals" sold 85,000 downloads and debuted at number 90 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for the week ending 20 July 2013. In a later interview, Lorde said, "I had a sneaking suspicion that it might do all right". On 31 August, "Royals" rose to number 17 on the Hot 100, becoming Lorde's first top-20 song in the US. With sales of 307,000 copies (up 17%), "Royals" became the fourth release by an up-and-coming singer to reach the top of the Digital Songs chart. The song had the most digital downloads for five non-consecutive weeks.


title: Royals (song)

text: On the 12 October chart, "Royals" replaced "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, which had been at the top for two straight weeks, as the number-one song in the US. Aly Weisman of "Business Insider" noted Lorde's performance of the song on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" helped make it known to a wider audience. The song's rise to number one was attributed to 294,000 downloads made that week, 6.1 million streamings (up 12%), and an airplay audience of 128 million (up 22%) across all genres, earning Lorde the highest airplay gainer for the week. The song topped the chart for nine consecutive weeks and was the year's top-selling song by a female artist. "Royals" was certified diamond in 2018 for selling over 10 million copies in the US.


title: Royals (song)

text: Since its release in the US, "Royals" has broken multiple records, many of them a result of Lorde's young age. At 16 years and 11 months old, Lorde became the youngest female artist in 26 years to top the "Billboard" Hot 100 since 16-year-old Tiffany topped the chart with "I Think We're Alone Now" in 1987. It also made Lorde the first New Zealand act to top the "Billboard" Hot 100 as a lead artist and the youngest musician to top the chart with a song written by the performer, surpassing Soulja Boy, who achieved this at age 17 with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" in 2007. Lorde became the youngest artist whose song stayed at number one for more than eight weeks, a feat that was previously achieved by 13-year-old hip-hop duo Kris Kross with "Jump" in 1992. It also made Lorde the youngest solo artist to top the chart since Mario who, at 18 years old, topped the chart with "Let Me Love You" in 2005.


title: Royals (song)

text: In August 2013, Lorde became the first solo female artist to top the "Billboard" Alternative Songs chart since Tracy Bonham in 1996. "Royals" holds the record for longest spell at number one on the "Billboard" Alternative Songs chart by a woman, surpassing Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" (1995), which spent five weeks at number one. The success of "Royals" has been credited to frequent airplay on stations playing different genres of music.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" debuted at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 and in the following weeks it steadily rose up the chart. In its 12th week, on the chart dated 12 October, the song hit number one after selling than 29,000 copies. It remained there for six consecutive weeks. "Royals" returned to the top of the chart on the 23rd of that month, spending seven non-consecutive weeks at number one. Music Canada later awarded the song seven platinum plaques, denoting sales of more than 560,000 copies.


title: Royals (song)

text: The song debuted at number three on the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) Chart on 3 October 2013, before peaking at number one the following week and selling a further 309,000 copies.


title: Royals (song)

text: On 28 October, the Official Charts Company (OCC) confirmed "Royals" would enter the UK Singles Charts with sales of 82,551 units. The same day, the song debuted at number one on chart. Lorde became the youngest solo artist to score a UK number-one single since 15-year-old Billie Piper with her 1998 song "Because We Want To". "Royals" competed for the top spot with James Arthur's "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You", taking it with a sales difference of 7,000 copies. "Royals" sold 82,551 units. Surprised by the news, Lorde commented; "I'm so incredibly excited to be in first place this week and very grateful to all fans in the UK who bought 'Royals'!" The single fell to number two in its second week, selling another 59,903 copies, and by April 2014 it had shipped more than 470,000 copies in the UK. In October 2020, it was awarded a double platinum certificate by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling more than 1,200,000 copies in the country.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" also had commercial success elsewhere in Europe, reaching the top of the Euro Digital Songs chart and peaking within the top ten in European national charts including those of Germany, Denmark, Finland, and Hungary. In South Korea, "Royals" peaked at number 37 on the Gaon International Singles Chart with initial sales of 4,331 copies and in Japan, it peaked at number 16. On 15 March 2013, "Royals" debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 and remained in the top position for three weeks.


title: Royals (song)

text: In Australia, "Royals" was released simultaneously with "The Love Club EP" and was classified as a single for charting purposes. The EP spent two weeks at its peak position of number two on the ARIA Singles Chart, being kept from number one by Avicii's "Wake Me Up". The EP's sales were recorded as a whole and therefore tracks on the album could not chart separately. "Royals" was the fifth best-selling single of the year in Australia and it was accredited nonuple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling more than 630,000 units. "Royals" was the most-streamed song in Australia and New Zealand by a female artist in 2013. By November 2014, "Royals" had sold over 10 million copies worldwide.


title: Royals (song)

text: The accompanying music video for "Royals" was directed by Joel Kefali and was released on Lorde's YouTube channel on 12 May 2013. In an interview with "The Huffington Post", Lorde said the video's concept was to show how teenage life can be "so mundane and so boring." Lorde told the same publication in a later interview she felt her presence in the video was unnecessary, saying; "With pop music and pop musicians, you know everything about everyone all the time, particularly their physical appearance. With female musicians that's made a big thing of and I think people, certainly with me, have appreciated a bit of mystery."


title: Royals (song)

text: The video begins with a monochromatic scene of an unmade bed, which fades to a receding suburban neighbourhood. A teenage boy wearing a necklace takes a shower and a static-filled television screen is shown. The boy stares out of his bedroom window, lays on a couch, eats breakfast and cuts his hair. The same boy visits an indoor swimming complex and boxes with a friend in a living room. The boy stares at a mirror and pulls down his bloody lip to reveal an injury he sustained while boxing. Lorde is briefly shown singing part of the song. The boy waits with friends at a railway station. He rests his head against the train window with a dull expression on his face. In the final scene, the camera moves towards the suburban neighbourhood seen at the start of the video.


title: Royals (song)

text: Since its release, the video has garnered over 900 million views. "Slant" placed the video at number three on their list of the best music videos of 2013, noting her absence from it "speaks to both the 16-year-old's 'postcode' shame and her friends' suburban-teen ennui". The video won the award for Best Rock Video at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Critics were divided over its placement in the rock category. It received a nomination for Best Female Video in the MTV Awards ceremony but lost to Katy Perry's 2014 song "Dark Horse". "Royals" won best music video at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards.


title: Royals (song)

text: On 13 August 2013, Lorde recorded a live performance of "Royals" for KCRW's radio programme "Morning Becomes Eclectic". In New Zealand, she made her stage debut at a small venue in Auckland for a small audience, and on 18 September 2013, she made her television debut on "New Zealander 3rd Degree". Lorde made her UK television debut on the BBC programme "Later... with Jools Holland".


title: Royals (song)

text: Lorde, in her first US television appearance, sang "Royals" on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on 1 October 2013 backed by a keyboardist and a drummer. Her performance was met with positive reviews. Three days later, she sang the song on the VH1 television show "Big Morning Buzz Live". Lorde also performed "Royals" on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", at the opening of the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards, and along with "Buzzcut Season" on the Canadian radio show "Q". Days later, Lorde appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and introduced "Royals" and other tracks from "Pure Heroine".


title: Royals (song)

text: In early 2014, Lorde performed a reworked version of "Royals" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. "Rolling Stone" praised the performance, which included projections of statues behind her and made Lorde the most talked-about artist on social media during the ceremony. At the 2014 BRIT Awards, she performed an electro version of "Royals" with Disclosure, which segued into Disclosure's song "White Noise". The BRIT Awards released the "Royals/White Noise" performance at the iTunes Stores on 19 February 2014; proceeds from its sales went to the charity War Child. The BRIT Awards performance debuted at number 72 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: Royals (song)

text: In April 2014, Lorde made her debut appearance in Brazil at the Lollapalooza festival and included "Royals" on her set list. The song was also added to the set list of the Pure Heroine Tour (2013–2014), the Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018), and the Solar Power Tour (2022-2023).


title: Royals (song)

text: Other artists have recorded and performed versions of "Royals". In August 2013, Selena Gomez performed the song during her Stars Dance Tour appearance in Vancouver, Canada. American singer Jason Derulo performed an R&B-style version of it on BBC Radio 1's "Live Lounge" in December 2013.


title: Royals (song)

text: Bruce Springsteen performed an acoustic cover of "Royals" in April 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand, during his High Hopes Tour. Lorde responded to it, commenting; "It's so exciting, it's a great honor, Springsteen is a fantastic songwriter, I was a little touched, it's really cool, it's crazy when someone like him is playing your song". American spoof-folk duo Black Simon & Garfunkel performed a cover of the song on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon"; "Esquire" considered the parody the best cover of the song by any artist. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of the song titled "Foil" for his album "Mandatory Fun". Its music video was released online on 16 July 2014. Capital FM described Yankovic's parody as "equally strange and brilliant". Novelty act Puddles Pity Party, played by singer Mike Geier, performed "Royals" for Halloween in 2013; Lorde called it her favourite cover of the song at the time.


title: Royals (song)

text: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio used "Royals" at his victory speech in Brooklyn in November 2013. According to "The New York Times", the song was chosen because it deals with social class inequality, one of de Blasio's main campaign themes. Samsung used the track in a commercial for the Galaxy Note 3. The satirical CBC TV programme "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" used "Royals" as the basis of a parody about the Canadian Senate expenses scandal.


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" was used in the television series "Suburgatory" and "Reign". In 2014, "Royals" was featured in the rhythm game "". A remix of the song titled "Loyal" with new lyrics was performed by Demarco and was included in the re-released edition of "Grand Theft Auto V". The song was also used in the 2019 crime film "Hustlers". According to the Lorene Scafaria, the film's director, Lorde's reluctance to issue copyright of her music prompted Scafaria to write Lorde a letter about the song's meaning to her and its importance to the film; Lorde approved her request. It is the first song Lorde licensed for a film.


title: Royals (song)

text: Analysts have credited "Royals" as a precedent for mainstream pop music's transition to minimalist, dark, pop sounds. Some sources have said it paved the way for other alternative-leaning pop artists such as Banks, Billie Eilish, Clairo, Halsey, Mallrat, and Olivia Rodrigo. Lindsay Zoladz from "The Ringer" noted the song's impact was "larger and harder to define because it completely rewrote the rules for young women making radio-friendly pop". Zach Schonfeld, writing for "Newsweek", said "Royals" led "a trail of imitators mimicking the song's effortless pop minimalism". It was compared to Nirvana's 1991 single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" because both tracks were disruptive to music charts and "decried the pop industry of which it became a part".


title: Royals (song)

text: "Forbes" writer Nick Messitte said the success of "Royals" helped the re-release of Tove Lo's 2013 song "Habits (Stay High)" become a top-five hit in the United States. According to Messitte, the song's success indicated "the smart money [would be] on change" to find a new sound in pop music. David Bowie called Lorde "the future of music" and Dave Grohl, lead singer of Foo Fighters, described "Royals" as revolutionary. Geoff Nelson from "Consequence of Sound" noted the track became "perhaps, the single most influential pop single of the decade". Phil Whitmer of "Vice" stated "Royals" is "alien by contrast" to the "legions of songs that imitated its vibe [and] failed to copy its mixolydian feel".


title: Royals (song)

text: "Royals" featured prominently on several all-time and songs-of-the-decade lists. "The Daily Telegraph" placed the song at number 77 on their list of the 100 greatest songs of all time while "Rolling Stone" ranked it ninth on their 21st century catalogue. "Rolling Stone" also ranked "Royals" number 29 on their list of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time as well as number 30 on their 2021 revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.


title: Royals (song)

text: NPR ranked "Royals" at number six on their list of the 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women. In 2019, "Slant", "Consequence of Sound", "Rolling Stone", "Stereogum", "Paste", "NME", and "Pitchfork" named it the 3rd, 4th, 11th, 23rd, 36th, 50th, and 129th best song of the 2010s respectively, while "Billboard" named it one of the 100 Songs That Defined the Decade. "Insider" ranked "Royals" as one of the eight best songs of the decade. NPR readers voted "Royals" the fourth most-popular song of the 2010s while "Pitchfork"s readers poll placed it at number 34 on their decade list. "Spin" ranked the track at number 34 on their list of the 35 Best Songs of the Last 35 Years.


title: Nikki Tamboli

text: Nikki Tamboli (born 21 August 1996) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema and Hindi television. She participated in reality shows such as "Bigg Boss 14" where she emerged as 2nd-runner up and "".