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Michael - Your Album Review + Poll

What is your rating for the Album? (5 is best)

  • 5

    Votes: 131 39.0%

  • 4

    Votes: 116 34.5%

  • 3

    Votes: 53 15.8%

  • 2

    Votes: 19 5.7%

  • 1

    Votes: 17 5.1%
  • Total voters
    336
4/5
I love Breaking News, Monster, Behind the Mask. Another Day, HMH, HT are pretty good. The rest are descent songs, but are kind of slow. I prefer upbeat clubbangers and R&B. I can understand why they added the cascio tracks. They are good songs, but heavily edited.
I love DYKWYCA and Gangster. Hopefully some of these tracks will get released.
Everything is about making money for the estate and Sony now. So I don't think we will see "the best of everything on every album". I am greatful for anything I get from Michael Jackson.
 
oh quit the fricking bickering already. If people can't communicate in a reasonable way, quit posting-just drop it. Its really annoying the back and forth every other post. Irrelevent to the topic.
 
Wow, I'm impressed. I have to say, I wasn't sure what to expect. I never really heard any unreleased songs before this, and I love the whole album! I definitely think MJ would have approved it and I like it way better than Invincible.
 
K I gave it a 3, its okay!...some of the songs just doesn't do it for me, but I'll give time for it grow on me. Although i gave it an average score, its definitely better than anything coming out right now, I can tell you that lol. Anyway, my short and sweet review.

Hold My Hand - I loved it when it first leaked and I love this version even more since there's more MJ in it :p

Hollywood Tonight - from the snippet, I didn't think I'd like that song. The melody seemed a little bland to me...buuuuuuuuut I like it! It's got a good beat, and that 'bland' melody really grows on you when you hear it over and over lol. It's catchy :p I like the different effect done on his voice - seems current sounding. The spoken part...lol...I think that could have been cut short :p

Keep Your Head Up - LOVE IT. Nuff said. I love how this kind of 'choir' song that MJ specializes in :p...is very specific. It's not just a 'save the world' kind of song, but its very personal and relate-able, like Man In The Mirror.

The Way You Love Me - LOVE THE INTRO. Of course. I honestly can't decide which version I like better of this song. The Ultimate Collection had a more groovy driving beat in the background that made me want to bounce to it. :p But I like this version because its puuuuuurdy with the flutes and more pronounced piano and the mixing of the chorus and that bridge :p Its prettier than the original I think.

Monster - I think this is one my favorites lol. It sounds SOOOOO current to me. Like I can hear this on the radio NOW. And MJ has such attitude in it! and 50 Cent wasn't too bad in it either (wasn't expecting that lol). But MJ sounds SPECTACULAR in this song. SERIOUSLY.

Best of Joy - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW SNIBBLETS! this song is just so full of warm fuzzies, I can't even take it. I have a warm fuzzy overload with this song. It's like probably the wedding song of the year. And its also seems comforting - just hearing MJ singing "I am forever, we are forever" Its beautiful. Ironically beautiful.

It also seems Janet Jackson-y (and at times very Bee Gees too) which is also very cute lol

Breaking News - I like this song! I thought it was veeeeeeeeery catchy. I was singing it all the time in the shower when I first heard it :p (Yep, TMI moment :p)

Another Day - Okay things go downhill for me here. I caaaaaan't bring myself to like this song lol Number one, I'm not that big of a fan of Lenny, and this is COMPLETELY a Lenny song. And unlike MJ's other 'rockin' songs, he's screaming through out the whole thing lol. In Beat it, there's some balance, in Dirty Diana - there's balance. In this, it just seems like MJ's just SCREAMING in my ear for the entirety of the song. LOL

Behind the Mask - I like the concept. I like the trumpet and the background sound to it. BUT...this song is just ALL OVER the place to me. I have no idea if this song is coming or going, melody wise lol. I liked the snippet when it came out though! But the song as a whole was just like...wth? LOL He sounds GREAT in it though! But combined with the robot b-section (which sounds very dated lol) and all the noise going on and the choppy chorus...and the synthesizers, and several adlib voices at the end...and to TOP IT OFF...RANDOM GIRL (shanice) AT THE END BELTING OUT "I LOVE YA MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHAELLLL" That had me cracking up the first time I heard it. i was straight up like 'what the heeeeeeeeeeeck?!" It would be different if I heard her somewhere else in the song...give me a little WARNING :p I wasn't prepared for that lol

Much Too Soon - PURE WIN. I loved it the first time i heard it, and it is a BIG sigh of a relief and quiet after all that was going on in Another Day and behind the mask :p Beauuuuuuuuutiful


So here's my rankings from best to worst:


1. Best of Joy
2. Monster
3. Keep Your Head up
4. Much Too Soon
5. Hold My Hand
6. The Way You love Me
7. Breaking News
8. Hollywood Tonight
9. Behind the Mask
10. Another Day

EDIT: I moved Best of Joy from 5 to 1 because in a period of an hour, it grew on me THAT much lol

EDIT AGAIN: Ok Behind the Mask is growing on me, its not THAT terrible :p
 
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deano said:
Fortunately, or unfortunately, opinions are like arse holes - everybody has them, but some stink more than others.

To me, Mr MattyJam, your's stinks real bad!!
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I'm really shocked by the lack of tolerance here... but I'm even more shocked by the indifference of the staff here. Would he have been banned had he been one of the few people who didn't like the album?

MattyJam said:
You can't hate on me for not glossing over the truth in my review. Even if you believe the Cascio songs are legit, you cannot deny that they are widely disputed and at the very least "questionnable." I respect Michael as an artist and am disgusted that the estate have chosen to use these songs without knowing 100% if they are really him or not.

Some fans on here will buy anything if it's sold under the name "Michael Jackson." I have more respect for him than that.
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That's what I feel...

Hess said:
But when you hear a lie often enough you start to believe it. And isn't it a shame that fans have got the general puplic to believe Michael is a fake album??
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I rather find it absurd most people are convinced it is not. I'm ashamed I even initially bought the album!

Roosje said:
It's just not right to put it out there like so-called facts when you don't know if they are indeed facts. It's not a reasonable, but a very emotional reaction.
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But is it right that people are claiming it is Michael as a fact on the doubtful tracks CONSTANTLY? And almost insulting people who don't agree with this...

love is magical said:
Unfortunately, that's the unspoken rule here. If you don't gloss over the album, you are not a fan.
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smooth_criminal05 said:
^ That's too bad. The album has some great songs. I've had a lot of non MJ fans come up to me and say the album is "amazing". So you must not be a big MJ fan if you hate his music.
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See what I mean? And this is coming from a staff member?? Wake me up from this nightmare, please!
I have been a MJ fan since 19 years. Is it really necessary to say "you're not a MJ fan if you don't like the new album"? Remember this quote, this might be a Michael Jackson album, but it is not Michael Jackson's album (and personally I wouldn't even call it the former).

deano said:
If you honestly think MJ wrote and recorded "shit" then you may be better off buying someone elses music.
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I would better have said the tracks "Hold my hand", "Best of joy", and "Much too soon" are good, and "Hollywood tonight", "The way you love me", "Another day" and "Behind the mask" aren't a catastrophe even though I really dislike the post production of them (IMO they mostly sound like rushed MJ fan mixes from youtube with no real ambition). I don't like the processing of Michael's voice in "Hollywood tonight" either, although I'd think it IS him.
Regarding the Cascios, IN MY OPINION this is not Michael so those songs are just totally spoiled to me, even though I like "Keep your head up" and "Breaking news" quite a lot viewed as the songs they are. But the voice just ruins it to me (just in case you're interested on this topic as a sidenote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRfzf8KT2sc&feature=recentlik ).

deano said:
Just out of interest, who did you sell the album too - and did you tell them you thought MJ was "shit before you asked for their cash? I take it they were not a friend, as you surely wouldn't sell "shit" to a friend and take money from them?
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It wasn't about the few cents... I have no problem with selling the album to a person who would have bought the album anyway. If I had thrown it away I would have bought a copy, too... I don't want to support this and this way it's just like I wouldn't have bought it. I felt bad for having even bought this album...

JMie said:
exactly. even though you don't think these songs should have been released, Michael worked on them, put his heart and soul into them. "every song is like a child" - that's his words. and for FANS to be calling his songs "shit". well, I don't know. I wouldn't call those people FANS because they just don't respect the artist they are supposed to be FANS of. Just stop and think would you come up to Michael and say to him, "You know what Michael, those songs of yours are shit!"?
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This is not what I meant. Of course it's not about the parts Michael contributed, it's that those parts are buried beneath the rest if you ask me. As I said, I like "Breaking news" for examply (actually I love the song itself!) and could imagine it IS written by him, but the voice just doesn't sound like him to me.
 
I'm pleasantly surprised. I was never a fan of Invincible and was expecting this to be worse, but it's got a lot more life to it, if that's not too inappropriate a phrase to use, whether all the vocals being called into question are MJ's or not.

3.5 out of 5!
 
my review:

1. Hold my hand (10/10)
a great duet. for me same ranking like "scream".
its better than the 2008 version. the things they added are 100% right.

2. Hollywood tonight (08/10)
when i first listen to it, i was confused. :blink:
after hearing it several times, understanding the lyrics... it got the beat into my head, body's shaking, dancing. better and better. all makes sence now.

3. Keep your head up (07/10)
love love love. :D
great for singing. and i like that they deleted the earh song add-libs. now i'm only hear the song it self.

4. The way you love me (8/10)
i love this version much more than the demo version on TUC 2004.
i love the begining of the song, beatboxing. i always have moving my body too it. :cool:

5. Monster (07/10)
yeah, its a monster!
the best of the cascio songs.

6. Best of joy (10/10)
full of harmony, energy, happiness. positive energy. absolutely great ballad.

7. Breaking News (03/10)
i dont like this song, i cant listen to it. i dont want to say i hate that song, but the sound is so like backstreed boys. no no no. no!

8. Another day (08/10)
i like the demo version much more. i dont like the way they added the guitar. the guitar solo is great. but i dont like it that they using always the guitar, looping. god, i hate that. the song is still good, but not that great like it was on beginning.
i hope for a full leaked demo version. *praying*

9. Behind the mask (10/10)
classical song. legendary. michael at his best. typically 70/80 style. god i'm waiting hystercially for an album in the future with such tracks from the 80s. :p
but the "dangerous tour" wasnt necesarry. but i can live with that.
i want to hear the full demo verison of this. :p

10. Much too soon (10/10)
feelings feelings. this song always went straid into my head. give me flowers. great vocals.


Album (4/5)
 
MsCassieMollie said:
I'm broke so I don't have the album lol.
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Is this true? If your are Honest here I can send you an album via Itunes or Amazon. PM me No problem.

Just got my copy today through Best Buy and I was thinking that in NYC there were no prominent displays setup or anything for it. I was expecting more. Poor ad campaign from Sony and certainly nothing close to This is It project which felt like it had a lot more opmh to it.

I was thinking about charts for a minute and realized that it would be an absolute shame on Sony's face (that is if they care) if this album didn't reached #1. Even Invincible, which was released in post 9-11 days and when MJ's popularity was much lower, reached number 1 without any problem.

Right now MJ's fan base in US is 3-4 times the size it was 10 years ago or before his death. If this album still doesn't reach number one it should tell us a thing or two and I would be even more pissed at Sony for ruining this perfect opportunity to release the long awaited MJ live project CD + DVD.

About this album. I heard it over and over again and the only album I can really compare this to is Invincible. I thought for a moment maybe History but then went back and listened to History again and felt a little ashamed at myself for even doubting that it was anywhere near History let alone anything released before it. e.g. Dangerous etc

The songs clearly feel unfinished in most cases. Another Day in my opinion has the best chorus since History days but that is all there is to that song, hence the repetition. It could have been a great song right up there with Give In to me but in its current state, its nowhere even close.

Hollywood Tonight I like the song and it has old MJ feel to it but the chorus is "unrefined" or certainly could have been better but it is a nice song.

For those of you who are raving about Breaking News, I want you to go back and listen to Tabloid Junkie. Listening to TJ again reminded me of how good it is. The best I can compare Breaking News to is Privacy and I have never cared for that either. Anyways... everyone has their own opinion and whatnot but I think "most" (not all) people who are raving about this album are post History era fans, which is okay and in a way understandable.

Shame on Sony for ruining this near perfect opportunity to release live material from MJ's prime years 88-93. For me personally a BAD 2nd or 3rd leg tour live CD + DVD would have been infinitely more satisfying.

But we keep dreaming..... Carry on!

P.S I still bought the album. :)
 
i love it,i love hollywood tonight and keep your head up,well i love most of them but i have to say i skip breaking news,the whole controvacy over that.
 
Club30s said:
Just got my copy today through Best Buy and I was thinking that in NYC there were no prominent displays setup or anything for it. I was expecting more. Poor ad campaign from Sony and certainly nothing close to This is It project which felt like it had a lot more opmh to it.
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I am thinking about going to Best Buy after work tonight. Although I pre-ordered from Amazon, I'm curious to see how the display looks like.

Speaking of promotion, I'm surprised by how little was done to Vision. There was no poster, no major display whatsoever at Best Buy. I had to go through the music DVD session to find it. Seriously, if one is a casual fan and doesn't sign up for the MJ.com newsletter, one has no idea the DVD collection even exists. I thought may be when MICHAEL is released, there may be a special MJ session in the store. Hmm... I guess I was wrong.
 
Based on the above poll......

The current average rating for Michael on MJJC is.......

3.94/5

......Rounds up to 4/5 !!!!!!!!
 
My thoughts 4/5. Song breakdown

Hold My Hand- I’ve heard it plenty of times by now and I enjoy this uplifting song. It’s an improvement on the leaked version.

Hollywood Tonight- Took me a couple of listens before I really warmed up to this song. I think it's great. The beatboxing is really great.

Keep Your Head Up- I can hear Michael on this song, but it still sounds to me like his vocals were blended together with someone else's voice, which leads to a weird result. It’s pretty sappy.

(I Like) The Way You Love Me- I like what they did with this one, and believe me I was nervous about what they might have done with it because I love the version on the Ultimate Collection. They made it more modernized, but they didn’t over do it, which is good.

Monster - Not Michael IMO, which is unfortunate because I really do like the song. In spite of the choppy editing and copy-paste vocals, it’s a pretty cool song.

Best of Joy - This one really showcases Michael’s falsetto. It was a surprise to me when I first heard it. Took some getting used to because it's different, but I enjoy it.

Breaking News - Not Michael IMO. The song itself is cheesy. The best that could be said for it is the chorus is catchy.

(I Can’t Make It) Another Day - Great song that I can easily rock out to. It’s definitely one of the stronger tracks off the album

Behind the Mask - This is probably my favorite song from the entire album. What a treat. I was looking forward to it and it lived up to my expectations. Also another one of the stronger tracks.

Much Too Soon - A simple melodic folksy song. It’s very nice.

Overall: It's probably the strangest tracklist I've ever listened to. It feels unbalanced, but with a few great tracks. The rest are average. I just wish Michael could have been here to provide the finishing touches. I doubt he would have went ahead with this album as it is. I don't feel it matches any of his previous albums, but that is because he is not here. It's not his album. It doesn't have his stamp on it. But it is what it is.
 
Club30s said:
Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber are NOT MJ's competition "musically" and should Never be. Yes, sales wise they are all competing because that is the pop market today but otherwise absolutely no. It would be a shame if MJ is musically compared to these pop stars of today. It is like Led Zepplin releasing an album and being musically compared with Linkin Park or Green Day.

I have two questions for people here before I post my detailed thoughts.

1. Can the posts here be searched by public from outside? Like random Google search? Because this is ONLY for MJ fans no matter how critical we get.

2. For those of you who have given it a 5 (being perfect). How would you rate Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and History or even Invincible if this is perfect for you?

You cannot possibly say all are 5 because then you are likely not rating music quality but the fact that it is good because it is a MJ album, which is fine too but you need to be clear in that.

I have a feeling that most of you here, who are writing perfect reviews about it, are post history-era fans. I have seen Bad, Dangerous, History (& BOTDF) and Invincible releases so excuse if I am not too thrilled about this exactly.
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:clapping: I feel kinda same, so let me put it in a different perspective:

here on MJJC, we feel free to express even the deepest fears and doubts about the album. Right, it's a growing-up way for going further. It's a family matter. Or, if you agree, it's a way of releasing tension, and feeling better after a cry... :wub:

Yes, the content of the forum is available on a random Google search.

BUT, as long as anyone else, and I mean the non-fans, may have free acces to any words here, and let's suppose one will read any fragment, paying half-attention or less... Therefore, big chances that will conclude: these guys on fanbase are almost brain-washed!

It's SO SAD that an album that is coming after 9 years of expectations, will allow the outsiders to see how divided and insecure are the fans! All these weaks I spent more than 2 hours a day reading and wondering what else... and why, and what is the USE for all these fights and rumours... Is this the face we want to show to the rest of the world?
 
Fentman;3121671 said:
Please never in your life compare Hollywood Tonight to Billie Jean, the greatest song ever made by anyone.
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:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: YES, for once, let's never forget to say it loud for any listener:

BILLIE JEAN is the best song ever, and remember how nice is described by Bruce Swedien:

For me, it's almost like falling in love.

[...]combining different recording techniques to produce a unique musical canvas with a tremendous 'sonic personality'

In my estimation, “Billie Jean” is a perfect example of what I call “Sonic Personality”. I don’t think there are many recordings, where all you need to hear is the first few drums beats, and you instantly know what song it is.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/859084-post17.html
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/bruce-swedien/84587-real-story-billie-jean.html
 
Those who voted 1 star can't be taken serious.

If you try to be objective and focus on the music. It is very good produced.
Surely this is not crap.

If you compare it to the music released these days it's better than all of it.
It is only because
1. you don't think MJ music should be released after his death
2. you are angry at SONY about the Cascio songs
3. You are trying to start controvercy.

Sure the music, production etc. on Michael is better than 1 star.
 
^True. Even the worst current act I would not rate one star. That's just plain disrespect for all effort that's put in there. Maybe Ke$ha would qualify.

Michael is always 3 or more, just because of his voice, his perfect timing, his melodies. He is just incapable of producing anything below average.
 
I gave 4 starts.

Simply because imo an MJ album can never have 5 stars anymore because Michael ain't here to make it perfect. And because there is few songs I don't like that much (and could have been replaced by other, better songs imo :innocent:) :p
 
Boy I have to admit I need to correct my opinion on "Hollywood Tonight". Because of other tracks it first didn't seem like him to me, but now I'm convinced it's Michael. And the song itself has grown on me - from a 1/10 to a 9/10! :wild: I love it, Michael is pure genius... especially like Mikes vocals when he aggressively sings "big time"...
 
Remington Steele said:
Boy I have to admit I need to correct my opinion on "Hollywood Tonight". Because of other tracks it first didn't seem like him to me, but now I'm convinced it's Michael. And the song itself has grown on me - from a 1/10 to a 9/10! :wild: I love it, Michael is pure genius... especially like Mikes vocals when he aggressively sings "big time"...
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Hollywood Tonight is a great song and unlike the Cascio garbage it is 100% genuine.
 
Hess said:
Those who voted 1 star can't be taken serious.

If you try to be objective and focus on the music. It is very good produced.
Surely this is not crap.

If you compare it to the music released these days it's better than all of it.
It is only because
1. you don't think MJ music should be released after his death
2. you are angry at SONY about the Cascio songs
3. You are trying to start controvercy.

Sure the music, production etc. on Michael is better than 1 star.
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I think you're missing the point about personal ratings. Not everyone is going to enjoy the album. I didn't vote 1 star myself, but I'm not going to say everyone who did vote 1 star is stupid (which is what you are heavily implying).

First of all, 30% of the album is questionable, that takes you down to 3-4 stars immediately. Then you have the fact that many people will think that HMH and TWYLM aren't exactly groundbreaking. Many people aren't feeling BOJ, and most people think Another Day is a letdown compared to the leaked demo. That leaves 2 songs which are generally considered to be the strongest on the album, and almost up to MJ standard.

Therefore 2/10 = 1/5. So whilst you may not agree, you have to understand why.

Personally I find myself playing BTM and HT alternately because frankly, the others depress me.
 
kopwatcher said:
I think you're missing the point about personal ratings. Not everyone is going to enjoy the album. I didn't vote 1 star myself, but I'm not going to say everyone who did vote 1 star is stupid (which is what you are heavily implying).

First of all, 30% of the album is questionable, that takes you down to 3-4 stars immediately. Then you have the fact that many people will think that HMH and TWYLM aren't exactly groundbreaking. Many people aren't feeling BOJ, and most people think Another Day is a letdown compared to the leaked demo. That leaves 2 songs which are generally considered to be the strongest on the album, and almost up to MJ standard.

Therefore 2/10 = 1/5. So whilst you may not agree, you have to understand why.

Personally I find myself playing BTM and HT alternately because frankly, the others depress me.
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You sound overly concerned about other peoples thoughts/opinions on the album rather than forming your own conclusions.

To me, Another Day is much better than the previously leaked snippet. I actually rate it as one of his best rock songs ever.

Much Too Soon is up there with his finest ballads. And I don't know where you got the impression that people aren't feeling BOJ. I've seen nothing but unanimous praise for that song since it leaked. It's so dreamy and ethereal.

Granted, the Cascio songs are a steaming heap of dogshit. But if you can just pretend they don't exist, the album is actually pretty good.
 
MattyJam said:
You sound overly concerned about other peoples thoughts/opinions on the album rather than forming your own conclusions.
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I have my own opinions and conclusions. I'm not talking about them - I have already. I'm explaining why someone else may rate it 1 star, and why they're not automatically stupid.
 
Hahaha right when i was streaming MJ music online a knock came at the door, and I received my album!!!!!! yayyyy. So much better on cd than streaming. I can heareverything!!! Man it's an amazing album!!!!!!

My favorite songs are:
Monster
Behind The mask
I like The Way You Love Me
Keep Your Head Up
Breaking News
Much Too Soon
Best Of Joy
Hold My Hand
 
I give Five to the album! It is very well produced, the cover is awesome, the booklet is fine. Looks like a lot of attention was paid to the whole product. Although I have small doubts about the three "Cascio tracks"... I hope they will be cleared some day....
However now I'm like: Michael? Not Michael? Michael? Not Michael? I guess I'm being too much influenced by the tabloids...
My favourite songs are "Hollywood Tonight" and "Behind the Mask" - absolute Number ones! I wish the world would appreciate them...
 
I'd love it if some of you would use your brains before posting. Posts have been deleted.
 
Need to write my review at the weekend but I love it. Is it an album that Michael would have been 100% happy with and the arrangement, not likely, but for what we have its great. I would have replaced BN due to all the controversy but the other Cascio tracks I love. And The Way You Love Me is soooooooooo much better than the demo that was on TUC. The voicemail is a lovely touch and think Mike would love the finalised version of that song for sure.
 
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