title: The People of Freedom

text: Alfano led the party through a huge membership drive and, on 1 November, announced that more than one million individuals had joined the party. He also drove the party in a Christian-democratic direction. The factions which benefited most from the effort were those of Roberto Formigoni (Network Italy), Ignazio La Russa (Protagonist Italy) and Franco Frattini ("Liberamente"). The Christian-democratization of the party and the perceived marginalization of liberals and social democrats led some to leave the party. One of these, Carlo Vizzini, declared: "It seems to me that the PdL is set to become the Italian section of the European People's Party [which already was]. I come from another tradition: I have been secretary of the PSDI and I was one of the founders of the Party of European Socialists. When I joined Forza Italia there were Liberals, Socialists, Radicals. Now everything has changed."


title: The People of Freedom

text: In the midst of the European sovereign debt crisis, on 14 October, following calls by Claudio Scajola and Giuseppe Pisanu for a new government, two deputies close to Scajola, Giustina Destro and Fabio Gava, voted against Berlusconi during a vote of confidence and left the party altogether. On 2 November, Destro and Gava, along with Roberto Antonione, Giorgio Stracquadanio, Isabella Bertolini and Giancarlo Pittelli (who had left the party along with Santo Versace in September), promoted an open letter in which they asked Berlusconi to step down. Contextually, Antonione announced that he was leaving the party. In the following days three more deputies, Alessio Bonciani, Ida D'Ippolito and Gabriella Carlucci, left to join the UdC. In three months, the PdL had lost 15 deputies and 4 senators, including the 7 deputies and 3 senators who launched Force of the South under Gianfranco Micciché.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 7 November 2011 Lega Nord's then-leader Umberto Bossi proposed Angelino Alfano as Berlusconi's successor. On 8 November, during a key vote on a financial statement in the Chamber was approved thanks to the abstention of opposition parties, but Berlusconi got just 308 votes, 8 short of an absolute majority. Subsequently, Berlusconi announced that he intended to step down after the passage of the budget bill. Days of turmoil followed. Not only the party was highly divided, but its numerous factions and groups were divided too. As the appointment of Mario Monti, an independent economist and former European Commissioner, looked very likely, some in the party wanted to support the new possible government (and some even wanted to join it), while others were resolutely against and preferred an early election instead. Alfano, in his capacity of secretary, had to mediate.


title: The People of Freedom

text: Among the party's Christian democrats, Roberto Formigoni, Maurizio Lupi and Raffaele Fitto (Network Italy), Claudio Scajola (Christopher Columbus Foundation), and Giuseppe Pisanu (hence "Pisaniani") supported Monti, while Gianfranco Rotondi (Christian Democracy for the Autonomies) and Carlo Giovanardi (Liberal Populars) did not. Within "Liberamente" and among the party's Socialists, Franco Frattini (who threatened to leave the party) and Fabrizio Cicchitto were in favour, while Mariastella Gelmini, Paolo Romani, Maurizio Sacconi, Renato Brunetta and, covertly, Giulio Tremonti were against. The vast majority of ex-AN members (Ignazio La Russa, Maurizio Gasparri, Altero Matteoli, Giorgia Meloni, etc.) was against, while a minority (mainly Gianni Alemanno) was in favour.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 12 November Berlusconi finally tendered his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano. The executive of the PdL decided to support a government led by Monti under some conditions, the first being that it should not include politicians but only technocrats. The Monti Cabinet took office on 16 November. In the subsequent votes of confidence in the two houses of Parliament, the PdL voted largely for Monti. However, some party members, including Antonio Martino, Gianfranco Rotondi and Alessandra Mussolini, deserted the party. Subsequently, LN broke its ties with the PdL at the national level.


title: The People of Freedom

text: After long deliberation, on 24 October 2012, Berlusconi finally announced that he would not run again for Prime Minister in the 2013 general election. In a written press release, the PdL leader also hinted that the party would select his successor through an open primary on 16 December.


title: The People of Freedom

text: Berlusconi, who praised Monti, seemed to aim at a new centre-right led by Monti and a PdL led by Alfano. On 25 November eight candidates filed the required number of signature in support of their bid: Angelino Alfano, Giorgia Meloni, Giancarlo Galan (who renounced right after), Guido Crosetto, Daniela Santanchè, Michaela Biancofiore, Giampiero Samorì and Alessandro Cattaneo. However, on 28 November, after Berlusconi had expressed doubts on its success, the primary was cancelled altogether. On 6 December Alfano announced that Berlusconi would run again for Prime Minister. As soon as 12 December Berlusconi backtracked and stated that if Monti were to run for Prime Minister as the leader of a united centre-right (including also Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's Future Italy) he would stand aside and support him. The move appeased the pro-Monti majority of the party, while disappointing other party wings.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 16 December the centrist majority of the party, consisting of several leading factions ("Liberamente", Network Italy, Reformism and Freedom, Liberal Populars, New Italy, "FareItalia", etc.), rallied in Rome under the "Popular Italy" banner: in presence of Alfano, the bulk of the party expressed its support for Monti and Berlusconi. On the very same day, a group of anti-Monti reformers, led by Crosetto and Meloni, organized a separate rally and espoused opposite views. On 17 December Ignazio La Russa announced he was leaving the PdL in order to form "National Centre-Right", aiming at representing not just anti-Monti right-wingers, but also the liberals and Christian democrats around Crosetto. On 21 December La Russa's National Centre-Right and the groups around Crosetto and Meloni joined forces and formed Brothers of Italy. To complete the picture of a highly fragmented centre-right, in the previous months there had already been two minor but significant splits from the PdL: on 3 October Giulio Tremonti left to form the Labour and Freedom List, while on 22 November a group of MPs, led by Isabella Bertolini, formed Free Italy.


title: The People of Freedom

text: In early January 2013, after Berlusconi had announced his return as party leader and Monti had refused to join forces with the PdL, the bulk of the party rallied again behind Berlusconi and just a few leading members, notably including Mario Mauro, left to join Monti's Civic Choice party. Most of the centre-right was regrouped around the PdL, which took part to the February general election in coalition with Lega Nord (including the Labour and Freedom List), Brothers of Italy, The Right, Great South (including the Movement for the Autonomies), the Pensioners' Party, the Moderates in Revolution and Popular Agreement.


title: The People of Freedom

text: In the election the PdL obtained 21.6% of the vote (–15.8% from 2008) and the coalition came just 0.3% short of the centre-left. After some inconclusive attempts by Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the Democratic Party, to form a government, the PdL joined Enrico Letta's government of grand coalition, providing five ministers, including Angelino Alfano who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, two deputy ministers and several under-secretaries.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 28 June 2013 Berlusconi announced the revival of the defunct Forza Italia and the transformation of PdL into a centre-right coalition.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 1 August 2013 Berlusconi was convicted for tax evasion and sentenced to four years of imprisonment, the last three being automatically pardoned. On 18 September, when discussing the enactment of a related six-year public office ban, as required by the "Severino law", the Senate committee in charge of elections refused to endorse a PdL resolution relinquishing Berlusconi's ban, as both the PD and the M5S disagreed. On the same day Berlusconi launched the new Forza Italia (FI) and pledged to stay on as its leader in any case. The would-be PdL coalition might include the new FI, Lega Nord and other parties. In fact, in disagreement with the new FI's liberalism, some members led by former mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, who left the PdL in October 2013, might form a conservative party modelled on the late National Alliance (AN), along with Brothers of Italy and other minor right-wing parties, and eventually join the coalition.


title: The People of Freedom

text: After months of bickering within the party between "doves", supporting Letta's government, and "hawks", very critical of it, on 28 September Berlusconi asked to the five ministers of the party (Angelino Alfano, Maurizio Lupi, Gaetano Quagliariello, Beatrice Lorenzin and Nunzia De Girolamo) to resign from the government over a tax hike. The ministers obeyed, but made clear that they dissented from the decision; Quagliariello and Lorenzin announced that they might not join the new FI, while Alfano described himself "differently "berlusconiano"". The party's moderates, mainly Christian democrats as Alfano and Lupi (Roberto Formigoni, Carlo Giovanardi, etc.) and social democrats (Fabrizio Cicchitto, Maurizio Sacconi, etc.), sided with the ministers, while the hawks led by Daniela Santanchè, most of whom liberals (Antonio Martino, Denis Verdini, Giancarlo Galan, Renato Brunetta, Sandro Bondi, Niccolò Ghedini, Daniele Capezzone, etc.), supported the exit from the government.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 2 October a confidence vote, called by Prime Minister Letta, revealed the division within party ranks, to the extent that around 70 PdL lawmakers were ready to split in order to support the government, in case Berlusconi and the party had decided not to do the same. Faced by this ultimatum, Berlusconi made a U-turn few minutes ahead of the vote and subsequently tried a reconciliation process within the party to avoid the split. The outcome was a clear victory for the doves and the "ministerial faction" of the PdL, who continued to serve in the government. Raffaele Fitto, Christian democrat and leader of the self-proclaimed "loyalists" (the party's mainstream, including Mariastella Gelmini, Mara Carfagna, etc.), supported by Galan and Bondi, announced his disagreement with Alfano's political line and proposed a congress to decide the party's positionment, while the floor leaders, Maurizio Gasparri, Altero Matteoli, Paolo Romani and others came out as "mediators".


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 25 October the PdL's executive committee voted to suspend all the party's activities and proposed the transformation of the current party into the new FI. Consequently, all the leadership roles in the PdL were temporarily revoked and a national council was summoned for 16 November.<ref name="national council 16/11"></ref> In order to approve the executive's proposal over the party's future, a 2/3 majority among voting delegates at the national council was required.


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 16 November 2013 PdL was formally dissolved and replaced by the new FI, while a day earlier a group of dissidents, led by Alfano and including all five PdL ministers, had announced the formation of separate parliamentary groups, called New Centre-Right (NCD).


title: The People of Freedom

text: The PdL aimed at combining together the traditions of its two main predecessors, Forza Italia (FI) and National Alliance (AN), as well as their smaller partners, among them Liberal Populars, Christian Democracy for the Autonomies, New Italian Socialist Party, Liberal Reformers, and Social Action. FI, launched in 1994 by Silvio Berlusconi, was joined mainly by former Christian Democrats, Socialists, and Liberals who had seen their parties disappear amid the "Tangentopoli" scandals. AN, successor of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), had become a respectable conservative party under the leadership of Gianfranco Fini. FI and AN started to cooperate and were the pillars of the centre-right Pole of Good Government, Pole of Freedoms and House of Freedoms coalitions. The "Charter of Values" of the PdL underlined the "Christian" and "liberal" character of the party, presenting it as a defender of traditional values as well as of individual responsibility and self-determination. The document stressed the adherence of the party to the values and the platform of the European People's Party (EPP), its support for European integration and the transformation of Italy into a federal state.


title: The People of Freedom

text: The PdL was a classic example of catch-all party. The party's main cultural strains were Christian democracy and liberal conservatism, but it is not to be underestimated the weight of those coming from the right-wing AN and the relevant role played by former Socialists, who were disproportionately represented in Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Four leading ministers (Giulio Tremonti, Franco Frattini, Maurizio Sacconi, and Renato Brunetta) hailed from the old PSI, while another Socialist, Fabrizio Cicchitto, was the party leader in the Chamber of Deputies. This is not to say that all former Socialists were actually social democrats; for instance, while Tremonti was an outspoken critic of globalization and is not enthusiastic about labour market flexibility, Brunetta was a free-market liberal and frequently clashed with Tremonti over economic and fiscal policy. Moreover, internal alliances were often not consistent with the previous affiliation of party members. On issues such as end of life, Sacconi, a former Socialist who still claimed to be a social democrat, sided with the party's Christian democrats and the social-conservative wing of the former AN, while several members hailing from the MSI found themselves in alliance with the liberal wing of the former FI. This is no surprise, as the late MSI also had a strong secular tradition, while FI was home to both social conservatives and uncompromising social liberals. On the economy, ex-FI Tremonti was often at odds with ex-FI liberals like Antonio Martino and Benedetto Della Vedova, and was attacked by Giancarlo Galan for being a "socialist".


title: The People of Freedom

text: Traditional values and the social market economy grew of importance in the rhetoric of the new party, partly replacing the small government and libertarian ideals expressed by FI. In this respect, Sacconi summarised the economic propositions of the PdL with the slogan "less state, more society"; however, in the PdL there was still some room for Reaganomics, with Berlusconi often making the case for lower taxes and Tremonti for deregulation and against red tape.


title: The People of Freedom

text: The party was home to a wide range of factions, groups and associate parties, whose ideology ranged from social democracy to national conservatism. As of November 2011, the factions, listed by political ideology, were as follows:


title: The People of Freedom

text: On 15 November, the day before the PdL's dissolution in the new FI, the "doves" left the party to form the New Centre-Right party.


title: The People of Freedom

text: The PdL granted financial support to several minor parties of the centre-right. They contributed one million Euros to the Liberal Democrats whose deputies were elected on the PdL list in 2008, and left the government camp after some months but returned in April 2011. Other parties who received payments from PdL were the Force of the South (€300,000), Christian Democracy for Campania (€144,000), Social Action (€100,000), Christian Democracy for the Autonomies (€96,000), the Alliance of the Centre (€80,000), the Movement of National Responsibility (€49,000) and the Federation of Christian Populars (€40,000).


title: The People of Freedom

text: The PdL had its strongholds in Southern Italy, especially in Campania, Apulia and Sicily, but its power base included also two regions of the North, Lombardy and Veneto, where the party however suffered the competition of Lega Nord, which controlled the governorships of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto. The regions governed by a PdL governor in 2013 were just four (Campania, Calabria, Abruzzo, and Sardinia), far less than the Democratic Party and its allies, which controlled twelve.


title: The People of Freedom

text: In the 2008 general election the party scored over 40% in Campania (49.1%), in Sicily (46.6%), Apulia (45.6%), Lazio (43.5%), and Calabria (41.2%). In the 2013 general election, in which the PdL suffered a dramatic loss of votes, the party ran stronger in Campania (29.0%), Apulia (28.9%), and Sicily (26.5%).


title: The People of Freedom

text: The electoral results of the PdL in the regions of Italy are shown in the table below. As the party was launched in 2007, the electoral results from 1994 to 2006 refer to the combined result of the two main precursor parties, Forza Italia and National Alliance.


title: Russian cursive

text: Russian cursive is a variant of the Russian alphabet used for writing by hand. It is typically referred to as "(rússky) rukopísny shrift", "(Russian) handwritten font". It is the handwritten form of the modern Russian Cyrillic script, used instead of the block letters seen in printed material. In addition, Russian italics for lowercase letters are often based on Russian cursive (such as lowercase , which resembles Latin "m"). Most handwritten Russian, especially in personal letters and schoolwork, uses the cursive alphabet. In Russian schools most children are taught from first grade how to write with this script.


title: Russian cursive

text: The Russian (and Cyrillic in general) cursive was developed during the 18th century on the base of the earlier Cyrillic tachygraphic writing (, "skoropis", "rapid or running script", which in turn was the 14th–17th chancery hand of the earlier Cyrillic bookhand scripts (called "ustav" and "poluustav"). It became the handwritten counterpart of so-called "civil" (or Petrine) printed script of books. In order, modern Cyrillic italic typefaces are based (in their lowercase part) mostly on the cursive shape of the letters.


title: Russian cursive

text: The resulting cursive bears many similarities with the Latin cursive. For example, the modern Russian cursive letters "" may coincide with Latin cursive "ABDEUKMHOPCYX abgezuonpcmyxr" (𝒜ℬ𝒟ℰ𝒰𝒦ℳℋ𝒪𝒫𝒞𝒴𝒳 𝒶𝒷ℊℯ𝓏𝓊ℴ𝓃𝓅𝒸𝓂𝓎𝓍𝓇), respectively (despite having completely different sound values in many cases); both upright and italic printed typefaces demonstrate less similarity.


title: Russian cursive

text: One must not confuse the historical Russian chancery hand (), the contemporary Russian cursive () and the contemporary Russian stenography. The latter is completely different from the other two, though it is sometimes called like the former.


title: Russian cursive

text: Russian cursive is much like contemporary English and other Latin cursives. But unlike Latin handwriting, which can range from fully cursive to heavily resembling the printed typefaces and where idiosyncratic mixed systems are most common, it is standard practice to write Russian in Russian cursive almost exclusively.


title: Russian cursive

text: There exists some ambiguity from the fact that several lowercase cursive letters consist (entirely or in part) of the element that is identical to the dotless Latin cursive letter "ı", the cursive Greek letter ι or a half of the cursive letter "u", namely . Therefore, certain combinations of these Russian letters cannot be unambiguously deciphered without knowing the language or without a broader context. For example, in the words ', "magician" and ', "little house" the combinations and are written identically. The word , "you will deprive" written in cursive consists almost exclusively of these elements. There are examples of different words that become absolutely identical in their cursive form, e.g. , "I avenge" and (dative of "face").


title: Russian cursive

text: In some forms of cursive, the distinction between and may become elusive because both are written in the shapes of either "m" or "ɯ". To alleviate this case of ambiguity, a horizontal bar can be written above the character (like "m̅" or rarely "ɯ̅") if it is , or below (like "ɯ̲" or rarely "m̲") if it is . Also, writing in its printed form (the "T" shape) rather than its usual "m" shape is common.


title: Russian cursive

text: Several letters in Russian cursive are different from the cursive used in the Serbian and Macedonian languages. Thus, Serbian/Macedonian cursive lowercase г looks the same as in Russian with additional macron, п is written like the cursive Latin "u" with macron ("ū"), and the letter т is written in the shape of "ɯ̅".


title: Russian cursive

text: Some words in Russian may pose a challenge due to the similarities between the letters Ш, Щ, И, Л, М in cursive.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "If I Were a Boy" is a song written by BC Jean and Toby Gad and originally performed by Jean in 2008. The song gained international attention the same year in a version by the American singer Beyoncé, from her third studio album "I Am... Sasha Fierce" (2008). Jean and Gad also handled its production alongside Beyoncé. Inspired by the difficult break-up of a romantic relationship, the song was initially recorded by Jean, whose record company rejected it. Beyoncé then recorded her own version. Jean was upset when she learned that Beyoncé was releasing it as a single, but eventually, they reached an agreement. Columbia Records released "If I Were a Boy" to US radio on October 8, 2008, as a double A-side single alongside "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" as the lead singles. The two songs showcased the contrast between Beyoncé's personality and her aggressive onstage persona, Sasha Fierce. A Spanish version of the song, titled "Si Yo Fuera un Chico", was digitally released in Mexico and Spain.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "If I Were a Boy" is a pop and R&B introspective ballad which draws influences from folk rock through its instrumentation of which includes acoustic guitars, drums and strings. The song's lyrics lament the misunderstandings between the genders and indict the male side of relationships. "If I Were a Boy" was well received by critics, who complimented Beyoncé's tormented and emotive vocal performance and called the song her best work to date. The single was a commercial success as it placed in the top ten on twenty-five different singles charts. It topped the charts in more than eight European countries, including the United Kingdom, where it is Beyoncé's best-selling single, though it only comes in third once streaming data is included. "If I Were a Boy" peaked at number three on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and earned multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, and the US.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The accompanying music video for "If I Were a Boy" was directed by Jake Nava and shot in black-and-white. With a theme of role reversal, it is conceptually similar to the Disney comedy film "Freaky Friday" (1976). A video for the Spanish version of the ballad was edited from the original clip. Beyoncé promoted "If I Were a Boy" through live performances at venues including "The Oprah Winfrey Show", the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, and the I Am... World Tour (2009–10). The song has been covered several times on televised music competitions. American singer Reba McEntire sang a country version of the ballad on Country Music Television (CMT), and a studio version was released as the second single from her 2010 album, "All the Women I Am".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "If I Were a Boy" was written by BC Jean and Toby Gad. It is the opening ballad of the "I Am ..." disc of the double album "I Am... Sasha Fierce". It is the only song on either disc that Beyoncé did not co-write. Most of the lyrics were written by Jean, who was inspired by the break-up of a romantic relationship. One day Jean and Gad visited a pizzeria in Times Square in New York City. Although tempted, Jean refrained from eating pizza because she was dieting. She then thought that if she were a boy, she would have eaten without regret. After reflecting on the idea, she concluded that she would have been a better man than her past lover. Gad captured Jean's ideas on a pocket recorder, and they went to the studio the same day. Once there, she wrote the lyrics and melody in about 15 minutes. She then recorded the song in less than half an hour, with Gad on the guitar.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: After completing her version of "If I Were a Boy", Jean presented it to her record company, which rejected the song. Gad and Jean had co-written 12 songs, including "If I Were a Boy", for the singer's debut album. As the deal with Jean's record company fell apart, Gad marketed the songs to established artists. Beyoncé liked "If I Were a Boy" and recorded her own version of it for her album "I Am... Sasha Fierce". Gad and Beyoncé produced the track in 2008 at Roc the Mic Studios and Strawberry Productions in New York City and at GAD Studios in Ibiza. Gad did the musical arrangements, assisted in recording the music, and played the instruments alongside his brother Jens Gad and Reggie Syience Perry. Jim Caruana recorded Beyoncé's vocals at Roc the Mic Studios. Mark "Spike" Stent mixed the track with assistance from Matt Green at The Record Plant in Los Angeles. "If I Were a Boy" was placed on the "I Am..." disc of "I Am... Sasha Fierce", as it is a ballad that shows Beyoncé's insecurities about love and the person she is "underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights and underneath all the exciting star drama".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In an interview with "Essence" magazine, Beyoncé explained that "If I Were a Boy" is "broad" and different from her previous releases because it is not a traditional R&B song. She added, "I had to try it, because I remember Aretha Franklin said a great singer can sing anything and make it her own." Beyoncé was also motivated by her audience's strong expectations from her as a singer. While preparing her third solo album, Beyoncé wanted to experiment with stronger lyrics and record ballads like "If I Were a Boy" because, "the music and the emotion in the story is told so much better. It's a better connection because you can hear it and it's not all these other distractions. I really wanted people to hear my voice and hear what I had to say."


title: If I Were a Boy

text: After Jean's version of "If I Were a Boy" was rejected by her record company, she was upset that Beyoncé recorded and released the ballad. Roger Friedman of Fox News wrote that Jean was first informed that Beyoncé recorded the song by a stranger. "The Daily Telegraph" reported that Beyoncé's father and then-manager Mathew Knowles pursued the publishing rights of "If I Were a Boy" after realizing that it had the potential to become a big hit. Jean used her Myspace account to express her frustration: "I have been reading some of these comments and to set the record straight from the horse's mouth – IF I WERE A BOY is my song; YES, I wrote this song; It is my story; a painful one, and the song is very dear to me. You can hear the original version on my myspace site." Friedman later reported that Beyoncé and Jean had come to terms. The deal included a promise that Beyoncé would record a duet with Jean for her debut album.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In an interview with Eric R. Danton of the "Hartford Courant", Jean was asked about her reaction when she heard that Beyoncé was recording "If I Were a Boy". She was initially surprised when people regarded her as a songwriter because she envisioned herself as "do[ing] the whole artist thing as well". Jean added, "It's an amazing compliment, but I was like, 'That's great, but it's going to be on my album!' And it can be on my album, too, I just didn't realize how it worked ... At first when I got this, people didn't know that I was an artist, so it was, like, 'Oh, this songwriter BC.' " "If I Were a Boy" was the first song she ever recorded, and she initially did not intend to hand it to another singer. Jean said that the fact that Beyoncé recorded the ballad provided many opportunities, and she was approached by many people who wanted to purchase her lyrics. She refused their offers, desiring to use her songs for her own album. However, Jean still intends to write for other artists.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "If I Were a Boy" is a midtempo pop and R&B ballad, with folk rock and soft rock influences. The song was composed using common time in the key of G major and has a moderate tempo of 90 beats per minute. It was written in the common verse-chorus form; the verses are supported by four chords and follow a vi-IV-I-V chord progression in the form Em–B–G–D/F. Ed Masle of "The Arizona Republic" noted that the progression is reminiscent of Nirvana's 1991 song "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Instrumentation is provided by a piano, acoustic guitars, live drums, and strings as well as hand claps which are used throughout the song. Beyoncé's vocals span the range from a low of F♯ to the high of E. Her singing gets higher and louder as she employs melodic crescendos. Critics noted that Beyoncé delivers a tormented performance with unwavering sentiments.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The lyrics of "If I Were a Boy" are about a gender-swapping thought experiment, through which the narrator analyses the ideologies of a tense relationship. As she sings about things she would do if she were a boy, the narrator highlights the vulnerability of a woman and ponders how things would be different if men had women's sense of empathy. During the first part of the ballad, the narrator alternates between the role of her flawed partner and that of the better man she would be. In the first verse, she envisions herself impersonating her unfeeling love interest as she sings about consuming beer with other men, chasing after girls, and treating her lover cruelly, before adding that she would never be confronted for it. The narrator then sings the chorus, in which she gives her vision of life as a better man, "I think I could understand / How it feels to love a girl / I swear I'd be a better man", because she knows "how it hurts when you lose the one you wanted / 'cause he's taken you for granted and everything you had got destroyed".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In the second verse, the narrator resigns herself and continues to sing about cruelties that men often inflict on women. Still imagining herself impersonating the man who has wronged her, she highlights how some men switch off their phones to avoid ex-lovers after having found another girl. The narrator continues, "I'd put myself first / And make the rules as I go / 'Cause I know that she'd be faithful / Waitin' for me to come home". She then repeats the chorus; the intensity with which she sings gradually increases until she hits her upper register and seems close to crying. During the bridge, the narrator stops singing about the male behaviors she would indulge in if she were a man and addresses her callous lover directly. As the narrator emphasizes how it feels to be cheated on, she sings her vocal lines an octave higher than she did in the rest of the song. She finally tells him that it is too late to come back and apologize. In the last verse, the narrator concludes, "But you're just a boy". Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music notes that she "[pushes] her voice into a thin, pleading whine" at this point. With a squeak in her voice, she repeats the chorus for the final time as she fights to remain strong, not allowing her agony to bring her down.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released simultaneously as the double album's two lead singles. The songs were taken from different discs of the album to demonstrate Beyoncé's conflicting personalities, the album's central theme. This motif was demonstrated by placing the ballads on a separate disc from the uptempo tracks. "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies" were initially planned to debut on US radio stations on October 7, 2008, but both premiered the following day. "If I Were a Boy" debuted on Z100's "Elvis Duran and the Morning Show", while "Single Ladies" first aired on New York mainstream urban radio station Power 105.1. Both singles were added to rhythmic contemporary radio on October 13, 2008. That same day, "If I Were a Boy" was sent to contemporary hit radio, and "Single Ladies" was sent to urban contemporary radio. On November 24, 2008, "If I Were a Boy" was sent to US urban radio. Two digital EPs, each containing seven dance remixes of "If I Were a Boy" were released on February 10, 2009, in the US.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The ballad was first released internationally as a stand-alone digital download in Oceania and most European countries on October 17, 2008. On November 7, 2008, a two-track CD single, including "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" as the B-side, went on sale in all European countries. A Spanish version of "If I Were a Boy" was translated by Rudy Pérez and mixed by Andrés Bermúdez at The Beach House in Miami. Titled "Si Yo Fuera un Chico (If I Were a Boy)", this version was only included on copies of "I Am... Sasha Fierce" in Mexico, as well as iTunes Stores in Latin America and Spain, where it was released as a stand-alone single on February 3, 2009.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The song received widespread critical acclaim. "Billboard" magazine's critic Chuck Taylor wrote that "If I Were a Boy" is Beyoncé's "most affecting offering" since "Listen" (2006). He praised her vocals as "breathtaking, exquisitely emotive, mournful, and mature" and added that the song "exudes the fragrance of a Grammy Award". According to Ann Powers of the "Los Angeles Times", "If I Were a Boy" is Beyoncé's Streisand moment and "a tender, fairly simple ballad that [she] uses to prove she's a great vocal actress". Powers concluded, "This isn't just another breakup song; it's an elegy for female empowerment, Beyoncé's admission that no amount of money, fame or skill can solve the basic inequity between her man's heart and her own." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that "If I Were a Boy" could become as commercially successful as "Irreplaceable" because of its radio-friendly appeal. James Montgomery of MTV News complimented the "tear-jerking power" of "If I Were a Boy" and noted that it reveals "sides of Beyoncé we never knew existed".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Matos Michaelangelo of "The A.V. Club" remarked that "If I Were a Boy" has "boilerplate lyrics" that would fit perfectly in a Hayley Mills film. Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote in his review of the album that "If I Were a Boy" has the "most interesting lyrics" of the entire record. In a separate review of "If I Were a Boy", Levine awarded it four stars out of five, writing that Beyoncé's vocals on the song are passionate. He praised the lyrics for not being overwritten and commended their "emotional punch" and "very strong melody" which he said can make people feel that they have always known the song. Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal called "If I Were a Boy" an "effective and affecting gender-bender". AllMusic writer Andy Kellman felt that though the ballad sounds like "the watery backdrop for a singing competition finale", it is the most outstanding song on "I Am... Sasha Fierce" thanks to its lyrics and Beyoncé's tormented performance. Colin McGuire of PopMatters felt that "If I Were a Boy" was the highlight of the first disc of the double album.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" described the song as one of the greatest pop songs of the last few years and one of Beyoncé's most complicated vocal performances. Joey Guerra of the "Houston Chronicle" commented that "If I Were a Boy" is an "elegant new musical direction" for Beyoncé and praised it for being different from the songs played on Top 40 radio. By contrast, Stacey Anderson of "Spin" magazine was unimpressed with "If I Were a Boy", calling it a glistening and boring ballad. Adam Mazmanian of "The Washington Times" noted that the musical composition of "If I Were a Boy" has "a spare [and] cinematic quality that [Beyoncé] fills with an expansive voice", which nevertheless falters at times. A 2010 review of "well-intended yet misguided feminist anthems" in "The A.V. Club" noted the song had both a "fresh perspective and a sense of self-awareness" but cast is as "a soppy wallow in whiny self-pity and broad stereotyping".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Erika Ramirez and Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" magazine placed "If I Were a Boy" at number 19 on a list of Beyoncé's 30 biggest "Billboard" hits published for Beyoncé's thirtieth birthday. They wrote that the song "found Beyoncé at her most honest, drawing in both women and men". "If I Were a Boy" was nominated for the Best Foreign Song at the 2009 Porin Awards in Croatia. On "The Village Voice"s year-end Pazz & Jop singles list, "If I Were a Boy" was ranked at numbers 37 and 546 in 2008 and 2009 respectively.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: For the week ending October 25, 2008, "If I Were a Boy" debuted at number one-hundred on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, based solely on airplay. In its third charting week, the song rose from number sixty eight to number three on the Hot 100 chart as its digital download counterpart debuted at the top of the US Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 190,000 units. It became Beyoncé's fourth number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart, following "Check on It" (2005), "Irreplaceable" (2006), and "Beautiful Liar" (2007). "If I Were a Boy" also became her tenth top-ten single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist. On November 15, 2008, the song fell to fifth, where it stayed for one further week. However, it regained its number three position on November 29, 2008, as it returned to the top spot of the Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 170,000 units. "If I Were a Boy" sold 654,000 digital downloads in four weeks. The following week, the song fell to number two on the Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 44,000 less copies than "Single Ladies", which debuted at number one. "If I Were a Boy" maintained its position at number three on the Hot 100 chart while "Single Ladies" soared to number two on the chart. Beyoncé became the seventh female to have two songs in the top five positions of the Hot 100 chart. On October 13, 2009, "If I Were a Boy" was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over two million copies.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: On November 2, 2008, "If I Were a Boy" was the highest debut of the week on the Australian Singles Chart, entering at number twelve. The song peaked at number three for three non-consecutive weeks during the same month. It was certified sextuple-platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling over 420,000 copies. "If I Were a Boy" debuted at number eight in New Zealand on October 27, 2008, and peaked at number two for four non-consecutive weeks in November and December 2008. In its twelfth charting week, it was certified platinum after twelve weeks by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), representing shipment of 15,000 copies. The song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, selling 64,554 downloads on November 15, 2008. The following week, it fell to number three with sales of 57,917 copies. On November 23, 2008, it rebounded to number one, selling 47,949 copies, becoming Beyoncé's fourth number-one single in the UK as a solo artist; it was her sixth including her career with Destiny's Child. "If I Were a Boy" remained in the top five until the end of 2008 and was the 16th highest-selling single of that year. The ballad was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 600,000 copies. It was the 68th highest selling single of the 2000s in the UK, where it is Beyoncé's highest-selling single, with 746,000 sales as of November 2013, though it only comes in third (behind "Halo" and "Crazy in Love") once streaming data is included.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The music video for "If I Were a Boy" was directed by Jake Nava and was shot in black-and-white in New York City with the video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". A video for the Spanish version, "Si Yo Fuera Un Chico", was released with the same concepts as the main one; it was edited from the original with the Spanish version of the song dubbed over it. The music video for "If I Were a Boy" is reflective of the stance as an independent woman that Beyoncé has taken throughout her career. In an interview with "Billboard" magazine, Beyoncé revealed that the concept of the video is similar to the American comedy film "Freaky Friday" (1976); its theme is role reversal. She also said that it would depict things that men commonly do to hurt their partners, like not answering their phones, before adding that the video is about little things that mean a lot in relationships. Beyoncé explained:


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In the beginning of the video, my husband makes me breakfast and he's excited about it, and I kind of don't have time to eat. As a police officer, I have a male partner and the video goes through our days. My husband's at work and has attractive girls flirting with him but he declines their advances. I have a guy flirting with me, and I flirt back.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Beyoncé said that by the end of the video, viewers would realize the husband (played by NFL player Eddie Goines) is a police officer and Beyoncé, as the female character, has been doing things her husband has done to her. MTV News writer Jennifer Vineyard's analysis of the concept concluded, "When we first saw it from a different perspective, Beyoncé's behavior seemed more abnormal. And when it's the guy doing everything she just did in the previous scenes, it becomes all too familiar—which is Beyoncé's point."


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The video begins with Beyoncé and her husband saying a few words, including "intimacy", "honesty", and "commitment", and then saying the words "you", "me", and "us" together. When the action starts, Beyoncé is seen working as a police officer. Her husband is a supportive spouse who makes her breakfast, spends time at work looking for a present for her and forgoes socializing with attractive coworkers so he can be available when his wife arrives home. However, Beyoncé is not thinking about him at all. Instead, she spends her free time with other officers, particularly her male partner, whom she seems enamored with. Her husband calls her, but she ignores the phone. Later, when her husband gives her earrings, she puts them on and later is dancing with her partner at a party. Her husband is upset when he sees them, and when he confronts her about this, she acts like he is making a big deal out of nothing. "When you act like that, I don't think you realize how it makes me look or feel", he tells her. Beyoncé then asks him in a condescending tone, "Why are you so jealous? It's not like I'm sleeping with the guy." Then the story reverses, and Beyoncé starts to cry. Her husband's situation is actually her experience—he is a police officer who takes his supportive wife for granted.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Beyoncé premiered the video, alongside the video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", on MTV's "Total Request Live" show on October 13, 2008. It was included on Beyoncé's 2009 remix album with videography, "Above and Beyoncé". Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News described the video as a "meaningful one—and it comes with a twist that requires repeat viewing". She noted that if the video did not exist, she would not have seen the tomboy side of Beyoncé. A writer for "Rap-Up" commented, "Beyoncé delivers one of the year's best videos with the black and white clip." Jennifer Cady of E! Online praised the video, writing that it has a "serious melodramatic storyline". She further noted that it was "slow and everyone overacts, but be sure to catch the end where a major twist will probably change your outlook on the dynamics of male–female relationships forever".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The clip was ranked at number seventy-two on "BET: Notarized Top 100 Videos of 2008" countdown and at number twenty-five on BET J's "Last Call 2008! Top 50 Countdown". It was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2009 BET Awards but lost to Beyoncé's other video for "Single Ladies". The video also received nominations for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and for Outstanding Music Video at the 2009 NAACP Image Awards. In July 2009, the video was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipping over 5,000 units.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Beyoncé first performed "If I Were a Boy" on November 6, 2008, at the MTV Europe Music Awards. She later performed the song during the sixth series of the British television show "Strictly Come Dancing" and the 2008 World Music Awards in Monaco on November 9, 2008, which was followed by another performance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on November 13, 2008. On November 16, 2008, backed by a live band, Beyoncé sang a medley of "If I Were a Boy", then switched to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", and concluded with "Crazy in Love" during the final episode of "Total Request Live". The song was sung again on November 26, 2008, during her appearance on "The Tyra Banks Show". During this performance, Beyoncé begins to cry nearing the end of the song. On December 12, 2008, a pre-taped performance aired on the eighth season of the French show "Star Academy" as Beyoncé could not appear due to busy schedule. During the same day, Beyoncé performed "If I Were a Boy" on Los Premios 40 Principales in Spain. She also performed the ballad on December 13, 2008, live at "The X Factor" finale in the UK. Beyoncé sang a medley of "If I Were a Boy" and Alanis Morissette's 1995 song "You Oughta Know" on January 31, 2010, at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. She wore a "futuristic, spiked black" outfit with matching shoes, and "pranced, spun and did the Dutty Wine while the crowd cheered in approval", according to Jayson Rodriguez of "MTV News". Beyoncé was also backed by 50 backup dancers dressed as a riot gear. Ben Sisario of "The New York Times" commented that Beyoncé "was elaborately staged and typically athletic" during the performance. William Goodman of "Spin" magazine noted that Beyoncé "owned" the night's most powerful performance. Erika Ramirez of "Billboard" magazine put the performance at number three on her list of "Beyoncé's 5 Biggest TV Performances". Beyoncé interpolated a verse from "You Oughta Know" into her performance of "If I Were a Boy" at the Glastonbury Festival on June 26, 2011.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In addition to her performances of the song on television and at award ceremonies, "If I Were a Boy" was included on the set lists of Beyoncé's I Am... World Tour (2009–10) and I Am... Yours revue. It was subsequently included on her live albums, "I Am... World Tour" and "". Prior to the performance of the song at the tour, outtakes of its music video were used. Beyoncé later appeared performing "If I Were a Boy" wearing Ray-Bans, a leather breastplate, aviator shades and a bulletproof-looking one-piece further asking the crowd to sing along the track. During the bridge of the song, she included excerpts from Morissette's "You Oughta Know" and Tupac Shakur's "California Love" while imitating a male person with her moves. Alice Jones of "The Independent" wrote in her review that Beyoncé "whip[s] up a quasi-feminist singalong." Caryn Ganz of "Rolling Stone" noted that the singer channeled her "ferocious onstage persona", Sasha Fierce. Ann Powers of the "Los Angeles Times" compared Beyoncé's wardrobe and dancing with that of Ciara. In May 2012, Beyoncé performed "If I Were a Boy" during her revue at Revel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Before Beyoncé started to sing, she noted that "[everyone knows] how it feels to be hurt and lied to". During the performance, she mashed Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" (1998) and reworked the rhythm of "If I Were a Boy" to fit with the cover. Elysa Gardner of "USA Today" noted that the ballad "became a jangly guitar-pop number" during the show. Kyle Anderson of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that "the most attention-grabbing moments of the night... came when she dipped into other artists' catalogs". In 2013, "If I Were a Boy" was included in the set list of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour where it featured the string motif from The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997).


title: If I Were a Boy

text: In January 2009, Matthew Zeghibe, a 26-year-old computer art student from Connecticut, used pitch-correction software to make a clip that he claimed was the soundboard recording of "If I Were a Boy" from Beyoncé's "Today" show appearance in November 2008. In the tape, Beyoncé sang drastically off-key. A corresponding video was leaked onto the internet, and it went viral. It was even played on American radio stations on April 21, 2009; Howard Stern played the recording, describing it as "the unedited board mix" of Beyoncé's live performance. According to "Us Weekly", Mathew Knowles was the first to cast doubt on the recording's authenticity, saying that the tape seemed to have been altered. He added that "at 12 years into Beyoncé's career, the last thing someone should be questioning is her vocal ability. That would be like questioning if Kobe Bryant could shoot a jump shot."


title: If I Were a Boy

text: On April 22, TMZ reported that the tape was a hoax. They revealed that they had spoken to the person who modified the soundboard tapes, and the alleged culprit told them, "It's a little bit crazy. No one in their right mind would sound like that, and no one would cheer for someone singing like that." The following day, Beyoncé spoke about the allegations to MTV News. She stated that the report was ridiculous and that the timing of the video would draw publicity to two of her upcoming television performances. In an interview with Chris Harris of "Rolling Stone", Zeghibe said that he was surprised by how much attention the clip received and by Beyoncé's reaction to it. He admitted that he had previously given the same treatment to Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, and that he did not feel he had to apologize for the hoax:


title: If I Were a Boy

text: I was just trying to make a point. I wanted to show people how easy it is to manipulate someone's voice. If I can do it with a clip I pulled off of TV, imagine what they are doing on records and during live performances. The entire industry has been so manipulated, because there's such an emphasis on perfection, so when something like this happens, it causes such a stir. I knew something had to have happened to make it jump so fast. It's wild how much the story's been twisted. It's just always been fun for me to manipulate artists, and make it sound crazy. It was just for a good laugh. It was a goof, just for fun. I do a lot of parodies on my YouTube channel, and it just so happens this one got a little out of hand. It was just what I've learned in school, and it's fun I could fool so many people and get away with it. A lot of people had a lot of laughs because of it, so why should I apologize? If you can't poke fun at yourself, I don't know what kind of person you are.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Jamaican dancehall singer Althea Hewitt released a reggae cover of "If I Were a Boy" to iTunes Stores on December 19, 2008. Nicole Sullivan and Tisha Campbell-Martin covered "If I Were a Boy" during the episode "The Shape of Things to Come" on the sitcom "Rita Rocks" which aired on October 13, 2009. In the first episode of "Over the Rainbow" on April 4, 2010, Sophie Evans sang the song. During the finale of the tenth season of "American Idol" on May 25, 2011, the lady contestants joined onstage to perform "If I Were a Boy" along with a medley of Beyoncé's other singles. Caterina Torres covered the song during the second series of the Australian "The Voice" on May 12, 2013. Torres' version peaked at number 28 on the Australian Singles Chart on May 26, 2013. On June 8, 2013, singer Asanda Jezile covered the song during the final of the seventh series of "Britain's Got Talent". In 2016, Republic of Ireland-based toy superstore Smyths covered "If I Were a Boy" for their TV commercials in the British Isles, but the word 'boy' is replaced with a 'toy' when an animated character of a young boy sings it. The commercials began airing on commercial television networks in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom in September 2016.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: "Glee" cast member Alex Newell covered the song for the fifth-season episode "The End of Twerk". The song was released in iTunes Store on November 11, 2013. Michael Slezak of TVLine praised his rendition of the song as "fantastic" and "flawless". Lauren Hoffman from "Vulture" and Derek Chavis from "The Baltimore Sun" described his rendition as one of the best covers recorded for the series. Marc Snetiker of "Entertainment Weekly" praised the inclusion of the song in the episode and described Newell's vocals as "incredible" while "Billboard"s Rae Votta described the cover as "absolutely stunning".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: On October 6, 2011, during the first season of the American "The X Factor", 13-year-old Rachel Crow covered the song during one of her auditions. She was backed by a piano and went sombre as she sang. Her performance brought judge Nicole Scherzinger to tears. Gil Kaufman of MTV News commented that the cover showed off "her preternaturally powerful [and] growly range". Both Joe Berkowitz of "Rolling Stone" and Jennifer Still of Digital Spy noted that Crow's performance was well executed despite her young age. Sarah Maloy of "Billboard" magazine commented that her performance was "sensational as always". On December 3, 2011, during the semi-final of the eighth series of the British televised singing show "The X Factor", 4-piece girlband Little Mix covered "If I Were a Boy". Digital Spy's Daniel Sperling noted that their cover contained "a little Amelia Lily-esque shouting".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: On September 26, 2012, during the second season of "The X Factor" in the United States, Dinah Jane Hansen covered "If I Were a Boy". Annie Barrett of "Entertainment Weekly" praised Hansen's singing, writing that she "stunned the crowd with a vocal so powerful" and "made the song her own". Bruna Nessif of E! Online praised her "powerful" rendition, and Peter Larsen of the "Orange County Register" wrote that she left the judges "speechless, [and] blown away by the power and beauty of her voice". Then, on December 5, 2012, during the same show, Carly Rose Sonenclar also covered the song. Jennifer Still of Digital Spy noted that she sounded "effortless on those long, belting notes and shows a lot of restraint in the verses as well". On August 18, 2013, during the fifth season of "The X Factor Australia", Dami Im covered the song during the home visits round. Lorna Simpson also covered "If I Were a Boy" during the home visits round on the tenth season on "The X Factor" in the UK on October 4, 2013.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: On December 4, 2013, Ellona Santiago covered the song in week 6 of the third season for her Unplugged performance.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The song was covered by American country singer Reba McEntire on June 18, 2010, on Country Music Television’s "Unplugged" series, accompanied by a music video depicting her performing the song live. Later in the year McEntire recorded a studio version, for her album "All the Women I Am" (2010), and performed it at the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards on November 10, 2010. The song then debuted at number 60 on the Hot Country Songs charts as an album cut dated for the week ending November 27, 2010.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Added to country radio on January 24, 2011, by Starstruck Entertainment and Valory Music Group, as the second from the album, it re-entered at number 60 on the chart dated for the week ending January 29, 2011. The official music video, directed by Peter Zavadil, premiered on Oprah.com on February 28, 2011 at midnight, followed by an exclusive interview, and the song peaked at number 22 in April 2011 and at 23 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: McEntire has said that she originally wanted the album to comprise only her own hits: but her husband and manager, Narvel Blackstock, wanted to include a cover and proposed Beyoncé's "If I Were a Boy". In 2011 she commented


title: If I Were a Boy

text: When I got the song and the lyrics, I thought it was an incredible song ... And, to me, it turned out to be a country song, when we got our instrumentation on it and everything. And some people go, 'Well, why in the world would you do a pop song?' I just think music is music. You've got good and you've got bad, and I try to stay on the good side. By contrast, in an interview with her as recipient of their 2019 Trailblazer Award, she identified the song to Billboard magazine as artistically a misstep:


title: If I Were a Boy

text: We had [covered the song] for ["Unplugged" on CMT], and the record label really wanted me to record it and put it out as a single. I didn’t feel real good about it. It wasn’t that successful. The people in the music industry, they’re professionals, and sometimes you have to go with the team. It just didn’t work out;


title: If I Were a Boy

text: but at the time the cut met with mainly positive reception. Jessica Phillips of "Country Weekly" magazine described it as a "soulful countrified look at love from a male perspective". Steve Morse at "The Boston Globe" said that McEntire translated the song "artfully into country". "Billboard" magazine's Mikael Wood praised it, comparing it with McEntire's cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You". AllMusic critic Thom Jurek was less favorable, writing that it was unrecognizable to the original, before adding, "It contains none of the original's drama; in its place is a failed attempt at a soft rock power ballad."


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Mawuse Ziegbe of MTV News praised the CMA Awards performance, writing, "Singing with no band onstage, donning a glittery black dress with her signature red hair flowing to her shoulders, the legendary vocalist's performance scored a standing ovation." Jillian Mapes and Megan Vick of "Billboard" wrote, "As if Beyonce's 2008 ballad 'If I Were a Boy' wasn't moving enough, country queen Reba McEntire's smokey twang and solemn stance turned the song on its head" and that the "simple and powerful performance" was "enough to inspire tears, or at least goosebumps." Country Music Television's Chet Flippo felt it was "the musical highlight of the evening" and added that it was "a lesson of what country music should be striving for these days". Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" contrasted it with the album cut, hinting that nuance had proved out of reach in the studio and noting that she had "sound[ed] as if .. already inhabiting the role", but that at the Awards she "did something unexpected, softening her delivery and finding the creases in the song, as if Beyoncé were whispering to her from the wings." However, "Entertainment Weekly"s Mandi Bierly wrote that the lyrics were "just too young for [McEntire], and when it comes to the chorus, I want someone to belt it".


title: If I Were a Boy

text: American country singer and songwriter Mickey Guyton released a cover of "If I Were a Boy" originally as an Amazon Music exclusive on February 26, 2021, as part of Amazon Music's Black History Month playlist.


title: If I Were a Boy

text: Regarding the release of the cover, Guyton commented: It was important for me to record 'If I Were a Boy' because I have been fighting in country music for so long to just be accepted for who I am. This song represents the release and the birth of something new."Guyton added, "Really this song means so much more to me, and has a completely different meaning, than when I first heard it."


title: If I Were a Boy

text: The cover art was designed by Jamilla Okubo. On July 30, 2021, the song was reissued to all digital stores as a promotional single from Guyton's debut studio album, "Remember Her Name".


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: "Hypnotize" is a single by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. featuring vocals by Pamela Long, released as the first single from his album "Life After Death" on March 4, 1997. The last song released before his death in a drive-by shooting a week later, it was the fifth song by a credited artist to hit number one posthumously, and the first since "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1980. "Rolling Stone" ranked the song as number 30 on their list of the "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: P. Diddy (known then as Puff Daddy) produced "Hypnotize" and sampled the Herb Alpert's 1979 hit "Rise" which was written by Andy Armer and Herb's nephew, Randy "Badazz" Alpert. Randy recalled, "I asked Puffy, in 1996 when he first called me concerning using 'Rise' for 'Hypnotize,' why he chose the 'Rise' groove. He told me that in the summer of 1979 when he was I think 10 years old the song was a huge hit everywhere in New York and 'Rise' along with Chic's 'Good Times' were 'the songs' that all the kids were dancing and roller skating to that summer. He had always remembered that summer and that song. When he first played the loop for Biggie, (he said that) Biggie smiled and hugged him."


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: Randy continued, "Over the years I was approached by Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Vanilla Ice, and maybe another 4–5 artists to use the song and I never said 'yes' until I heard a rough version of Biggie's recording produced by Sean 'Puffy' Combs, D-Dot, and Ron Lawrence. I was sent a cassette from Puffy and when I cranked it up I not only immediately loved it but my gut thought that this could be a number one record once again. The original 'Rise' record climbed the chart all summer and became number one around the end of October; Biggie's version was released and charted its first week at number two and went to number one the second week."


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: As for the chorus, or "hook", the melody and phrasing is interpolated from a lyrical section of Slick Rick's song "La Di Da Di", and it is also from these lyrics that the title "Hypnotize" is derived. Often misattributed to Lil Kim, Pamela Long from the group Total sang this part.


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: In 2013, when asked about the lyrics, "Escargot, my car go...", Lil' Cease of Junior M.A.F.I.A. stated, "Nah. See that's the shit that made B.I.G. dope. B.I.G. used to talk about all the cars but, nigga didn't even know how to drive. He wouldn't dare get in the driver seat."


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: The song was a hit on U.S. radio before being issued as a single. On its release, "Hypnotize" entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number two, right behind labelmate and co-writer and co-producer Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs ("Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"). When "Hypnotize" reached number one two weeks later, it made The Notorious B.I.G. the fifth artist in Hot 100 history to have a posthumous chart-topper ("see List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones"). It also gave back-to-back number-one hits to Combs' Bad Boy Records label. Nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards, it lost to "Men in Black" by Will Smith. The single reached number 10 in the UK, B.I.G.'s first top 10 hit in that country. Kris Ex of Pitchfork wrote "Big was a master of flow, sounding unforced and unlabored over a bevy of pristine, hi-fidelity maximalist beats that seemed to always bow to his intent."


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: 50 Cent told "NME" that the song was the one he would want played at his funeral: "I'd just want everyone to have as much of a party as possible."


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: "Billboard" and "The Guardian" both ranked the song number two on their lists of the greatest Notorious B.I.G. songs, and "Rolling Stone" ranked the song number seven on their list of the 50 greatest Notorious B.I.G. songs.


title: Hypnotize (The Notorious B.I.G. song)

text: The music video was released in March 1997. It was filmed in California in the US. Directed by Paul Hunter, the video starts off with the caption: Florida Keys 5:47 pm, with B.I.G. and Puff Daddy hanging out on a 60-foot Tempest yacht with some ladies when a bunch of helicopters disrupt their party and attempt to capture them. It then cuts to B.I.G. and Puff Daddy in an underground parking lot, where they spot a black Hummer and a group of men dressed in black riding motorcycles (possibly police). They attempt to get away from them by driving their convertible in reverse while in the streets. It cuts to a pool party that's set underwater, where swimsuit models can be seen shaking their bodies through the windows, and it ends with B.I.G. and Puff Daddy escaping the helicopters. Intercut throughout the video are scenes of B.I.G. and Puff Daddy behind a sepia background with some female dancers dressed in leather bikinis and B.I.G. dancing behind a black background while pieces of the chorus are captioned below.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. His career highlights include consecutive US Open titles in 1997 and 1998, consecutive runner-up appearances at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001, winning the 1999 Australian Open men's doubles tournament alongside Jonas Björkman, and winning two singles and two doubles ATP Masters titles.


title: Pat Rafter

text: He became the first man in the Open Era to win Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, which he achieved in 1998; this achievement has been dubbed the American Summer Slam. To date, only two players have followed this feat: Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013. Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach semifinals or better of every Grand Slam tournament in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this. Rafter is also the only player to remain undefeated against Roger Federer with at least three meetings, though the meetings took place early in Federer's career. He is also the only player with a winning record over the Swiss on all the three main surfaces: hard, clay and grass.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter turned professional in 1991. During the course of his career, he twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. He was known for his serve-and-volley style of play.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter won his first tour-level match in 1993, at Wimbledon. He reached the third round, before losing to Andre Agassi. He also reached the semifinals in Indianapolis. He defeated Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals in three tight sets, before losing to Boris Becker in the semifinals. Rafter finished 1993 with a ranking of 66.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter won his first career singles title in 1994 in Manchester. Prior to 1997, this was the only ATP singles title he had won.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter's breakthrough came in 1997. At that year's French Open, he reached the semifinals, falling in four sets to two time former champion Sergi Bruguera. Then, he surprised many by winning the US Open, defeating Andriy Medvedev, Magnus Norman, Lionel Roux, Andre Agassi, Magnus Larsson, and Michael Chang before beating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final; he was the first non-American to win the title since Stefan Edberg in 1992. This was his first Grand Slam title, and catapulted him ahead of Chang to finish the year ranked #2 in the world (behind only Pete Sampras). The unexpected nature of his US Open title led many, including Hall-of-famer and four-time US Open champion John McEnroe to criticise Rafter as a "one-slam wonder".


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter had a particularly strong year in 1998, winning the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters (Andre Agassi (1995), Andy Roddick (2003), and Rafael Nadal (2013) are the only other players to have won both of these tournaments in the same year). Rafter defeated ninth-ranked Richard Krajicek in the Toronto final and second-ranked Pete Sampras in the Cincinnati final. When asked about the difference between himself and Rafter following their titles, Sampras responded, "10 grand slams". He added that a tennis player must come back and win a Grand Slam again in order to be considered great.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Entering the U.S. Open as the defending champion, Rafter reached the final by defeating Hicham Arazi, Hernán Gumy, David Nainkin, Goran Ivanišević and Jonas Björkman before besting Sampras in a five-set semifinal. Rafter then defended his US Open title by defeating fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis in four sets, committing only five unforced errors throughout the match. Altogether, Rafter won six tournaments in 1998, finishing the year No. 4 in the world.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter won the Australian Open men's doubles title in 1999 (partnering Jonas Björkman), making him one of few players in the modern era to win both a singles and doubles Grand Slam title during their career (fellow countryman Lleyton Hewitt would later achieve this feat in 2001). He and Björkman also won a doubles titles at the ATP Masters Series event in Canada (1999) At the 1999 French Open, Rafter drew future world No. 1 and 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the first round, making him the first-ever opponent of Federer in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. Rafter defeated him in four sets. Rafter then reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in 1999, losing in straight sets to Agassi. This was the first of three consecutive years that the two met in the Wimbledon semifinals. July 1999 saw Rafter holding the world No. 1 men's singles ranking for one week, making him the shortest-reigning world No. 1 in ATP Tour history. As the two-time defending US Open champion, Rafter lost in the first round of the tournament, retiring in the fifth set against Cédric Pioline after succumbing to shoulder tendinitis. Rafter's shoulder injury wound up being serious enough to necessitate surgery.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Due to injury, Rafter was unable to play in the 1999 Davis Cup final won by Australia; however, he won important matches in the earlier rounds to help the team qualify.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter's ranking had fallen to No. 21 by the time he reached the Wimbledon final in July 2000. In the semifinals, he defeated Agassi 7–5, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3. The match was hailed as a classic, particularly because of their contrasting playing styles, with Agassi playing primarily from the baseline and Rafter attacking the net. Rafter faced Sampras in the final, who was gunning for a record-breaking seventh Wimbledon title overall (and seven in the past eight years). While Rafter made a strong start to the match and took the first set, after the match he would claim that he had "choked" part way through the second set tie-break, and was then not able to get back into his game. Sampras won in four sets.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter played on the Australian Davis Cup Team that lost in the final in 2000 (to Spain) and 2001 (to France). Rafter played on the Australian teams that won the World Team Cup in 1999 and 2001.


title: Pat Rafter

text: In 2001, Rafter reached the semifinals of the Australian Open. Despite holding a two sets to one lead and having the support of the home crowd, Rafter lost the match to Agassi in five sets. Later in the year, Rafter again reached the Wimbledon final. For the third straight year, he faced Agassi in the semifinals and won in yet another five-setter, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 8–6. Much like the previous year's semifinal, this match also received praise for the quality of play that the two men displayed. In the final, it was originally scheduled to play on the second Sunday but was rescheduled to the third Monday due to the other semifinal between Goran Ivanišević and Tim Henman played on three separate days, he squared off against Ivanišević, who had reached the Wimbledon final three times before but had slid down the rankings to World No. 125 following injury problems. In a five-set struggle that lasted just over three hours, Ivanišević prevailed. He played his last match at the Davis Cup final, winning the singles rubber but losing the doubles rubber.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter did not play any tour matches in 2002. He spent the year recovering from injuries. In January 2003, he announced his retirement from professional tennis, stating that he had lost all motivation to compete at the top level.


title: Pat Rafter

text: The 5,500-seat centre court of the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane, Australia, was named "Pat Rafter Arena" in Rafter's honour. In 2002, he won the Australian of the Year award. This created some controversy, as he had spent much of his career residing in Bermuda for tax purposes.


title: Pat Rafter

text: Rafter did return at the beginning of the 2004 season to play doubles at two tournaments only; the 2004 Australian Open and the 2004 AAPT Championships (in Adelaide). However, he lost in round one of both events, playing alongside Joshua Eagle.


title: Pat Rafter

text: He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2006. On Australia Day 2008, Rafter was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.


title: Pat Rafter

text: In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Rafter was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".


title: Pat Rafter

text: In October 2010, Rafter was announced as Australia's Davis Cup captain. Rafter stood down as Australia's Davis Cup captain on 29 January 2015. He was succeeded by Wally Masur.


title: Pat Rafter

text: On 12 January 2014, Rafter—then aged 41—announced that he would be partnering current Australian number one Lleyton Hewitt in the doubles draw of the 2014 Australian Open. The comeback, however, was short-lived, as the pair went down in straight sets to eventual runner-ups Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen in the first round.


title: Pat Rafter

text: At the 2009 AEGON Masters Tennis, Rafter lost his opening round robin match against the 1987 Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash 2–6, 6–2, 10–6. In a much anticipated match and replay of the 2001 Wimbledon final, Rafter faced Goran Ivanišević. Rafter won the match when Ivanisevic retired while serving for the opening set, 3–5. Despite his performance, the retirement was enough to push Rafter into the final against Stefan Edberg. In what is described as a spell-binding serve-and-volley showdown, Rafter won the match 6–7, 6–4, 11–9. This represented the first time that Rafter was able to defeat Edberg.


title: Robert Webber

text: Robert Laman Webber (October 14, 1924 – May 19, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in dozens of films and television series, roles that included Juror No. 12 in the 1957 film "12 Angry Men".


title: Robert Webber

text: Webber was born in Santa Ana, California, the son of Alice and Robert Webber, who was a merchant seaman. He graduated from Oakland Technical High School. Webber enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1943 during World War II, serving in the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps and later in the 6th Marine Division as a 776-Radio Operator (Low Speed) in Guam and Okinawa. Webber was discharged in 1945 as a private first class and was awarded the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Presidential Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.


title: Robert Webber

text: Webber had a 40-year career as a character actor, during which he appeared as Juror No. 12 in "12 Angry Men" (1957), as Dudley Moore's gay lyricist in "10" (1979), and the father of Cybill Shepherd's character in the hit series "Moonlighting".


title: Robert Webber

text: Other notable turns were in the movies "The Sandpiper", in which he played a supporting role as Elizabeth Taylor's character's former lover; "The Nun and the Sergeant", in which he played the lead; "The Dirty Dozen", where he played a general who disliked the character portrayed by Lee Marvin; a sadistic lowlife encountered by Paul Newman in the anti-hero detective drama "Harper"; a hitman in Sam Peckinpah's "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia"; and a killer in the Dean Martin spy spoof "The Silencers". Other notable movies include "The Great White Hope" (1970), "Midway" (1976), "Revenge of the Pink Panther" (1978), "Private Benjamin" (1980), "S.O.B." (1981), and "Wild Geese II" (1985). Several of the movies were directed by Blake Edwards.


title: Robert Webber

text: On television, Webber appeared in many of the popular dramas of the time, including four episodes of "The Rockford Files" and three of "Cannon". Webber also appeared in "Barnaby Jones" in the episode titled “Final Judgment”.


title: Robert Webber

text: Webber died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) at age 64 in Malibu, California.


title: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

text: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan (西山温泉慶雲館) is a hot spring hotel in Hayakawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 705 AD by Fujiwara Mahito, it is a long-established business ("shinise") as the oldest hotel and perhaps the oldest independent company in operation after Kongō Gumi was acquired in 2006. In 2011, the hotel was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest hotel in the world.


title: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

text: The Keiunkan lies at the foot of the Akaishi Mountains. Since its foundation, the hotel has had all its hot water sourced directly from the local Hakuho Springs. It has been continuously operated by 52 generations of the same family (including adopted heirs) for over 1,300 years. The onsen was created by Fujiwara Mahito, son of an aide to the 38th Emperor of Japan, Emperor Tenji.


title: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

text: Upon its creation, the healing waters of the springs became widely popular in Japan. Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu were among the onsen's historic guests.


title: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

text: The hotel underwent a major renovation in 1997 but preserved the traditional architectural style of the original onsen. In 2005, private, free-flowing hot spring baths were added to every room. Between 2000 and 2016, the hotel's reservations dropped by nearly 50%. In 2017, the inn's holding company Yushima created the company Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, transferred ownership of the inn to this company, and Yushima was dissolved the following year.


title: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

text: The hotel has 37 rooms, a "kaiseki" restaurant, and a moon-viewing platform. As of 2019, all rooms and facilities of the hotel have password free Wi-Fi. Tatami mats and classic art furnish the rooms. The staff wear (two piece) kimono. The hot baths' machinery pumps 1,000 liters of naturally heated water per minute and there are plans to double that capacity. The hotel features public and private hot spring baths (onsen). Two private ones are on the first floor and two public ones are on the fourth floor. The entrance and lobby is on the third floor.


title: Majid Jordan

text: Majid Jordan is a Canadian R&B duo, consisting of singer Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman from Toronto, Ontario. They formed in 2011 and signed to OVO Sound, the record label co-founded by rapper Drake, producer Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib, releasing their debut EP, "A Place Like This", in 2014.


title: Majid Jordan

text: Majid Jordan was formed in 2011 by Majid Hani Al Maskati (born October 22, 1990), originally from Bahrain, and Jordan Kenneth Cooke Ullman (born September 8, 1993), originally from Toronto, Ontario, after they met each other at Majid's birthday party at a bar in Toronto. Both were students at the University of Toronto, and later that week they began working on music together in Jordan's dorm, releasing their first official single, "Hold Tight", in just one day, which they posted anonymously on SoundCloud. Working between Ullman's dorm room and his parents' basement, they launched their first joint EP titled "Afterhours" on SoundCloud under the pseudonym Good People. Noah "40" Shebib, producer for the Toronto rapper Drake, was impressed by their "Afterhours" EP, and he signed them to his OVO Sound record label.


title: Majid Jordan

text: In 2013, Majid Jordan co-produced and were credited to be featured on Drake's track "Hold On, We're Going Home", which was included from his platinum-selling album "Nothing Was the Same". "Hold On, We're Going Home" went on to become Drake's most successful single-charting in several countries, including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On July 7, 2014, Majid Jordan released their first official single as a duo through SoundCloud. On July 17, 2014, ten days later, they released their official debut EP, "A Place Like This", which was digitally through OVO Sound, the record label co-founded by rapper Drake. They went on to release music videos for three of the songs from the EP, including the title track "A Place Like This", "Her" and "Forever".


title: Majid Jordan

text: On July 10, 2015, Drake premiered their first single, titled "My Love" for their upcoming debut studio album on Apple's Beats 1 radio, during an interview with radio host Zane Lowe; their label boss is also featured on the track. After its premiere it was released straight to Apple Music and the iTunes Store.


title: Majid Jordan

text: In February 2016, the duo released its self-titled debut by OVO sound, featuring a song with Drake, called "My Love". On February 17, 2016, the duo also revealed their first-ever North American tour starting with a show in San Francisco, with other appearances were scheduled for Miami, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On April 21, 2017, Majid Jordan released "Phases" as the lead single from their second studio album. Its music video was released on May 25, 2017.


title: Majid Jordan

text: Majid Jordan released "One I Want" as the second single from their sophomore album on June 15, 2017. The song features a guest appearance from OVO labelmate PartyNextDoor. A music video was released on July 7, 2017.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On July 31, 2017, Majid Jordan announced that their sophomore album, "The Space Between", would be released in the fall.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On September 29, 2017, Majid Jordan released "My Imagination" featuring OVO labelmate Dvsn as the third single from "The Space Between." It was released along with the album pre-order. The album was released on October 27, 2017.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On September 7, 2018, Zhu released his second studio album, "Ringos Desert", which features a guest appearance from Majid Jordan on the song "Coming Home." That same day, Majid Jordan released two songs titled "Spirit" and "All Over You".


title: Majid Jordan

text: On July 24, 2019, Majid Jordan released "Caught Up," a song that features Khalid. The music video premiered on the Majid Jordan YouTube page the same day.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On July 25, 2019, DJ Snake released his album, "Carte Blanche", which features a guest appearance from Majid Jordan on the song "Recognize." A remix of the song which features the French DJ Mercer, was released on September 27, 2019.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On April 5, 2021, after a year-long hiatus and break from social media, Majid Jordan released their lead single "Waves of Blue" from their third studio album.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On June 18, 2021, Majid Jordan released "Been Through That" as the second single from their third studio album. The single premiered on the Sirius XM OVO Sound 42 Radio channel.


title: Majid Jordan

text: Majid Jordan released "Summer Rain" as the third single from their third studio album on September 17, 2021.


title: Majid Jordan

text: On October 3, 2021, Majid Jordan announced that their third studio album, "Wildest Dreams", would be released on October 22, 2021. The album marks the tenth anniversary of the duo forming, and the release date is on Majid Al Maskati's birthday.


title: Majid Jordan

text: Majid Jordan released their fourth single, "Forget About the Party", from their third studio album. It premiered on October 18, 2021, on the Apple Music 1 Zane Lowe Show.


title: American Family Field

text: American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers, and opened in 2001 as a replacement for Milwaukee County Stadium. The stadium was previously called Miller Park as part of a $40 million naming rights deal with Miller Brewing Company, which expired at the end of 2020.


title: American Family Field

text: American Family Field features North America's only fan-shaped convertible roof, which can open and close in less than 10 minutes. Large panes of glass allow natural grass to grow, augmented with heat lamp structures wheeled out across the field during the off-season.


title: American Family Field

text: American Family Field was one of the largest construction projects in Wisconsin history. It was built with US$290 million of public funds from a 0.1% sales tax that began January 1, 1996, and ended on March 31, 2020. The tax was applied on purchases in Milwaukee County and four surrounding counties: Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, and Waukesha. The tax was controversial, in part because of the notion of using public funds for a privately owned sports team. The state senator who cast the deciding vote in the funding bill, George Petak of Racine, lost a recall election based on his vote for the stadium.


title: American Family Field

text: On November 9, 1996, groundbreaking took place in a parking lot behind County Stadium. Originally scheduled to open in 2000, American Family Field's construction was delayed after three construction workers were killed in an accident on July 14, 1999. A Lampson Transi-lift crane (nicknamed "Big Blue") brought in to build the roof collapsed while lifting a 450-ton roof section during windy conditions. A camera crew was filming construction of the stadium on that day and captured the collapse on video as it occurred. Repair work and an investigation forced the Brewers to stay in County Stadium for one more year, until 2001. There was some talk of having the Brewers move to American Family Field in the middle of 2000, but it was determined that too many issues would need to be resolved for it to be a realistic possibility.


title: American Family Field

text: The stadium has a retractable roof, built in a unique fan-shaped style, with the roof panels opening and closing simultaneously in a sweeping manner from the first- and third-base sides toward center field. The complex and massive roof was a significant factor in the $392 million cost of the stadium. It allows the seating area to be heated warmer than the outside temperature when closed, allowing games to be played in inclement weather and in more comfortable conditions than an open-air stadium. For example, when it is freezing outside, the temperature inside will be . The idea of the stadium having a retractable roof had been considered right away in the initial design, as to help counter the unpredictable Wisconsin weather in the early spring and late autumn.


title: American Family Field

text: The design team was appointed after a design competition in the mid-1990s. The architectural concept for the stadium was developed by the Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment team NBBJ, who worked closely with a Los Angeles-based team of engineers Arup, who were responsible for all stages of the structural and building services engineering design for the stadium, with the exception of the mechanical mechanisms that move the roof structure. The original versions of these mechanisms were designed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America as part of a design and build contract, but they have now been replaced by new designs after their failure. The executive architect responsible for the delivery of the final stadium design was a Dallas-based team of HKS, Inc. In addition to these major players there were a significant contributions from local teams including Eppstein Uhen Architects.


title: American Family Field

text: The stadium design followed the trend of retro-designed ballparks with current amenities that began in 1992 with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.


title: American Family Field

text: The original grass playing surface was installed on March 10, 2001, using County Stadium's surface infield dirt and home plate transplanted into the new stadium.


title: American Family Field

text: The stadium was previously called Miller Park as part of a $40 million naming rights deal with Miller Brewing Company which expired at the end of 2020. Madison-based American Family Insurance purchased the naming rights in a new 15-year deal.


title: American Family Field

text: The unconventional fan-shaped retractable roof has not been without complications. Major elements of the pivot system behind home plate and the outfield roof track have been replaced, even after the crane incident.


title: American Family Field

text: At the end of the 2006 season, the roof's bogie system was replaced at a cost of over $13 million. The 10 new, , bogies were paid for with money from the settlement between the stadium district and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America. Six of the bogies weigh , while the four others weigh . The work was completed by lifting sections of the roof approximately with Enerpac hydraulic lifts, while a crane replaced the bogies individually. "The bogies will last for the life of the facility," said Mike Duckett, executive director of the then named Miller Park stadium district. The project was completed by the start of the 2007 season.


title: American Family Field

text: Another issue resulting from the design of the roof and the adjacent large glass panels is that, during day games when the roof is fully open, shadows cover home plate and the batters boxes, while the pitchers mound is in full sunlight. This was a safety concern for batters, and was addressed during the 2010 season, when it was determined a larger shadow would cover both home plate and the pitchers mound if only one half of the roof was opened. This tactic has since been discontinued.


title: American Family Field

text: In time for the 2006 season there were three additions to the stadium. Two sets of LED scoreboards were added. One replaced the formerly manually operated "out of town" scoreboards along the left and right field walls with a new set of LED scoreboards along the left-field wall. The new "out of town" scoreboards show the score of every Major League game on that day. A second-tier marquee scoreboard was also added along the bottom of the 300-level of the stadium stretching from foul pole to home plate to foul pole, with the portion closest to the foul lines used to provide open captions of announcements from the public address system and advertisements. The section of the second-tier scoreboard above home plate displays statistics for those unable to see the main scoreboard above the center-field wall. The final addition to American Family Field for the 2006 season was the addition of a field-level picnic area in the corner of right-field. The picnic area has a capacity of 75 and provides a place for fans to watch the game in a leisurely setting and be within feet of the right-fielder. Known first as the Mercedes-Benz Field Haus, the picnic area's name was changed to AirTran Airways Landing Zone in 2009, and to the ATI Club in 2012. In 2017, due to a contract dispute between ATI and the Brewers, it was apparently billed as the Right Field Patio until gaining its current sponsorship as the Aurora Health Care Bullpen in 2018.


title: American Family Field

text: During the 2007 season, as the Brewers got closer to the team record of home runs in a season, a home run counter was added to the right of the center field scoreboard. In the shape of a gas pump, the counter was sponsored by Citgo, whose name could be seen as a play on words for a home run (C-It-Go). The counter kept track of the home runs hit by the Brewers during the season and when a home run was hit, the player's name was shown on the display as well as the distance of the home run. The Citgo home run counter was removed after the 2009 season.


title: American Family Field

text: Early into the 2008 season, the Brewers also added a sponsored strikeout counter to the tier of the second deck of the right field bleachers, which illuminates a K when a Brewers' pitcher notches a strikeout and keeps track of how many strikeouts as a team the Brewers have. Prior to this addition, Bernie Brewer would hang strikeout K's from the railing of his club house, including backwards K's to denote a called strike three.


title: American Family Field

text: In 2009, American Family Field's outfield was replaced with "Lo-Mo" Kentucky bluegrass just like the infield was the prior year. The new turf, common in other ballparks around baseball, is denser and has a sand base, instead of the sand and clay mix under the original grass. The turf yields truer hops and fewer instances in which the baseball skips under an outfielder's glove than the previous turf. Also for the 2009 season, the Harley-Davidson Deck was opened on the field level of the stadium in left-center field.


title: American Family Field

text: During the off-season between 2010 and 2011, the stadium's original centerfield scoreboard (a smaller videoboard atop a larger black and amber message display board) was replaced by a full-length and full color Daktronics 1080p HD display board which is the ninth-largest screen among current MLB stadiums, along with a public address/sound system upgrade.


title: American Family Field

text: From the year American Family Field opened in 2001, the Brewers have averaged 31,783 fans per game, or 2,574,423 per season, while placing 11th out of 30 franchises in total attendance, despite having only eight winning seasons through the 2019 season, and having won only two MLB playoff series in just five total series appearances, and having the smallest market size of any Major League city. In 2011, the Brewers set a franchise record of 3,071,373, and beginning in 2004 they have attracted at least two-million fans; an ongoing streak of 15 consecutive years, the 12th longest in Major League history. Prior to American Family Field, the previous such consecutive streak in Milwaukee baseball history was four years, from 1954 to 1957. Since 2007, the Brewers have drawn at least 2.5 million in attendance to American Family Field in 12 of 13 seasons..


title: American Family Field

text: On opening day April 6, 2001, President George W. Bush and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig had first pitch honors for the stadium. The park hosted the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, which ended infamously in a tie.


title: American Family Field

text: In April 2007, snow storms in northern Ohio caused the Cleveland Indians to postpone their home opening series against the Seattle Mariners and forced the Indians to find a different location for their home series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Major League Baseball took advantage of American Family Field's roof and moved the Indians-Angels series to Milwaukee. All seats were sold for $10 apiece, and attendance was 52,496 for the three games. The series was a reminder to many of the 1989 film "Major League", which featured scenes filmed in Milwaukee County Stadium, though the film was about a fictionalized Cleveland Indians team. The first game of the series was played on the same day that the film's "Wild Thing Edition" was released on DVD. When Joe Borowski came in to close for the Indians, the song "Wild Thing" was played over the PA system, in an homage to the film. Also, the Indians' mascot Slider slid down Bernie Brewer's slide following Indians home runs. These games were the first to be played under American League rules in Milwaukee since 1997 (the Brewers' final season in the AL), and have been the only games played under AL rules in American Family Field.


title: American Family Field

text: Hurricane Ike's landfall in Houston forced the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros to play a two-game series at American Family Field on Sunday, September 14 and Monday, September 15, 2008. The park became the first neutral site in Major League history to host a no-hitter, when Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs threw the first no-hitter in the history of the park against the Houston Astros on Sunday, September 14, 2008. The next day, his teammate Ted Lilly, took a no-hitter into the 7th inning.


title: American Family Field

text: On Sunday, September 13, 2020 Chicago Cubs pitcher Alec Mills threw the second no-hitter in American Family Field history during the pandemic shortened 2020 season. The no-hitter, against the home Milwaukee Brewers, came in just Mills' 14th career major league start.


title: American Family Field

text: American Family Field hosted the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Masters finals on Sunday, October 28, 2007. The playing surface was fitted with four bowling lanes for the tournament.


title: American Family Field

text: During the 2014 All-Star break, American Family Field hosted an untelevised international friendly match between Swansea City and Chivas of Guadalajara on July 16, 2014. The soccer pitch was laid out in a first baseline-to-left field configuration, with a narrower width than a standard soccer pitch due to the constraints of the field. The teams played to a 1–1 draw in front of about 31,000 in attendance.