title: The Expendables 3

text: In March 2012, cast member Randy Couture said a third installment of "The Expendables" might begin production in late 2012 after the release of "The Expendables 2". In April 2012, Steven Seagal said he was offered a role in a third film. In August 2012, producer Avi Lerner confirmed that Nicolas Cage had been signed for the then-potential sequel. He also said that the producers intended to bring back the series' stars, attempting to have Mickey Rourke reprise his role, and had approached Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Wesley Snipes to play new roles. Sylvester Stallone said "We are thinking about different concepts—the third one is the hardest. The second is the natural progression. The third, that's when the air gets rare. We're thinking ambitiously about it, you now have to give audiences something they don't expect at all, Maybe, even going into a different genre". Also in August, Chuck Norris said he would not return for a sequel. On August 13, 2012, Jean-Claude Van Damme indicated that Stallone might include him in "The Expendables 3" as Claude Vilain, brother of Jean Vilain. On October 31, 2012, it was confirmed that Nu Image and Millennium Films were in the process of pre-selling international distribution rights for "The Expendables 3". On December 19, 2012, it was reported that Jackie Chan had agreed to join the sequel on the condition that he would have more than a minor role. Chan later dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.


title: The Expendables 3

text: In March 2013, Stallone confirmed he was writing a script for the sequel and that he intended for the film to be more humorous with moments of drama. Stallone also said that Seagal would not be in the film and that he wanted to cast more young actors in their mid-20s. In April 2013, Stallone announced that Patrick Hughes would direct the sequel. In May 2013, Chan, Snipes, Cage and Milla Jovovich were announced to be in advanced negotiations to join the film. In June 2013, Lionsgate announced that the film would be released on August 15, 2014. In July 2013, it was reported that actor Mel Gibson would portray the film's villain and later that month Stallone confirmed Gibson's involvement. Also in July, actor Kellan Lutz and professional fighters Victor Ortiz and Ronda Rousey were added to the cast. It was revealed that the film would feature several younger and technology-oriented action heroes who clash with the veteran Expendables. In August 2013, it was confirmed that Ford, Antonio Banderas and Glen Powell would join the cast and that Bruce Willis would not be reprising his role as Mr. Church. Willis's lack of involvement was cited as a disagreement over money with production sources indicating that Willis was offered $3 million for four days of shooting in Bulgaria but wanted $4 million. On September 17, 2013, Kelsey Grammer was announced to be in negotiations to join the film.


title: The Expendables 3

text: Principal photography began on August 19, 2013, in Bulgaria and at the Nu Boyana Film studio in Sofia and ended on October 22. In September 2013, Terry Crews revealed in an interview that Jason Statham survived an on-set mishap when the truck he was driving plunged into the Black Sea after its brakes had failed. In a November 2013 interview, Randy Couture confirmed that filming had finished and that discussions for a fourth "Expendables" film were taking place. Much of the film was shot on set in Wombwell Woods, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.


title: The Expendables 3

text: The film's score was composed by Brian Tyler. The soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records on August 12, 2014.


title: The Expendables 3

text: On December 19, 2013, the first teaser trailer got released with the intent of showcasing the large cast of the movie. At 2014 CinemaCon, the official poster of the film was shown for the first time, although it only slightly differs from material shown before, featuring a white background instead of a black one. The marketing scheme of putting a huge emphasis on the film's ensemble cast of famous action actors was continued in early April when 16 character posters of the film's cast were released and divided over four websites for maximum exposure. One day later, the first trailer with actual footage from the film premiered, again highlighting the film's huge cast, being referred to as a "roll call trailer" by Lionsgate. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Millennium Films hosted a special event promoting the film at the Carlton Hotel with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell and director Patrick Hughes attending. The event lasted the entire day and featured the cast driving down the Croisette in tanks.


title: The Expendables 3

text: On June 5, a new TV promo with new footage was released. Instead of highlighting the all-star cast as the previous ones, this trailer focused on the new additions to the cast, prominently Lutz, Ronda Rousey and Ortiz, contrasting their young characters with the more experienced ones of Stallone and Grammer. The same day, Stallone also released a behind the scenes video via his Twitter. On June 17, a long cinematic trailer was released, giving a first look at Gibson as Conrad Stonebanks as well as showcasing the film's story for the first time. A week later on June 23, the new banner was released, featuring all 17 cast members except Robert Davi. On June 4, a new TV trailer was released, containing new footage, although mostly consisting of footage already released. A longer version of the trailer was released a week later and one day after that, another TV trailer, themed to coincide with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was released. At 2014 ComicCon, 16 new character posters in pop art style were released.


title: The Expendables 3

text: Unlike the first two films in the "Expendables" franchise, this film received a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating that received backlash from the fans. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Sylvester Stallone announced that he was aiming for a PG-13 rating for the film. Stating that albeit it was close to being rated R, he wanted to reach a younger and broader audience with the new film. However, when Stallone first submitted the film to the MPAA, they assigned it with the usual R rating and had to be trimmed down to be rated PG-13. On July 1, the MPAA granted "The Expendables 3" a PG-13 rating; the given description being "violence including intense sustained gun battles and fight scenes and for language."


title: The Expendables 3

text: Since its release, Stallone regrets the PG-13 rating, saying that it was "a horrible miscalculation on everyone's part in trying to reach a wider audience but in doing such, diminish the violence that the audience expects. I'm quite certain it won't happen again."


title: The Expendables 3

text: On July 25, 2014, three weeks ahead of the film's premiere, a DVD-quality illegal leak was downloaded, via file sharing sites, more than 189,000 times over a 24-hour period. After one week, it was estimated that the leak had been downloaded over 2 million times.


title: The Expendables 3

text: On July 31, 2014, the film's studio, Lionsgate, filed a lawsuit in California federal court against ten anonymous individuals for copyright infringement. The studio reported that one digital copy of the film was stolen and uploaded to the Internet. Lionsgate stated they sent demand letters to operators of the sites (Limetorrents.com, Billionuploads.com, Hulkfile.eu, Played.to, Swankshare.com and Dotsemper.com) but received no reply. In August 2014, cloud hosting provider Hulkfile.eu ceased its operations worldwide because the company said it had no other option after it was damaged by the Lionsgate lawsuit. In June 2015, Lionsgate settled out of court with the operators of Played.to, a video hosting site for streaming a leaked copy of the movie.


title: The Expendables 3

text: In March 2016, the California court issued a default judgment to each of the operators of three of the infringing sites (Limetorrents.com, Swankshare.com and Dotsemper.com) to be fined ; , only Limetorrents is still operating and all of those sites are located outside the United States; therefore, it is unlikely Lionsgate will collect the fines.


title: The Expendables 3

text: "The Expendables 3" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 25, 2014, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray Combo-Pack contains an extended version of the film accompanying the theatrical version as well as behind-the-scenes featurettes, a blooper reel and a Dolby Atmos multi-channel track. The regular DVD release includes only the theatrical cut.


title: The Expendables 3

text: "The Expendables 3" grossed $39.3 million in North America and $175.3 million in other territories for a total gross of $214.6 million.


title: The Expendables 3

text: The film was released on August 15, 2014, in the United States and earned $875,000 during its late night Thursday screenings from 2,200 locations. It did better than its predecessors "The Expendables" ($870,000) and "The Expendables 2" ($685,000). However, its first showing was at 7 P.M., whereas the previous films had their first showings at midnight. It earned $5.9 million on its first day below the $13 million opening day of "The Expendables" and $10 million opening day of "The Expendables 2". The film grossed $5.7 million on its second day and $4.2 million on its third day for a three-day total of $15.8 million.


title: The Expendables 3

text: One possible reason for this loss in ticket sales is because the film leaked three weeks ahead of its release; however, since most downloads were outside the United States, if every downloading American paid to see the movie, it would have made only $4 million more. Another possible reason was the PG-13 cut which was meant to attract younger audiences. Only 34% of viewers were under 25 years old while the less violent cut may have reduced interest from older audiences. Sylvester Stallone later admitted that toning the film down for a PG-13 rating was a mistake.


title: The Expendables 3

text: The film was released in China on September 5, 2014, and topped the box office in its first week's release earning $33.68 million from 231,836 screenings and 6.92 million admissions.


title: The Expendables 3

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Like its predecessors, "The Expendables 3" offers a modicum of all-star thrills for old-school action thriller aficionados but given all the talent assembled, it should have been a lot more fun." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Expendables 3

text: Kelsey Grammer won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the film (along with "", "Think Like a Man Too" and "") while Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger were also nominated in that category at the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards.


title: Silent Witness

text: Silent Witness is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. Twenty-five series of "Silent Witness" have been broadcast since 1996.


title: Silent Witness

text: Amanda Burton starred as primary character Dr. Sam Ryan before leaving the show during the eighth series. Since her departure the series has featured an ensemble cast, which initially consisted of William Gaminara, Tom Ward and Emilia Fox, and later on David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern alongside Emilia Fox. At the end of series 23 Carr and Lintern both departed. The cast was joined by Genesis Lynea from series 24.


title: Silent Witness

text: The programme is broadcast in more than 235 territories, including ABC in Australia, Showcase and the Knowledge Network in Canada, KRO in the Netherlands, TV One and Prime in New Zealand, BBC First in South Africa and BBC America in the United States. "Silent Witness" continues to achieve good audience ratings in the UK. In 2011, for example, Series 14 attracted an average audience of nine million viewers.


title: Silent Witness

text: The main character in the original series was based on Professor Helen Whitwell, a forensic pathologist based in Sheffield, who McCrery had known while serving as a police officer. The programme followed the activities of pathologist Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton, until she departed early in the eighth series.


title: Silent Witness

text: There was a succession of regular supporting characters, changing almost every series, but Dr Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) and Dr Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward), who were introduced in the sixth series, continued as lead characters following Ryan's departure, with Dalton replacing her as professor.


title: Silent Witness

text: A new character, Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), was introduced in mid-series eight, based on Dr Brooke Magnanti, a forensic scientist based in Sheffield. While working as a forensic anthropologist, she appropriates facilities and software in the pathology department to analyse an Iron Age find, with the belated, bemused and begrudging approval of Dalton. Dr Alexander is able to assist in a set of cases being investigated by the team, as it turns out she has "worked in forensic pathology in Johannesburg for six months" and is certified by the Home Office to practise. She eventually overcomes Leo's reluctance and, with Harry's support, is offered and accepts a position on the team.


title: Silent Witness

text: Before the 16th series begins, Harry has left to accept a position in New York City. He is succeeded by forensics expert Jack Hodgson (David Caves) and his assistant Clarissa Mullery (Liz Carr). At the climax of the 16th series, Leo is killed in an explosion. His replacement, Dr Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern), is introduced at the start of the 17th series.


title: Silent Witness

text: Although the show focuses heavily on areas of pathology, the police also have a presence in each case. During later series of the show, detectives and investigators tend to differ from episode to episode, with guest artists appearing in these roles. However, during the early years of the show several characters appeared regularly to investigate each case.


title: Silent Witness

text: The first three series were set in Cambridge. This changed to London from the start of the fourth series, following Sam as she took up an academic position in the Lyell Centre, the Pathology Department of UCL. The programme remained in an academic setting until the end of series 16 when the Lyell appeared to have become separated from the University and operated as a stand-alone institution.


title: Silent Witness

text: Each series is typically made up of a series of two-part stories. The first nine series generally featured eight episodes (four two-part stories), except that series 4 and 5 each featured just six episodes (three two-part stories); this was increased to ten episodes (five two-part stories) from the tenth series onwards, excepting series 12 and 15 which each featured 12 episodes (six two-part stories). The 25th series, broadcast in 2022, introduced a new format consisting of one story in six episodes.


title: Silent Witness

text: In 1998, the writer John Milne received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the second series episode "Blood, Sweat and Tears". In the United States the series airs during 'Mystery Monday' on BBC America.


title: Silent Witness

text: The theme music from series 2 onwards is entitled "Silencium" and is performed by John Harle. The arrangement, for chamber orchestra and soprano saxophone solo, was first performed as part of the Canterbury Festival on 22 October 2011. The vocal section is performed by Sarah Leonard.


title: Silent Witness

text: An episode first broadcast in April 2012 attracted criticism for its violent and sadistic content. There were 632 complaints made about the fifteenth-series episode "Redhill", written by Ed Whitmore, which included a scene depicting a sadistic sexual and murderous attack. The BBC was censured by the editorial committee of the BBC Trust, which said in its report:


title: Silent Witness

text: The BBC had responded to the initial criticism of the episode by saying that it took its responsibility to its audience "extremely seriously" and always tried to "strike the right balance between compelling drama without being unnecessarily graphic". It said that "The final scene was not an attempt to gratuitously shock the audience;... We acknowledge that certain scenes may have been challenging, but we filmed and presented them in such a way as to make sure that although as a viewer the implication was there, it was never actually shown."


title: Silent Witness

text: The show has also been criticised by reviewer Michael Hogan. Reviewing the first episode of series 21, he asked in the UK's "Daily Telegraph" how it had become the world’s longest running crime drama, writing: "In place of convincing dialogue or emotion, they instead exchanged meaningful stares" and "The leading pair were so wooden, they made the bodies on the autopsy slab look lively."


title: Silent Witness

text: A number of notable actors have made appearances in the show, such as Shaun Dooley, John McEnery, Anastasia Hille, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Phil Davis, Deborah Findlay, Duncan Preston, Emily Mortimer, Philip Glenister, Ken Stott, Brendan Coyle, Colin Salmon, Idris Elba, Roberta Taylor, Adrian Lester, Joe Absolom, Kevin Doyle, Nicholas Hoult, Adam James, Jesse Birdsall, Lesley Manville, Josette Simon, Neil Stuke, Stuart McQuarrie, Paul Copley, Robert Pugh, Melanie Hill, Chris Walker, Jack Dee, Christopher Colquhoun, Ace Bhatti, Richard Todd, Andrew Sachs, Suzanne Bertish, Neil Maskell, Stephen Moore, Anthony Head, Mel Martin, Sean Chapman, Bjørn Floberg, Marian McLoughlin, Angela Bruce, Richard Graham, Prunella Scales, Matthew Marsh, Philip Jackson, Paterson Joseph, Lia Williams, Shaun Dooley, Christopher Fulford, Ben Crompton, Nitin Ganatra, Stuart Graham, Russell Tovey, Neil Jackson, Ron Donachie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiké Okonkwo, Kellie Bright, Tim Healy, Esther Hall, Michael Nardone, Jack Sheperd, Robert Cavanah, Deborah Findlay, Roshan Seth, Ashley Jensen, Dorian Healy, Cal MacAninch, Shelley King, Annabelle Apsion, Eva Birthistle, Don Gilét, Jude Akuwudike, Jaye Griffiths, John Bowe, Hilton Mcrae, Stephen Walters, Daniel Casey, Caroline Lee-Johnson, Peter Howell, James Hillier, Sorcha Cusack, James Laurenson, Daragh O'Malley, and Kathy Kiera Clarke


title: Silent Witness

text: In Australia (Region 4), series 1 through 23 have been released on DVD through Roadshow Entertainment, starting with series 1 on 7 September 2006 through to series 21 on 28 May 2018. Universal then took over the releases beginning with series 22 on 20 November 2019, and have re-released some earlier seasons this time as individual seasons rather than 2 season editions.


title: Silent Witness

text: As of June 2022, the first 24 series have been released on DVD, whilst all episodes from all 25 series have been made available on the BBC iPlayer.


title: Silent Witness

text: During the early years of the show, series creator McCrery wrote and published four tie-in novels relating to the series, following Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton), Trevor Stewart (William Armstrong) and Superintendent Tom Adams (John McGlynn), and brand new character DS Stanley Sharman, with Burton generally appearing on the front cover of each novel. A fifth novel, "In Search of Evil", was due to be released in 2003, but its publication was cancelled.


title: Vertebrate

text: Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described. Vertebrates comprise such groups as the following:


title: Vertebrate

text: Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species "Paedophryne amauensis", at as little as , to the blue whale, at up to . Vertebrates make up less than five percent of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns.


title: Vertebrate

text: The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do not have proper vertebrae due to their loss in evolution, though their closest living relatives, the lampreys, do. Hagfish do, however, possess a cranium. For this reason, the vertebrate subphylum is sometimes referred to as "Craniata" when discussing morphology. Molecular analysis since 1992 has suggested that hagfish are most closely related to lampreys, and so also are vertebrates in a monophyletic sense. Others consider them a sister group of vertebrates in the common taxon of craniata.


title: Vertebrate

text: The word "vertebrate" derives from the Latin word "vertebratus" (Pliny), meaning "joint of the spine."


title: Vertebrate

text: "Vertebrate" is derived from the word "vertebra", which refers to any of the bones or segments of the spinal column.


title: Vertebrate

text: All vertebrates are built along the basic chordate body plan: a stiff rod running through the length of the animal (vertebral column and/or notochord), with a hollow tube of nervous tissue (the spinal cord) above it and the gastrointestinal tract below.


title: Vertebrate

text: In all vertebrates, the mouth is found at, or right below, the anterior end of the animal, while the anus opens to the exterior before the end of the body. The remaining part of the body continuing after the anus forms a tail with vertebrae and spinal cord, but no gut.


title: Vertebrate

text: The defining characteristic of a vertebrate is the vertebral column, in which the notochord (a stiff rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates has been replaced by a segmented series of stiffer elements (vertebrae) separated by mobile joints (intervertebral discs, derived embryonically and evolutionarily from the notochord).


title: Vertebrate

text: However, a few vertebrates have secondarily lost this anatomy, retaining the notochord into adulthood, such as the sturgeon and coelacanth. Jawed vertebrates are typified by paired appendages (fins or legs, which may be secondarily lost), but this trait is not required in order for an animal to be a vertebrate.


title: Vertebrate

text: All basal vertebrates breathe with gills. The gills are carried right behind the head, bordering the posterior margins of a series of openings from the pharynx to the exterior. Each gill is supported by a cartilaginous or bony gill arch. The bony fish have three pairs of arches, cartilaginous fish have five to seven pairs, while the primitive jawless fish have seven. The vertebrate ancestor no doubt had more arches than this, as some of their chordate relatives have more than 50 pairs of gills.


title: Vertebrate

text: In amphibians and some primitive bony fishes, the larvae bear external gills, branching off from the gill arches. These are reduced in adulthood, their function taken over by the gills proper in fishes and by lungs in most amphibians. Some amphibians retain the external larval gills in adulthood, the complex internal gill system as seen in fish apparently being irrevocably lost very early in the evolution of tetrapods.


title: Vertebrate

text: While the more derived vertebrates lack gills, the gill arches form during fetal development, and form the basis of essential structures such as jaws, the thyroid gland, the larynx, the "columella" (corresponding to the stapes in mammals) and, in mammals, the malleus and incus.


title: Vertebrate

text: The central nervous system of vertebrates is based on a hollow nerve cord running along the length of the animal. Of particular importance and unique to vertebrates is the presence of neural crest cells. These are progenitors of stem cells, and critical to coordinating the functions of cellular components. Neural crest cells migrate through the body from the nerve cord during development, and initiate the formation of neural ganglia and structures such as the jaws and skull.


title: Vertebrate

text: The vertebrates are the only chordate group with neural cephalisation, the concentration of brain functions in the head. A slight swelling of the anterior end of the nerve cord is found in the lancelet, a chordate, though it lacks the eyes and other complex sense organs comparable to those of vertebrates. Other chordates do not show any trends towards cephalisation.


title: Vertebrate

text: A peripheral nervous system branches out from the nerve cord to innervate the various systems. The front end of the nerve tube is expanded by a thickening of the walls and expansion of the central canal of spinal cord into three primary brain vesicles: The prosencephalon (forebrain), mesencephalon (midbrain) and rhombencephalon (hindbrain), further differentiated in the various vertebrate groups. Two laterally placed eyes form around outgrowths from the midbrain, except in hagfish, though this may be a secondary loss. The forebrain is well-developed and subdivided in most tetrapods, while the midbrain dominates in many fish and some salamanders. Vesicles of the forebrain are usually paired, giving rise to hemispheres like the cerebral hemispheres in mammals.


title: Vertebrate

text: The resulting anatomy of the central nervous system, with a single hollow nerve cord topped by a series of (often paired) vesicles, is unique to vertebrates. All invertebrates with well-developed brains, such as insects, spiders and squids, have a ventral rather than dorsal system of ganglions, with a split brain stem running on each side of the mouth or gut.


title: Vertebrate

text: In addition to the morphological characteristics used to define vertebrates (i.e. the presence of a notochord, the development of a vertebral column from the notochord, a dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal gills, a post-anal tail, etc.), molecular markers known as conserved signature indels (CSIs) in protein sequences have been identified and provide distinguishing criteria for the subphylum Vertebrata. Specifically, 5 CSIs in the following proteins: protein synthesis elongation factor-2 (EF-2), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3), adenosine kinase (AdK) and a protein related to ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase are exclusively shared by all vertebrates and reliably distinguish them from all other metazoan. The CSIs in these protein sequences are predicted to have important functionality in vertebrates.


title: Vertebrate

text: A specific relationship between Vertebrates and Tunicates is also strongly supported by two CSIs found in the proteins Rrp44 (associated with exosome complex) and serine palmitoyltransferase, that are exclusively shared by species from these two subphyla but not Cephalochordates, indicating Vertebrates are more closely related to Tunicates than Cephalochordates.


title: Vertebrate

text: Originally, the "Notochordata hypothesis" suggested that the Cephalochordata is the sister taxon to Craniata (Vertebrata). This group, called the Notochordata, was placed as sister group to the Tunicata (Urochordata). Although this was once the leading hypothesis, studies since 2006 analyzing large sequencing datasets strongly support Olfactores (tunicates + vertebrates) as a monophyletic clade, and the placement of Cephalochordata as sister-group to Olfactores (known as the "Olfactores hypothesis"). As chordates, they all share the presence of a notochord, at least during a stage of their life cycle.


title: Vertebrate

text: The following cladogram summarizes the systematic relationships between the Olfactores (vertebrates and tunicates) and the Cephalochordata.


title: Vertebrate

text: Vertebrates originated during the Cambrian explosion, which saw a rise in organism diversity. The earliest known vertebrates belongs to the Chengjiang biota and lived about 518 million years ago. These include "Haikouichthys", "Myllokunmingia", "Zhongjianichthys", and probably "Haikouella". Unlike the other fauna that dominated the Cambrian, these groups had the basic vertebrate body plan: a notochord, rudimentary vertebrae, and a well-defined head and tail. All of these early vertebrates lacked jaws in the common sense and relied on filter feeding close to the seabed. A vertebrate group of uncertain phylogeny, small eel-like conodonts, are known from microfossils of their paired tooth segments from the late Cambrian to the end of the Triassic.


title: Vertebrate

text: The first jawed vertebrates may have appeared in the late Ordovician (~445 mya) and became common in the Devonian, often known as the "Age of Fishes". The two groups of bony fishes, the actinopterygii and sarcopterygii, evolved and became common. The Devonian also saw the demise of virtually all jawless fishes save for lampreys and hagfish, as well as the Placodermi, a group of armoured fish that dominated the entirety of that period since the late Silurian as well as the eurypterids, dominant animals of the preceding Silurian, and the anomalocarids. By the middle of the Devonian, several droughts and anoxic events as well as oceanic competition will lead a lineage of sarcopterygii to leave water, eventually establishing themselves as terrestrial tetrapods in the succeeding Carboniferous.


title: Vertebrate

text: Amniotes branched from amphibious tetrapods early in the Carboniferous period. The synapsid amniotes were dominant during the late Paleozoic, the Permian, while diapsid amniotes became dominant during the Mesozoic. In the sea, the teleosts and sharks became dominant. Mesothermic synapsids called cynodonts gave rise to endothermic mammals and diapsids called dinosaurs eventually gave rise to endothermic birds, both in the Jurassic. After all dinosaurs except birds went extinct by the end of the Cretaceous, birds and mammals diversified and filled their niches.


title: Vertebrate

text: The Cenozoic world has seen great diversification of bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.


title: Vertebrate

text: Over half of all living vertebrate species (about 32,000 species) are fish (non-tetrapod craniates), a diverse set of lineages that inhabit all the world's aquatic ecosystems, from snow minnows (Cypriniformes) in Himalayan lakes at elevations over to flatfishes (order Pleuronectiformes) in the Challenger Deep, the deepest ocean trench at about . Fishes of myriad varieties are the main predators in most of the world's water bodies, both freshwater and marine. The rest of the vertebrate species are tetrapods, a single lineage that includes amphibians (with roughly 7,000 species); mammals (with approximately 5,500 species); and reptiles and birds (with about 20,000 species divided evenly between the two classes). Tetrapods comprise the dominant megafauna of most terrestrial environments and also include many partially or fully aquatic groups (e.g., sea snakes, penguins, cetaceans).


title: Vertebrate

text: There are several ways of classifying animals. Evolutionary systematics relies on anatomy, physiology and evolutionary history, which is determined through similarities in anatomy and, if possible, the genetics of organisms. Phylogenetic classification is based solely on phylogeny. Evolutionary systematics gives an overview; phylogenetic systematics gives detail. The two systems are thus complementary rather than opposed.


title: Vertebrate

text: Conventional classification has living vertebrates grouped into seven classes based on traditional interpretations of gross anatomical and physiological traits. This classification is the one most commonly encountered in school textbooks, overviews, non-specialist, and popular works. The extant vertebrates are:


title: Vertebrate

text: In addition to these, there are two classes of extinct armoured fishes, the Placodermi and the Acanthodii, both of which are considered paraphyletic.


title: Vertebrate

text: Other ways of classifying the vertebrates have been devised, particularly with emphasis on the phylogeny of early amphibians and reptiles. An example based on Janvier (1981, 1997), Shu "et al." (2003), and Benton (2004) is given here († = extinct):


title: Vertebrate

text: While this traditional classification is orderly, most of the groups are paraphyletic, i.e. do not contain all descendants of the class's common ancestor. For instance, descendants of the first reptiles include modern reptiles as well as mammals and birds; the agnathans have given rise to the jawed vertebrates; the bony fishes have given rise to the land vertebrates; the traditional "amphibians" have given rise to the reptiles (traditionally including the synapsids or mammal-like "reptiles"), which in turn have given rise to the mammals and birds. Most scientists working with vertebrates use a classification based purely on phylogeny, organized by their known evolutionary history and sometimes disregarding the conventional interpretations of their anatomy and physiology.


title: Vertebrate

text: In phylogenetic taxonomy, the relationships between animals are not typically divided into ranks but illustrated as a nested "family tree" known as a phylogenetic tree. The cladogram below is based on studies compiled by Philippe Janvier and others for the "Tree of Life Web Project" and Delsuc et al., and complemented (based on, and ). A dagger (†) denotes an extinct clade, whereas all other clades have living descendants.


title: Vertebrate

text: Note that, as shown in the cladogram above, the †"Ostracodermi" (armoured jawless fishes) and †"Placodermi" (armoured jawed fishes) are shown to be paraphylectic groups, separated from Gnathostomes and Eugnathostomes respectively.


title: Vertebrate

text: Also note that Teleostei (Neopterygii) and Tetrapoda (amphibians, mammals, reptiles, birds) each make up about 50% of today's vertebrate diversity, while all other groups are either extinct or rare. The next cladogram shows the extant clades of tetrapods (the four-limbed vertebrates), and a selection of extinct (†) groups:


title: Vertebrate

text: Note that reptile-like amphibians, mammal-like reptiles, and non-avian dinosaurs are all paraphyletic.


title: Vertebrate

text: The placement of hagfish on the vertebrate tree of life has been controversial. Their lack of proper vertebrae (among with other characteristics found in lampreys and jawed vertebrates) led phylogenetic analyses based on morphology to place them outside Vertebrata. Molecular data, however, indicates they are vertebrates closely related to lampreys. A study by Miyashita "et al". (2019), 'reconciliated' the two types of analysis as it supports the Cyclostomata hypothesis using only morphological data.


title: Vertebrate

text: The number of described vertebrate species are split between tetrapods and fish. The following table lists the number of described extant species for each vertebrate class as estimated in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2014.3.


title: Vertebrate

text: The IUCN estimates that 1,305,075 extant invertebrate species have been described, which means that less than 5% of the described animal species in the world are vertebrates.


title: Vertebrate

text: Nearly all vertebrates undergo sexual reproduction. They produce haploid gametes by meiosis. The smaller, motile gametes are spermatozoa and the larger, non-motile gametes are ova. These fuse by the process of fertilisation to form diploid zygotes, which develop into new individuals.


title: Vertebrate

text: During sexual reproduction, mating with a close relative (inbreeding) often leads to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression is considered to be largely due to expression of deleterious recessive mutations. The effects of inbreeding have been studied in many vertebrate species.


title: Vertebrate

text: A common breeding practice for pet dogs is mating between close relatives (e.g. between half- and full siblings). This practice generally has a negative effect on measures of reproductive success, including decreased litter size and puppy survival.


title: Vertebrate

text: Incestuous matings in birds result in severe fitness costs due to inbreeding depression (e.g. reduction in hatchability of eggs and reduced progeny survival).


title: Vertebrate

text: As a result of the negative fitness consequences of inbreeding, vertebrate species have evolved mechanisms to avoid inbreeding.


title: Vertebrate

text: Numerous inbreeding avoidance mechanisms operating prior to mating have been described. Toads and many other amphibians display breeding site fidelity. Individuals that return to natal ponds to breed will likely encounter siblings as potential mates. Although incest is possible, "Bufo americanus" siblings rarely mate. These toads likely recognize and actively avoid close kin as mates. Advertisement vocalizations by males appear to serve as cues by which females recognize their kin.


title: Vertebrate

text: Inbreeding avoidance mechanisms can also operate subsequent to copulation. In guppies, a post-copulatory mechanism of inbreeding avoidance occurs based on competition between sperm of rival males for achieving fertilization. In competitions between sperm from an unrelated male and from a full sibling male, a significant bias in paternity towards the unrelated male was observed.


title: Vertebrate

text: When female sand lizards mate with two or more males, sperm competition within the female's reproductive tract may occur. Active selection of sperm by females appears to occur in a manner that enhances female fitness. On the basis of this selective process, the sperm of males that are more distantly related to the female are preferentially used for fertilization, rather than the sperm of close relatives. This preference may enhance the fitness of progeny by reducing inbreeding depression.


title: Vertebrate

text: Mating with unrelated or distantly related members of the same species is generally thought to provide the advantage of masking deleterious recessive mutations in progeny (see heterosis). Vertebrates have evolved numerous diverse mechanisms for avoiding close inbreeding and promoting outcrossing (see inbreeding avoidance).


title: Vertebrate

text: Outcrossing as a way of avoiding inbreeding depression has been especially well studied in birds. For instance, inbreeding depression occurs in the great tit ("Parus major") when the offspring are produced as a result of a mating between close relatives. In natural populations of the great tit, inbreeding is avoided by dispersal of individuals from their birthplace, which reduces the chance of mating with a close relative.


title: Vertebrate

text: Purple-crowned fairywren females paired with related males may undertake extra-pair matings that can reduce the negative effects of inbreeding, despite ecological and demographic constraints.


title: Vertebrate

text: Southern pied babblers ("Turdoides bicolor") appear to avoid inbreeding in two ways: through dispersal and by avoiding familiar group members as mates. Although both males and females disperse locally, they move outside the range where genetically related individuals are likely to be encountered. Within their group, individuals only acquire breeding positions when the opposite-sex breeder is unrelated.


title: Vertebrate

text: Cooperative breeding in birds typically occurs when offspring, usually males, delay dispersal from their natal group in order to remain with the family to help rear younger kin. Female offspring rarely stay at home, dispersing over distances that allow them to breed independently or to join unrelated groups.


title: Vertebrate

text: Parthenogenesis is a natural form of reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization.


title: Vertebrate

text: Reproduction in squamate reptiles is ordinarily sexual, with males having a ZZ pair of sex determining chromosomes, and females a ZW pair. However, various species, including the Colombian Rainbow boa ("Epicrates maurus"), "Agkistrodon contortrix" (copperhead snake) and "Agkistrodon piscivorus" (cotton mouth snake) can also reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis—that is, they are capable of switching from a sexual mode of reproduction to an asexual mode—resulting in production of WW female progeny. The WW females are likely produced by terminal automixis.


title: Vertebrate

text: Mole salamanders are an ancient (2.4–3.8 million year-old) unisexual vertebrate lineage. In the polyploid unisexual mole salamander females, a premeiotic endomitotic event doubles the number of chromosomes. As a result, the mature eggs produced subsequent to the two meiotic divisions have the same ploidy as the somatic cells of the female salamander. Synapsis and recombination during meiotic prophase I in these unisexual females is thought to ordinarily occur between identical sister chromosomes and occasionally between homologous chromosomes. Thus little, if any, genetic variation is produced. Recombination between homeologous chromosomes occurs only rarely, if at all. Since production of genetic variation is weak, at best, it is unlikely to provide a benefit sufficient to account for the long-term maintenance of meiosis in these organisms.


title: Vertebrate

text: Two killifish species, the mangrove killifish ("Kryptolebias marmoratus") and "Kryptolebias hermaphroditus", are the only known vertebrates to self-fertilize. They produce both eggs and sperm by meiosis and routinely reproduce by self-fertilisation. This capacity has apparently persisted for at least several hundred thousand years. Each individual hermaphrodite normally fertilizes itself through uniting inside the fish's body of an egg and a sperm that it has produced by an internal organ. In nature, this mode of reproduction can yield highly homozygous lines composed of individuals so genetically uniform as to be, in effect, identical to one another. Although inbreeding, especially in the extreme form of self-fertilization, is ordinarily regarded as detrimental because it leads to expression of deleterious recessive alleles, self-fertilization does provide the benefit of "fertilization assurance" (reproductive assurance) at each generation.


title: Vertebrate

text: The Living Planet Index, following 16,704 populations of 4,005 species of vertebrates, shows a decline of 60% between 1970 and 2014. Since 1970, freshwater species declined 83%, and tropical populations in South and Central America declined 89%. The authors note that, "An average trend in population change is not an average of total numbers of animals lost." According to WWF, this could lead to a sixth major extinction event. The five main causes of biodiversity loss are land-use change, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change, pollution and invasive species.


title: AJ McLean

text: Alexander James McLean (born January 9, 1978) is an American singer, dancer, actor and a member of the pop vocal group Backstreet Boys.


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean was born on January 9, 1978, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Denise (née Fernandez, now Solis) and Bob McLean. Denise is of Cuban-Puerto Rican and German ancestry and Bob is of Scots-Irish and English descent. A DNA test described his genetic ancestry as Iberian, Central and South American, North, West and East European, North African, Nigerian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Middle Eastern. He is an only child. He was raised solely by his mother and grandparents (Ursula and Adolph) as his parents divorced when he was two years old. He rarely saw his father. They saw one another when he was ten and again at age 12. McLean reunited with his father in 1997. His father had been following him throughout his career. They have since kept in regular contact following their 17-year estrangement, and again after a previous recent fall out before he got married when he went to rehab for the second or third time.


title: AJ McLean

text: He discovered his love for performing and started to pursue a career in acting, Dancing, and singing. When he was four, McLean began to focus on his love for dance. His mother signed him up for dance lessons every day for two hours. He took ballet for four years, jazz, tap, hip hop, rhythm tap, rhythm hip-hop, contemporary, ballroom, salsa, merengue, and gymnastics. His mother got him into modeling when he was around five years old, and he was featured in J.C. Penney catalogs and runways. Aside from that, he took up fencing. His grandmother taught him piano and took him to auditions while growing up. At age six, McLean was part of a school play, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", in which he played Dopey, at Unity of Delray Beach church and school. He also appeared in more traditional musicals such as "The Nutcracker", "The King and I", and "Fiddler on the Roof" before the age of 11. By age 12, he had performed in 27 classic school plays.


title: AJ McLean

text: In addition to singing and acting, he was a serious dance student learning everything from jazz to ballet to hip hop. He stated in interviews that, "Dancing was really my thing in the early days. I wanted to be a dancer way above an actor or a singer." When he was 12, he started his first dance troupe and would go to dance competitions, which was a valuable experience even though they didn't win.


title: AJ McLean

text: In January 1986, at eight years old, McLean acted in his first role as Little Mike in the 1986 film "Truth or Dare?". In 1990, McLean, his mother, and grandparents moved to Kissimmee, Florida to pursue his acting and singing career. He attended a private acting school, the Florida Academy of Dramatic Arts, for four years, acted in the drama club and small plays, and modeled periodically. In 1991, McLean landed a role in the Nickelodeon comedy series "Hi Honey, I'm Home!" as Skunk. However, after the pilot, he was cut from the show due to being too tall.


title: AJ McLean

text: In 1989 at age 11, he saw an ad in the newspaper for a Latin festival. Since his grandfather had Latin roots, he decided to audition. He won first place and a $1,000 prize. The festival's producer hired him to perform a 45-minute one-person show and did a puppet show, showcasing his singing, acting, and dancing. At the Latin festival, he met a young 16-year-old Howie Dorough (Tony Donetti at the time) through a mutual vocal coach. When he was 13 years old, McLean tried out for "Star Search", but never received a call back from the show.


title: AJ McLean

text: In junior high, McLean won a part in Nickelodeon's series "Welcome Freshmen", which began his ongoing work relationship with Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. He also appeared on the Nickelodeon show "GUTS" and a Muppets commercial. It was during one of his auditions for the former that he met Howie D. and Nick Carter, lacing together the roots of the group that was to become Backstreet Boys.


title: AJ McLean

text: Due to his love of performing and not participating in the same sports as his peers, he was bullied, called names, and given a hard time. He described himself at this young age as a weirdo and "wacky." He remarked that being made fun of had been very upsetting for him but he felt it stemmed from others' jealousy of his talents and the subsequent attention that gave him.


title: AJ McLean

text: In March 1992, an ad was placed in a local newspaper seeking young men between the ages of 16-19 for an audition for a new music group. Despite being 14 years old, he auditioned for the group. By April 1992, McLean was officially the group's first member to become the Backstreet Boys. After six months at Osceola High School, he finished the remaining three years of high school through correspondence courses with a tutor on the road after joining the Backstreet Boys.


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson, and Kevin's cousin Brian Littrell formed the vocal group Backstreet Boys in 1993. The group became very successful in the late 90s-early 2000s. In 2013, they celebrated their 20th anniversary and released a new album called "In a World Like This". In 2018, they released Don't Go Breaking My Heart and in 2019, their tenth album, "DNA".


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean created a character, whom he named "Johnny No Name," to use as his alter ego. He uses this as his name when not performing with other members of the Backstreet Boys. The character has similarities to McLean; for instance, both had single mothers and lived with their grandparents from a young age. There are also differences – Johnny has been to prison whereas McLean has not. McLean has occasionally performed in rock/metal clubs around New York as Johnny No Name. He established the JNN Foundation to raise funds for diabetes research and other causes like keeping music programs in schools. McLean also performed a nine-city tour to support VH1 Save the Music as Johnny No Name. A source said he would release a solo album as Johnny No Name, but it never happened.


title: AJ McLean

text: Originally McLean's alter ego was named Johnny Suede. This shared a name with a character played by Brad Pitt, and when the studio threatened to sue McLean, he changed the name to Johnny No Name.


title: AJ McLean

text: It was not until March 2008 when McLean finally started to perform his first two solo shows, at the Anaheim House of Blues and The Roxy in Los Angeles. The show consisted of his solo material and a solo version of the Backstreet Boys hit, "Incomplete." The solo tour continued through Europe in May and June, in parallel to Backstreet Boys tour. His solo album "Have It All" was released on January 20, 2010. It was said on the Backstreet Boys cruise in December 2010 that the US version would be released on February 8, 2011, but since then has not been released. While creating his solo project, McLean worked with the OneRepublic vocalist Ryan Tedder, producers Dan Muckala and Kristian Lundin, as well as former NSYNC member JC Chasez. The album was a mix of pop, rock, and some r&b. The first and only single from the album, "Teenage Wildlife," was co-written by Chasez. The album featured his co-written ten songs, including a personal song about his father, "Sincerely Yours." In 2011, McLean had said he would release the album in 2012 in the US, featuring songs from his first solo album, but he eventually scrapped the idea.


title: AJ McLean

text: In June 2012, McLean was working on a second solo album of original. He also posted two new songs on Socialcam on July 23, 2012, "Peach" and "P.L.A.R.S." The album was announced for release in 2012 but was pushed back.


title: AJ McLean

text: Around early 2015, McLean said he was working on a new solo album with Jordan Omley of The Jam, who worked on several Backstreet Boys songs on the albums "This Is Us" and "In A World Like This". The first single, "Live Together," was named for a charitable foundation started by McLean and Omley; a music video was filmed to help raise money for Marshall Fundamental School in Pasadena, California, who had had their musical instruments stolen. McLean, along with singers Becky G, Omley, and Blake Lewis, visited, and some even performed at the school. "Live Together" premiered on People.com on May 12, 2015, and the video was released on October 5, 2015. Meanwhile, the album experienced delays, partly due to McLean recording new tracks and the Backstreet Boys' preparation and promotion for their 2017 Las Vegas residency.


title: AJ McLean

text: On May 22, 2013, a Finnish rapper Redrama released a single, "Clouds," featuring McLean. It peaked at No. 4 in Finland.


title: AJ McLean

text: A second solo album titled "Naked" was set to be released in September 2016 but was delayed. "Live Together" was released as the lead single on September 4, 2015, on iTunes.


title: AJ McLean

text: On April 15, 2018, at the 53rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards, during an interview with "Billboard", McLean discussed his plans to "disrupt country music" for his next solo project. He also said that the Backstreet Boys' collaboration on Florida Georgia Line's "God, Your Mama, and Me" inspired him to make a country album. On June 4, 2018, McLean released the single "Back Porch Bottle Service" from an upcoming album. McLean continued his foray into country-pop releasing the ballad "Boy And A Man" in March 2019 as a single from an upcoming album "Long Road". The video was directed by René Elizondo Jr., best known for his work with Janet Jackson.


title: AJ McLean

text: During the pandemic, McLean has released "Love Song Love" on April 27, 2021, which showcased his support for the LGBT community and then recently put out a new single "Smoke" on July 15, 2022, that he recorded with his group ATCK and is set to release his second solo album, in 12 years since his first, Have It All (A. J. McLean album) called Sex and Bodies.


title: AJ McLean

text: On July 22, 2015, McLean launched Skulleeroz Vapor, a line of liquids for use with electronic cigarettes.


title: AJ McLean

text: In 2020, McLean announced his nail polish line Ava Dean Beauty, which launched on November 30, 2020. He was inspired by his daughters, Ava and Lyric.


title: AJ McLean

text: In 1992, McLean was a contestant on the kids' game show "Nickelodeon Guts". In April 2002, he made a guest appearance in the second-season episode of "Static Shock" titled "Duped".


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean also appeared and performed with the Backstreet Boys on "Arthur", "Sesame Street", "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", and "Saturday Night Live". The Backstreet Boys, including McLean, made their film debut by appearing in the 2013 comedy "This Is the End". In September 2018, McLean provided the voice of the golden mole Kuchimba on an episode of Disney's "The Lion Guard". In 2016, McLean appeared in bandmate Nick Carter's music video for "19 in 99" as a pizza delivery man. In 2019, he voiced the character Lucy the Fairy in the episode "Cedric & the Fairies" of "The Bravest Knight". On November 16, 2021, McLean announced he was to be the host for the second season of "Fashion Hero", filming in South Africa in 2022.


title: AJ McLean

text: In August 2020, McLean was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 29 of "Dancing with the Stars".


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean was revealed as a contestant on RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race as Poppy Love. On September 30, 2022, during the season finale of RSCDR, Poppy Love was crowned the winner. Due to his win, Trans Lifeline would be the recipient of a $100,000 award.


title: AJ McLean

text: After McLean's grandmother died in 2001, he struggled with alcohol addiction. On June 7, 2021, McLean's stepfather Tony Solis died.


title: AJ McLean

text: After joining the Backstreet Boys in 1992, McLean began dating Marissa Jackson, daughter of former manager Donna Wright and stepdaughter of Johnny Wright; their relationship lasted for six years. She is seen in the music video for "We've Got It Goin' On". After their breakup, she wrote the book "Loving A.J.: My 6-Year Romance with a Backstreet Boy". McLean dated Amanda Latona of Innosense for two years, and was engaged to singer Sarah Martin in 2002 but they split up.


title: AJ McLean

text: McLean met model and makeup artist/hairstylist Rochelle Deanna Karidis in October 2001, and the two began dating in 2006. On his birthday in 2010, McLean proposed to Karidis. He credits her with motivating him to get sober and overcome his years long struggle with drug addiction. The couple got married on December 17, 2011, at the Beverly Hills Hotel with the rest of the Backstreet Boys in attendance. They have two daughters together.


title: AJ McLean

text: At the height of his Backstreet Boys career, McLean suffered from drug and alcohol addiction. He stated the first time he used cocaine was on the set of the video for "The Call" in 2000. His bandmate Richardson confronted him in July 2001. McLean threatened to quit the band but later broke down and arranged rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. On July 9, 2001, a press release was sent out, stating that the remainder of the dates in Boston would be canceled due to Nick Carter injuring his hand. The rest of the group appeared on MTV's "Total Request Live" to announce McLean was going into rehab for one month, after which the group resumed their "Black & Blue" tour.


title: AJ McLean

text: He entered rehab once again in 2002. On January 10, 2011, he checked into rehab for the third time stating it was for personal reasons. In preparation for the NKOTB and Backstreet Boys tour, McLean said, "I want to be healthy and perform and sing for people at my very best and happiest." His time in rehab did not affect the tour. He said he wanted to be healthy and sober before getting married. He originally planned on getting married in June 2011 but had pushed back the date because of the NKOTBSB tour. During an interview with New Zealand radio station ZM, McLean described addiction as the hardest thing he has ever had to go through, stating it is something he battles every day. McLean admitted in 2020 that he had relapsed at the end of 2019, but was working to stay sober to be a better husband and father.


title: AJ McLean

text: In 2020, before his appearance on "Dancing with the Stars", McLean stated he was completely sober and following a strict diet; grain-free, gluten-free, plant-based and sugar-free. Two years later, he reported success in losing excess weight, keeping a trim body because of no alcohol and no fast food.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The final tournament was hosted for the first time in Portugal, from 12 June to 4 July 2004. A total of 31 matches were played in ten venues across eight cities – Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Guimarães, Faro/Loulé, Leiria, Lisbon, and Porto.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: As in 1996 and 2000, the final tournament was contested by 16 teams: the hosts plus the 15 teams that came through the qualifying tournament, which began in September 2002. Latvia secured their first participation in a major tournament after overcoming Turkey in the play-offs, while Greece returned to the European Championship after 24 years.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The tournament was rich in surprises and upsets: Traditional powerhouses Germany, Spain, and Italy were eliminated in the group stage, while defending champions France were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Greece. Portugal recovered from an opening defeat against Greece to reach the final, eliminating England and the Netherlands along the way. For the first time in a major European football tournament, the last match featured the same teams as the opening match. Portugal were again defeated by Greece with a goal from Angelos Charisteas. Greece's triumph was unexpected, considering that they had only qualified for two other major tournaments, the UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they failed to win a single match. As winners, Greece earned the right to represent Europe at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: During the opening ceremony, one of the tableaux depicted a ship – symbolising the voyages of the Portuguese explorers – sailing through a sea that transformed into the flags of all competing countries. In the closing ceremony, Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado performed her single and official tournament theme song, "Força".


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Portugal were announced as hosts for UEFA Euro 2004 on 12 October 1999, in Aachen, Germany, beating Spain and the joint bid of Austria and Hungary.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Group A opened with a shock as Greece, ranked outsiders from start, defeated the hosts 2–1. Giorgos Karagounis put the Greeks ahead after only seven minutes and Angelos Basinas made it 2–0 from the penalty spot on 51 minutes. A stoppage-time goal by Cristiano Ronaldo proved no more than a consolation. Greece then drew with Spain before losing to Russia in their last group stage game. Portugal recovered from their opening defeat by defeating Russia 2–0, who had their keeper Sergei Ovchinnikov sent off. Nuno Gomes scored the winning goal against Spain, which ensured Portugal finished top of Group A. Greece advanced to the quarter-finals as runners-up, ahead of Spain on goals scored.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: France, the holders, scored twice in stoppage time to go from 1–0 down to beat England 2–1. Zinedine Zidane scored both goals; the second from the penalty spot. England's other two games were memorable for the performances of their young star Wayne Rooney. Only 18 at the time, Rooney's goal-scoring ability proved instrumental in victories over Switzerland (3–0) and Croatia (4–2). France and England qualified from the group as winners and runners-up respectively.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Group C featured a three-way tie between Sweden, Denmark and Italy. All matches between the three sides had ended in draws and all three had beaten Bulgaria. Italy were ultimately eliminated on the number of goals scored after Sweden and Denmark drew 2–2 and qualified as group winners and runners-up. The Italians accused Sweden and Denmark of fixing their match, as both sides knew that a 2–2 result would advance them both over Italy, but UEFA dismissed the complaint.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The Czech Republic won Group D as the only team to win all three of their group matches. They defeated Latvia 2–1, the Netherlands 3–2, and Germany 2–1. It was another disappointing European campaign for the Germans, who failed to advance from the group stage for the second consecutive time. The Netherlands claimed a quarter-final berth as runners-up.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: In the first quarter-final between England and Portugal, the English opened the score after only two minutes through Michael Owen. Portugal's constant attacking pressure from then on resulted in Hélder Postiga's 83rd-minute equaliser. In the dying minutes, Owen hit the Portuguese crossbar and Sol Campbell headed in the rebound, but the goal was ruled out by referee Urs Meier for a foul on the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo. The sides exchanged goals in extra-time, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out. Portugal won 6–5, as Ricardo saved from Darius Vassell and then scored the winning goal himself.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The Greeks, meanwhile, continued to stun everybody. Firm defensive play and an Angelos Charisteas goal on 65 minutes helped Greece defeat France 1–0 and progress to the semi-finals. This victory made Greece the first team to defeat both the holders and the hosts in the same tournament. Sweden and the Netherlands played out an exciting but goalless encounter, even after a dramatic period of extra-time in which Freddie Ljungberg hit the inside of the Dutch goalpost. The Dutch progressed after winning the penalty shoot-out 5–4, their first victory on penalties in a major tournament. The last quarter-final match saw the Czechs dispatch Denmark, as a two-goal effort from Milan Baroš helped seal a 3–0 win.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Portugal and the Netherlands faced each other in the first semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo put the hosts in the lead from a corner kick midway through the first half, and just before the hour mark Maniche made it 2–0 with a spectacular goal from the corner of the penalty area. An own goal from Jorge Andrade gave the Netherlands a glimmer of hope. The game ended 2–1 to Portugal and the hosts, after their opening day failure, were through to the final of the European Championship for the first time. The Czech Republic looked likely candidates to face the hosts in the final. They were favourites to take the trophy, having won all four of their games. However, they would have to see off the upstart Greeks to do so. The Czechs had several chances, including a shot from Tomáš Rosický that struck the bar. The game remained goalless until the dying moments of the first half of extra time, when Traianos Dellas headed home the winner, the first and only silver goal in a European Championship.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The final was a repeat of the opening game of the tournament and Portugal were hoping to avenge their defeat. Portugal attacked and dominated possession but once again, sturdy defending and goalkeeping from Greece kept the hosts off the scoreboard. Just before the hour mark, Greece earned a corner kick from which Angelos Charisteas scored. Portugal continued to press after the goal but even with five minutes of stoppage time, they could not find an equaliser. Greece won the match 1–0 and were crowned European champions, a title that they were given a 150–1 chance of winning before the tournament. All of Greece's wins in the knockout stage came in an identical manner: a 1–0 win, with the goal being a header off a cross from the right wing. Portugal became the first host nation to lose in a European Championship final.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The draw for the qualifying round was held on 25 January 2002 at the Europarque Congress Centre, in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. Fifty teams were divided into ten groups of five and each team played two matches against all its opponents, on a home-and-away basis. Qualification matches took place from September 2002 to November 2003. The first-placed teams from each group qualified automatically to the final tournament, whereas the ten runners-up took part in a two-legged play-off to select the remaining five teams that would join the host nation in the final tournament.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Ten of the sixteen finalists participated in the previous tournament in 2000. Latvia made its first appearance in a major football competition, while Greece returned to the European Championship finals after a 24-year absence. Bulgaria, Croatia, Russia and Switzerland also took part in their second tournament finals since their debut in 1996.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: As of 2022, this was the last time that Bulgaria qualified for the European Championship finals, the only time that Latvia qualified, as well as the last time that Poland failed to qualify.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The 16 qualified finalists were drawn from four seeded pots into four groups. The pot allocations were based on the 2003-edition of the UEFA national team coefficient ranking, which measured performance of teams in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying and UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying. The coefficient was calculated by dividing the number of all points scored (three points for a win, one for a draw) by the number of all matches played. Results from the final tournaments, play-off matches and friendly games were all ignored. As host country, Portugal were automatically placed in position A1, and would hereby play the opening match of the final tournament. The remaining 15 teams were split into four pots, with title-holders France seeded alongside Sweden and the Czech Republic in the first pot.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The Pot 1 teams were assigned to the first positions of their groups. For the purpose of determining the exact match schedules in each group, the 2nd/3rd/4th group positions were drawn separately for all other teams drawn from pot 2-4. The draw started by using pot 4 to draw one team to each of the four groups in alphabetic order from A to D. This same procedure was followed for pot 3 and pot 2. Finally the three remaining teams from pot 1 were drawn in alphabetic order into group B, C and D.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The final tournament was played in ten venues located in eight different cities. Lisbon and Porto, the two biggest cities, had two venues each, while Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Faro-Loulé, Guimarães and Leiria had one venue. In order to meet UEFA's requirements on venue capacity and infrastructure, seven new stadiums were built – Estádio Municipal de Aveiro (Aveiro), Estádio Municipal de Braga (Braga), Estádio Algarve (Faro-Loulé), Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa (Leiria), Estádio da Luz (Lisbon), Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon), and Estádio do Dragão (Porto) – and three underwent renovation works – Estádio Cidade de Coimbra (Coimbra), Estádio D. Afonso Henriques (Guimarães), and Estádio do Bessa (Porto). The Estádio da Luz was the largest stadium with a tournament capacity of 65,647 seats, and served as the venue for the final. The opening ceremony and match took place at the Estádio do Dragão.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: This was the first European Championship where matches took place in more than eight venues since the tournament was expanded to 16 teams in 1996.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The table below lists stadium capacity for the final tournament, which may not correspond to their effective maximum capacity.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: A total of 1.2 million tickets were available for the 31 matches of the final tournament, of which 77% were to be sold to the general public, and the remainder reserved for sponsors and partners (13%), media (5%), and corporate hospitality (5%). Public sales for an initial batch of 450,000 tickets (38%) were launched on 28 April 2003, in a ceremony in Lisbon which gathered former European football stars Eusébio and Ruud Gullit. Ticket prices were divided in three categories, ranging from €35 (group matches) to €270 (final).


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: In a first phase lasting until 16 June 2003, supporters could apply for tickets via UEFA's tournament website or through forms available at the Portuguese Football Federation and match venues. Applicants could request a maximum of four tickets per match but were limited to one match per day. In parallel to individual match tickets, UEFA created a new category of tickets called "Follow My Team", which allowed supporters to see all the matches of their favourite team (group stage and, if qualified, knockout stage matches). If there were oversubscribed matches by the end of the first phase of sales, a match-specific draw would take place to select the successful applicants.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Between 1 August and 24 November 2003, available tickets were placed again on sale in a first-come, first-served basis. After the draw for the group stage on 30 November, a third phase of public sales began on 9 December, which included a second batch of tickets (39%) that could be bought until March 2004 through the national associations of the finalist teams. Every national association was awarded 20% of the venue capacity for each of their team's matches. From 1 to 30 April 2004, surplus tickets from UEFA or national associations were made available to the public for the last time. Ticket distribution began in May, after sales were officially closed.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Each team was provided a base camp for residence and daily training between tournament matches. An initial list of 25 bases approved by the Portuguese Football Federation, following a selection process started in November 2001, was announced by the organisation on 5 February 2003.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers, at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament. If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he would be replaced by another player.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: On 4 December 2003, UEFA revealed the twelve referees and four fourth officials. Each refereeing team was composed by one main referee and two assistant referees from the same country. In April 2004, the UEFA Referees Committee replaced Russian assistant referee Gennady Krasyuk with Yuri Dupanov of Belarus. The switch was made after Krasyuk incorrectly disallowed a second goal from Paul Scholes for offside in the Champions League round of 16 second leg between Manchester United and Porto.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: UEFA announced the match schedule for the final tournament on 10 March 2003, in Porto, Portugal. In a change from the previous tournament schedule, where two quarter-final matches were played per day, over two days, the quarter-finals at the Euro 2004 were to be played over four consecutive days, with one match per day.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Euro 2004 marked the introduction of the penalty shoot-out as a tiebreaker between two teams in the group stage, although no match required the use of this procedure. The same procedure was used in future European Championship tournaments.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The knockout stage was a single-elimination tournament involving the eight teams that advanced from the group stage. There were three rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round, culminating in the final to decide the champions. Any game in the knockout stage that was not decided by the end of the regular 90 minutes was followed by up to 30 minutes of extra time (two 15-minute halves).


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: For the first time in an international football tournament, the silver goal system was applied, whereby the team that led the game at the half-time break during the extra time period would be declared the winner. If the scores were still level after the initial 15 minutes of extra time, play would continue for a further 15 minutes. If the teams could still not be separated after the extra time, there would be a penalty shoot-out (at least five penalties each) to determine which team progressed to the next round. The silver goal replaced the golden goal from the previous two championships and was used in the semi final between Greece and the Czech Republic.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The UEFA Technical Team was charged with naming a squad composed of the 23 best players over the course of the tournament. The group of eight analysts watched every game at the tournament before making their decision after the final. Five players from the winning Greek team were named to the team of the tournament. Michael Ballack and Gianluca Zambrotta were the only players to be included whose teams were knocked out in the group stage.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The Golden Boot was awarded to Milan Baroš, who scored all five of his goals in three group stage matches and in the quarter-finals against Denmark.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Overall, CHF200 million was awarded to the 16 teams, a boost from the CHF120 million in the previous event. Below is a complete list of the allocations:


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: If a player was shown a red card – whether as a result of two bookable offences or a straight red – he would become suspended from playing in his team's next match. A player would also become suspended for one match for picking up two yellow cards in separate matches. However, any yellow cards accumulated would be cancelled once a team was eliminated from the tournament or reached the semi-finals. In extreme cases of ill-discipline, UEFA could choose to have a disciplinary panel examine the incident in order to determine whether or not further suspension would be required.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The following players were suspended for one or more games as a result of red cards or yellow card accumulation:


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The official tournament logo was created by Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper agency and unveiled on 13 May 2002 at a ceremony held in Lisbon's Belém Cultural Center. It represents a football in the centre of a heart, surrounded by seven green dots. The football – displaying typical Portuguese folk artistic motifs on its panels – and the heart – shaped in the traditional style of the filigree art from Viana do Castelo – conveyed the football passion of the host country. The seven dots represent significant Portuguese elements and achievements, such as the number of castles in the national coat of arms or the conquest of the seven seas during the Age of Discoveries. The logo's colour palette was based on the Portuguese flag and its warm tones recall the light and sun associated with the Portuguese landscape and climate. The competition slogan used was "Vive O 2004!" ().


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The official mascot was a boy named Kinas – derived from "quinas" (), one of the symbols of the Portuguese coat of arms – who wore a football kit with the Portuguese colours (red shirt and green shorts) and was constantly playing with a football. He possessed the knowledge and talent of generations of highly gifted football players, and embodied the energy and passion of football. Created by Warner Bros., Kinas was officially unveiled on 29 March 2003 at the Casa de Serralves, in Porto, Portugal.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The official song, called "Força" (), was written and performed by Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado. The song was taken from her second studio album, "Folklore", and released as its third single, soon after the start of the tournament. Furtado was selected to sing the official song of the tournament, because of her familial connection to the host country (her parents are both Portuguese from the Azores). She wrote "Força" with "the passion the Portuguese people have for football" in mind. The song was played at every match, and performed live by Furtado at the closing ceremony prior to the final.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The official match ball was presented during the final draw ceremony on 30 November 2003 in Lisbon. It was produced by Adidas and named Adidas Roteiro, after the logbook () used by Portuguese maritime explorers such as Vasco da Gama. Roteiro was the first official tournament football to employ the new thermal-bonding technique in its production, which resulted in a seamless surface and a more homogeneous design. Portuguese Football Federation president Gilberto Madaíl praised the ball, stating: "Adidas has delivered a stunning, modern and state-of the-art Portuguese football. This is very much how we envisage the UEFA Euro 2004 event to be". Roteiro was also used at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, and during the mid-season of the 2004–05 German Bundesliga.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: The new ball received mixed reactions from players and technical staffs. England midfielder David Beckham, who was asked by Adidas to test it, was pleased with Roteiro's performance, particularly in free-kicks. France midfielder Zinedine Zidane believed the ball would "improve the game". Several Spanish players, however, regarded it as "horrible, difficult to control and to pass", with Real Madrid footballer Iván Helguera describing it as a "beach ball". Notable players of the Italy national team, such as Francesco Totti, Andrea Pirlo and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also voiced criticisms.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: During the two months ahead of the tournament, the Henri Delaunay Trophy travelled across Portugal to promote the European Championship finals in the host country. The tour began on 8 April 2004 at the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, where the launching ceremony took place with the presence of Portuguese football legend and tournament ambassador Eusébio. A total of twenty towns and cities were visited by the trophy tour caravan, including the ten that would host matches.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: In November 2002, UEFA appointed Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) as the tournament's exclusive worldwide licensing agent. As the global licensing rights owner, WBCP was responsible for negotiating product licence contracts with third parties on the behalf of UEFA and delineate product sales strategies across the host country. Other tasks included setting up and managing marketing plans, product distribution and prices, and prevent illegal use of trademarks and product sales. Over 2,000 merchandise items were developed by the 28 licencees chosen by WBCP, and were distributed not only within Portugal but also in major European and Asian markets.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: To celebrate Portugal's hosting of the Euro 2004 finals, commemorative coin and stamp collections were issued by the Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, the Portuguese national mint and printing house, and CTT, the national postal service.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: UEFA distinguishes between global sponsors and national sponsors. Global Euro sponsors can come from any country and have together exclusive worldwide sponsorship rights for a UEFA European Football Championship. National sponsors come from the host country and do only have sponsorship rights within that country. Eight sponsors were announced by UEFA in December 2002.


title: UEFA Euro 2004

text: Nineteen cameras were used in each of the ten venues to broadcast the live matches, with three additional cameras in the opening and knockout stage matches.


title: T-Pain

text: Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career as a singer, T-Pain popularized the creative use of the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect, used with extreme parameter settings to create distinctive vocal sounds. His success with the effect has influenced several other major artists to adopt it as well, namely rappers Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future and Travis Scott, among others. After signing with singer Akon's Konvict Muzik, T-Pain subsequently founded his own vanity label imprint, Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005.


title: T-Pain

text: His debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga", was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second album, "Epiphany", which reached number one on the US "Billboard" 200 chart. His third album, "Three Ringz", was released in 2008. The albums included a string of hit singles, including "I'm Sprung", "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)", "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')", "Bartender", "Can't Believe It", and "5 O'Clock". T-Pain has earned two Grammy Awards from 12 nominations, one with Kanye West for "Good Life" and the other with Jamie Foxx for "Blame It". From 2006 to 2010, T-Pain was featured on more than 50 chart topping singles. His most successful feature to date was on Flo Rida's debut single "Low", which has since been certified diamond (10× platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: T-Pain

text: Najm was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida to parents Aliyah, a Bahamian chef, and Shasheem, who founded the Homeboyz to Men program. His stage name is short for "Tallahassee Pain", and was chosen because of the hardships he experienced while living there. Najm was brought up in a Muslim household, but he has expressed his lack of interest in the concept of religion. At just three years old he got his first taste of the music business when a friend of the family, gospel jazz artist/producer Ben Tankard, allowed him to spend time and "twist the knobs" at his recording studio. At age ten, Najm turned his bedroom into a music studio, using a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder.


title: T-Pain

text: T-Pain joined the rap group Nappy Headz in 1999 and later recorded "I'm Fucked Up", a cover version of Akon's single "Locked Up". Akon eventually came across the song and immediately offered him a deal to his label, Konvict Muzik. While T-Pain was offered other record deals, with the highest bidding being US$900,000, Akon promised the young artist a personal mentorship in the industry. After being discovered, T-Pain began singing instead of rapping, and subsequently recorded and released his debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga", on December 6, 2005. The album reached number thirty-three on the "Billboard" 200, and has since been certified Gold by the RIAA, for reaching sales of 500,000 units.


title: T-Pain

text: The album was preceded by the lead single, "I'm Sprung", which was released in August 2005 and reached number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single, "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)", featuring Mike Jones, was released in December 2005 and reached number five on the Hot 100 and number ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third and final single from the album, "Studio Luv", was released in October 2006 but failed to chart.


title: T-Pain

text: In mid-2006, T-Pain began work on his second album, now with the Zomba Label Group as well as Konvict Muzik and Jive Records. The album, titled "Epiphany", was released on June 5, 2007. The album sold 171,000 records in its first week, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. The record has since sold 819,000 records in the United States.


title: T-Pain

text: The album was preceded by the lead single "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" featuring Yung Joc in February 2007. The single reached number one on both the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top charts. The album's second single, "Bartender", featuring Akon was released in June 2007 and reached number five on the Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third and final single from the album, "Church", was released in October 2007 but failed to chart in the United States.


title: T-Pain

text: Speaking in May 2007 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis, of the award-winning Blues & Soul about his reason for naming his second album 'Epiphany', T-Pain stated: "One of the two dictionary meanings of epiphany is 'a sudden moment of insight or revelation'. And to me the title 'Epiphany' signifies the moment I realized that, to make the best music I can, I needed to just go in the studio and be myself, and not concentrate so hard on following other people's formulas."


title: T-Pain

text: While promoting his second album, T-Pain made guest appearances on multiple songs by other artists. T-Pain was featured on "I'm a Flirt" (remix) by R. Kelly with T.I., "Outta My System" by Bow Wow, "Baby Don't Go" by Fabolous, "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled with many other rappers, "Shawty" by Plies, "Kiss Kiss" by Chris Brown, "Low" by Flo Rida, and "Good Life" by Kanye West. In two weeks in late 2007, T-Pain was featured on four top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart


title: T-Pain

text: "Good Life" with Kanye West later won the BET Award for Best Collaboration and was nominated in several other categories. In 2008, the single won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.


title: T-Pain

text: In 2007, T-Pain began work on his third album with Rocco Valdes, Akon and Lil Wayne. The album was also his first under his Nappy Boy Entertainment. T-Pain's third studio album, "Three Ringz", was released on November 11, 2008. The album sold 168,000 records in its first week, reaching number four on the Billboard 200. A mixtape, "Pr33 Ringz", was released in early 2008 before the album.


title: T-Pain

text: The album was preceded by three singles. Its lead single, "Can't Believe It", featuring Lil Wayne, was released in July 2008. The single reached number seven on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album's second single, "Chopped 'N' Skrewed", featuring Ludacris, was released in September 2008. The single reached number twenty-seven on the Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third and final single from the album, "Freeze", featuring Chris Brown, was released in October 2008 and reached number thirty-eight on the Hot 100 and number thirty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Guest appearances on "Three Ringz" included T.I., Lil Wayne, Ludacris, DJ Khaled, Ciara, Chris Brown and Kanye West among others. "Pr33 Ringz" was the introduction mixtape for the album.


title: T-Pain

text: In 2008, T-Pain continued to appear on numerous rap singles, such as "She Got It" by 2 Pistols, "Go Girl" by Ciara, "The Boss" by Rick Ross, "Cash Flow" by Ace Hood, "Shawty Get Loose" by Lil Mama, "One More Drink" by Ludacris, and "Go Hard" by DJ Khaled with Kanye West. T-Pain and Ludacris collaborated to perform "Chopped 'N' Skrewed" and "One More Drink" on American late-night television programs "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on ABC in November 2008 and on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in the same month. T-Pain appeared again on SNL in February 2009 (S34E15, hosted by Bradley Cooper with musical guest TV on the Radio) as a feature in the Digital Short premier of The Lonely Island single, "I'm on a Boat," off their Incredibad album. T-Pain also supported the album in 2009 with his "Thr33 Ringz Tour", which included sold-out shows across North America. T-Pain and rapper Lil Wayne formed the duo T-Wayne in 2008. The duo released a self-titled mixtape in late 2008; it charted on the "Billboard" 200 in January 2009. Their debut album was going to be released in 2009, but never was.


title: T-Pain

text: He collaborated with country pop singer Taylor Swift for the CMT Music Awards, performing "Thug Story", a parody of Swift's hit single "Love Story". In an interview with MTV, T-Pain announced that he would release his fourth studio album in November 2009 and that its title would be "UBER". He stated that although he originally wanted to release the album in the summer of 2010, his label had pushed the release forward. However, the album was not released in 2009.


title: T-Pain

text: An iPhone application called "I Am T-Pain", featuring an auto tuner, allowing fans to record and modify their own voice to accompany an instrumental collection of T-Pain's music, was released in September 2009. In July 2009, T-Pain endorsed the 2009 T-Pain Killa Cam-Pain, a grassroots effort to help him become elected as president of Florida State University.


title: T-Pain

text: In November 2009, T-Pain released the first single from his fourth studio album, "Take Your Shirt Off". The single only managed to reach number eighty on the Hot 100, and was later dubbed a promotional single. In February 2010, he released "Reverse Cowgirl" featuring Young Jeezy, which was the official lead single from his fourth studio album. He later release an updated version of the song excluding Young Jeezy's verse and adding a new bridge. The single reached number seventy-five on the Hot 100 and number sixty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a mild hit. The single has since been dubbed a promotional single. T-Pain was later featured on the "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" single in February 2010, which reached number two on the Hot 100. In March 2010, T-Pain developed and starred in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim animated musical special, "".


title: T-Pain

text: T-Pain released a mixtape on his Nappy Boy label in February 2010, "", which contained remixes of songs including "Forever" by Drake. On May 5, 2011, he announced another mixtape, "prEVOLVEr", serving as a predecessor to his album. The mixtape including collaborations from artists such as Lil Wayne and Field Mob. In June 2010, T-Pain confirmed that his fourth studio album, now titled "RevolveR", had been completed and mastered, but that it would not be released until album sales increase. T-Pain's first feature film, "Lottery Ticket", was released on August 20, 2010. In October 2010, T-Pain release his third promotional single, "Rap Song". The song charted poorly, peaking at 89 on the Hot 100.


title: T-Pain

text: T-Pain was featured on the hit single "All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled, along with the remix. He featured on Wisin & Yandel's single "Imaginate" and Bun B's single "Trillionaire." In the last two quarters of 2010, he was featured on the hit singles "Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)" by Pitbull, and "Move That Body" by Nelly. He was also featured on another single by Wisin & Yandel along with rapper 50 Cent called "No Dejemos Que Se Apague." The last two singles T-Pain was featured on in 2010 were the official remixes to "Black & Yellow" by rapper Wiz Khalifa and "Loving You No More".


title: T-Pain

text: T-Pain was featured on the first single by DJ Khaled called "Welcome To My Hood" off his 2011 album "We the Best Forever". The song featured him along with Rick Ross, Plies, and Lil Wayne. He was also featured on albums such as Drake's "Take Care," Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" and Tech N9ne's "All 6s and 7s". A new toy called "iAm T-Pain Microphone" was released in 2011, at the price of $39.99. On January 29, 2011, T-Pain was featured on Italian DJ Benny Benassi's song "Electroman", released as the third single in the album of the same name. In January, JRandall released a single, "Can't Sleep", featuring T-Pain. On March 22, 2011, the next single from "RevolveЯ", "Best Love Song", was released, featuring Chris Brown. On Twitter, T-Pain stated that he would release his "prEVOLVEЯ" mixtape when he got 500,000 followers and release his album "RevolveЯ" when he got 1,000,000 followers. Also in 2011, he appeared on another Adult Swim show: the sixth-season premiere episode of "Squidbillies", performing a version of the theme song in addition to the original song "(I Like) Drivin' In My Truck" with Unknown Hinson; this song was released in 2012 as part of the free digital album "The Squidbillies Present: Music For Americans Only Made by Americans in China for Americans Only God Bless America, U.S.A." on the Adult Swim Music website.


title: T-Pain

text: On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, T-Pain (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) would henceforth release all material (including "RevolveЯ") on the RCA Records brand. The album "RevolveЯ" was eventually released in December 2011, alongside the transatlantic Top 10 single "5 O'Clock", which samples UK songstress Lily Allen and features Wiz Khalifa.


title: T-Pain

text: On April 1, 2013, after the announcement of T-Pain cutting off his signature dreads, he announced the title of his fifth studio album, then entitled "Stoicville: The Phoenix" stating, "To me, a Phoenix represents new beginnings. A new era, a new life, I'm rising from the ashes." Prior to releasing his fifth studio album, he released "T-Pain Presents Happy Hour", a greatest hits compilation. Its first single, "Up Down (Do This All Day)", produced by DJ Mustard and featuring B.o.B, was officially released on August 13, 2013. The song peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Drankin Patna" was released a year later on July 21, 2014. On November 7, 2014, T-Pain premiered the intro/title track off of "Stoicville". On November 21, 2014, T-Pain premiered "Coming Home" as the first promotional single in support of "Stoicville" and made it available for free on his official website.


title: T-Pain

text: On June 8, 2015, T-Pain released a song titled "Make That Shit Work" featuring Juicy J. Following another delay, T-Pain confirmed the album was still on its way, missing its December 11 expected release date to further delay. On December 9, 2015, to mark the one-year anniversary of the most popular Tiny Desk Concert ever and the 10th anniversary of his debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga", T-Pain performed a short set of some previous hits, along with a cover of "A Change Is Gonna Come" and the premiere of a new song, "Officially Yours".


title: T-Pain

text: On October 27, 2016, T-Pain premiered "Dan Bilzerian" featuring Lil Yachty. He worked with Bruno Mars on his third studio album, "24K Magic", as one of the writers on the track "Straight Up & Down".


title: T-Pain

text: After teasing the release of a long-shelved collaboration project with Lil Wayne, "T-Wayne" was released on May 18, 2017, via T-Pain's SoundCloud for streaming and free digital download. It consists of eight tracks recorded in 2009 described as "lost demos". In 2017, he collaborated with Italian rappers J-Ax and Fedez for the single ""Senza pagare"", from the album "Comunisti col Rolex". After numerous delays and project name changes, T-Pain's fifth album "Oblivion" was released November 17, 2017.


title: T-Pain

text: On February 27, 2019, the same day T-Pain was revealed to be the winner of the first US season of "The Masked Singer", he released a surprise new album titled "1UP" and announced a new U.S. tour in support of it. He hosted the iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 14.


title: T-Pain

text: In December 2020, T-Pain appeared in ComplexLand virtual event to discuss his thoughts on the future of esports.


title: T-Pain

text: On September 24, 2009, T-Pain joined with iPhone app creator Smule to create a new app entitled "I Am T-Pain" to allow people to use his style of Auto-Tune in karaoke; it was released the following day.


title: T-Pain

text: In May 2009, T-Pain made an appearance on a live-action episode of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" as Frylock, where he made his debut as an actor. In late 2009, T-Pain developed a concept to create an animated television special, "", which he submitted to Adult Swim. It premiered on March 7, 2010, and features many guest celebrities such as Lil Wayne, Young Ca$h, Snoop Dogg, Sophia Fresh, Rick Ross, Andy Samberg and Charlie Murphy.


title: T-Pain

text: In November 2016, T-Pain also appeared in an episode of the YouTube series "Epic Rap Battles of History" as American singer Stevie Wonder.


title: T-Pain

text: T-Pain was the champion of the first season of the Fox reality music competition "The Masked Singer" as "Monster". He returned as a guest panelist in the sixth episode of season three.


title: T-Pain

text: Since 2018, T-Pain has been the host of "T-Pain's School of Business", a documentary series airing on Fuse in which T-Pain travels around the United States meeting with different entrepreneurs. The show has aired for two seasons so far: the first in 2018, which had six episodes, and the second in 2019, which had eight episodes.


title: T-Pain

text: Musically, T-Pain is best known for popularizing the use of Auto-Tune, a pitch-correcting audio processor, for vocals, with the effect turned up to give the voice a robotic quality. He has used this effect throughout his singing career, starting in 2003. This use of Auto-Tune had been pioneered by Cher in her 1998 hit "Believe". T-Pain, who had been looking for a way to make his voice sound unique, was inspired to use Auto-Tune after hearing the Darkchild remix of the 1999 song "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez, which makes occasional use of the effect. He was also inspired in part by a similar sound achieved by Roger Troutman in the 1980s (using a talk box) and Teddy Riley in the 1990s (using both talk boxes and vocoders).