title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: Beginning in 2013, while still performing and recording with earlier solo and group projects, Rateliff embarked on a more upbeat, soulful sound with longtime collaborator Joseph Pope III and other collaborators in shows around Denver and Boulder. On June 24, 2015, the self-titled release of "Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats" via Stax Records was announced with the lead single being "S.O.B.". The Night Sweats feature Joseph Pope III (bass), Mark Shusterman (keyboards) and Patrick Meese (drums). Other band members include Luke Mossman (guitar), Wesley Watkins (trumpet), and Andy Wild (saxophone). According to the "Los Angeles Times", this was "an album Rateliff made as a last-ditch effort before throwing in the towel on his music career, only to see it go viral and turn into a runaway hit."


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats released a new album titled "Tearing at the Seams" on March 9, 2018. After spending a week recording 18 songs with his band, Rateliff was not content and decided to return to the studio for five days with his band's rhythm section and three more days with the horns section, producing seven to eight new songs he felt were "appropriate, the right tempo and the right mood". The band shared the record's lead single "You Worry Me". Produced by Richard Swift and being offered in 12-track standard and 14-track deluxe editions, the band assembled in Rodeo, New Mexico for the initial writing and recording sessions for the album.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: In February 2018, "You Worry Me", the lead single from "Tearing at the Seams", their second studio album, hit number one on the Adult Alternative Songs charts. It would later hit the top 10 on the Alternative Songs chart in June 2018. "Tearing at the Seams" was released on March 9, 2018. The album debuted at number 11 on the "Billboard" 200 for the week of March 24, 2018, and debuted on the Alternative Albums chart at number 5.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: In August 2019, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats launched a limited cannabis cartridge line titled "Nightstache Collection" in collaboration with Willie's Reserve. The first release was the strain AJ's Cherry AK. The band developed a friendship with Willie Nelson when they met at Farm Aid in 2016.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: In November 2019, Nathaniel Rateliff announced a solo tour to support a new solo album via Stax Records. On January 8, 2020, Nathaniel announced "And It's Still Alright," his first solo album in nearly seven years which was released February 14 via Stax Records.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: Rateliff supported the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats performed at a campaign rally in Saint Paul, Minnesota.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: On December 17, 2020, Nathaniel released "Redemption", a new song he wrote for the Apple Original film, "Palmer". The release came as a surprise to Rateliff's fans, since he did not announce it beforehand.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: In early 2021, Nathaniel appeared in his first "Saturday Night Live" performance on February 13. His two-song set included the recently released "Redemption" and "A Little Honey" off of "Tearing at the Seams".


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: On November 5, 2021, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats released their third studio album, "The Future", via Stax Records. In support of the album, Sirius XM The Spectrum introduced Night Sweats Radio with Nathaniel Rateliff which debuted October 22, 2021 airing new episodes every Friday.


title: Nathaniel Rateliff

text: Rateliff developed a dedicated following within the Denver music community. "The New York Times" dubbed him a Denver local folk-pop hero. "Spin" praised his "massive, alluring" voice. "Billboard" dubbed the unsigned singer-songwriter a "must hear." This wave of acclaim led to a solo tour opening for The Fray, which brought his work to the attention of national and international audiences. Rateliff was featured on the late-night music television series "Later... with Jools Holland" on BBC in 2011. Rateliff has also shared the stage with artists such as Bon Iver, Mason Jennings, Iron & Wine, Ben Howard, Michael Kiwanuka, The Low Anthem, Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Rosanne Cash, among others, including The Lumineers in Denver for the United States presidential election debates, 2012. On August 5, 2015, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats made their late-night television debut on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". The band played Ontario's Wayhome festival and Austin City Limits in 2016. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats were the featured musical guests on "Saturday Night Live" on February 13, 2021. Rateliff and The Nightsweats most recently performed on "The Tonight Show" their new song "Face Down In The Moment" (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nathaniel-rateliff-night-sweats-face-down-in-the-moment-fallon-1234596232/).


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a newly appointed United States Senator who fights against a corrupt political system, and was written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana". The film was controversial when it was first released, but successful at the box office, and it made Stewart a major star. It was also loosely based on the life of Montana U.S. Senator Burton Wheeler, who underwent a similar experience when he was investigating the Warren Harding administration.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, winning Best Original Story. Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, the film was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1989, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The governor of an unnamed western state, Hubert "Happy" Hopper, has to pick a replacement for the recently deceased U.S. Senator Sam Foley. His corrupt political boss, Jim Taylor, pressures Hopper to choose his handpicked stooge, Horace Miller, while popular committees want a reformer, Henry Hill. The governor's children want him to select Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers. Unable to make up his mind between Taylor's stooge and the reformer, Hopper decides to flip a coin. When it lands on edge – and next to a newspaper story on one of Smith's accomplishments – he chooses Smith, calculating that his wholesome image will please the people. At the same time, his naivety will make him easy to manipulate.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Junior Senator Smith is taken under the wing of the publicly esteemed, but secretly crooked, Senator Joseph Paine, who was Smith's late father's friend. Smith develops an immediate attraction to the senator's daughter, Susan. At Senator Paine's home, Smith has a conversation with Susan, fidgeting and bumbling, entranced by the young socialite. Smith's naïve and honest nature allows the unforgiving Washington press to take advantage of him, quickly tarnishing Smith's reputation with ridiculous front-page pictures and headlines branding him a bumpkin.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: To keep Smith busy, Paine suggests he propose a bill. With the help of his secretary, Clarissa Saunders, who was the aide to Smith's predecessor and had been around Washington and politics for years, Smith comes up with a bill to authorize a federal government loan to buy some land in his home state for a national boys' camp, to be paid back by youngsters across America. Donations pour in immediately. However, the proposed campsite is already part of a dam-building graft scheme included in an appropriations bill framed by the Taylor political machine and supported by Senator Paine.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Unwilling to crucify the worshipful Smith so that their graft plan will go through, Paine tells Taylor he wants out, but Taylor reminds him that Paine is in power primarily through Taylor's influence. Paine then advises Smith to keep silent about the matter. The following day, when Smith speaks out about the bill at Senate, the machine in his state—through Paine—accuses Smith of trying to profit from his bill by producing fraudulent evidence that Smith already owns the land in question. Smith is too shocked and angry by Paine's betrayal to defend himself and runs away.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Saunders, who looked down on Smith at first, but has come to believe in him, talks him into launching a filibuster to postpone the appropriations bill and prove his innocence on the Senate floor just before the vote to expel him. In his last chance to prove his innocence, he talks non-stop for about 25 hours, reaffirming the American ideals of freedom and disclosing the dam scheme's true motives. Yet none of the Senators are convinced.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The constituents try to rally around him, but the entrenched opposition is too powerful, and all attempts are crushed. Owing to the influence of Taylor's machine, newspapers and radio stations in Smith's home state, on Taylor's orders, refuse to report what Smith has to say and even distort the facts against the senator. The Boy Rangers' effort to spread the news in support of Smith results in vicious attacks on the children by Taylor's minions.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Although all hope seems lost, the senators begin to pay attention as Smith approaches utter exhaustion. Paine has one last card up his sleeve: he brings in bins of letters and telegrams from Smith's home state, purportedly from average people demanding his expulsion. Nearly broken by the news, Smith finds a small ray of hope in a friendly smile from the President of the Senate. Smith vows to press on until people believe him but immediately collapses in a faint. Overcome with the pangs of remorse, Paine leaves the Senate chamber and attempts to commit suicide by gunshot but is stopped by onlooking senators. He then bursts back into the Senate chamber, shouting a confession to the whole scheme; the reformed Paine further insists that he must be expelled from the Senate and affirms Smith's innocence to Clarissa's delight. The President of the Senate observes the ensuing chaos with amusement.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Columbia Pictures originally purchased Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story, variously called "The Gentleman from Montana" and "The Gentleman from Wyoming", as a vehicle for Ralph Bellamy, but once Frank Capra came on board as director – after Rouben Mamoulian had expressed interest – the film was to be a sequel to his "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", called "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington", with Gary Cooper reprising his role as Longfellow Deeds. Because Cooper was unavailable, Capra then "saw it immediately as a vehicle for Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur", and Stewart was borrowed from MGM. Capra said of Stewart: "I knew he would make a hell of a Mr. Smith ... He looked like the country kid, the idealist. It was very close to him."


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Although a youth group is featured in the story, the Boy Scouts of America refused to allow their name to be used in the film and instead the fanciful "Boy Rangers" was used.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: In January 1938, both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures submitted Foster's story to the censors at the Hays Office, likely indicating that both studios had an interest in the project before Columbia purchased it. Joseph Breen, the head of that office, warned the studios: "[W]e would urge most earnestly that you take serious counsel before embarking on the production of any motion picture based on this story. It looks to us like one that might well be loaded with dynamite, both for the motion picture industry, and for the country at large." Breen specifically objected to "the generally unflattering portrayal of our system of Government, which might well lead to such a picture being considered, both here, and more particularly abroad, as a covert attack on the Democratic form of government", and warned that the film should make clear that "the Senate is made up of a group of fine, upstanding citizens, who labor long and tirelessly for the best interests of the nation".


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Later, after the screenplay had been written and submitted, Breen reversed course, saying of the film, "It is a grand yarn that will do a great deal of good for all those who see it and, in my judgment, it is particularly fortunate that this kind of story is to be made at this time. Out of all Senator Jeff's difficulties there has been evolved the importance of a democracy and there is splendidly emphasized the rich and glorious heritage which is ours and which comes when you have a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The film was in production from April 3, 1939, to July 7 of that year. Some location shooting took place in Washington, D.C., at Union Station and at the United States Capitol, as well as other locations for background use.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: In the studio, to ensure authenticity, an elaborate set was created, consisting of Senate committee rooms, cloak rooms, and hotel suites, as well as specific Washington, D.C., monuments, all based on a trip Capra and his crew made to the capital. Even the Press Club of Washington was reproduced in minute detail, but the major effort went into a faithful reproduction of the Senate Chamber on the Columbia lot. James D. Preston, a former superintendent of the Senate gallery, acted as technical director for the Senate set, as well as advising on political protocol. The production also utilized the "New York street set" on the Warner Bros. lot, using 1,000 extras when that scene was shot.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The ending of the film was apparently changed at some point, as the original program describes Stewart and Arthur returning to Smith's hometown, where they are met by a big parade, with the implication that they are married and starting a family. In addition, the Taylor political machine is shown being crushed; Smith, riding a motorcycle, visits Senator Paine and forgives him; and a visit to Smith's mother is included. Some of this footage can be seen in the film's trailer.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The film premiered in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on October 17, 1939, sponsored by the National Press Club, an event to which 4,000 guests were invited, including 45 senators. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was attacked by the Washington press, and politicians in the U.S. Congress, as anti-American and pro-Communist for its portrayal of corruption in the American government. While Capra claims in his autobiography that some senators walked out of the premiere, contemporary press accounts are unclear about whether this occurred or not, or whether senators yelled back at the screen during the film.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: It "is" known that Alben W. Barkley, a Democrat and the Senate Majority Leader, called the film "silly and stupid", and said it "makes the Senate look like a bunch of crooks". He also remarked that the film was "a grotesque distortion" of the Senate, "as grotesque as anything ever seen! Imagine the Vice President of the United States winking at a pretty girl in the gallery in order to encourage a filibuster!" Barkley thought the film "showed the Senate as the biggest aggregation of nincompoops on record!"


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Pete Harrison, a respected journalist and publisher of the motion picture trade journal "Harrison's Reports", suggested that the Senate pass a bill allowing theater owners to refuse to show films that "were not in the best interest of our country". That did not happen, but one of the ways that some senators attempted to retaliate for the damage they felt the film had done to the reputation of their institution was by pushing the passage of the Neely Anti-Block Booking Bill, which eventually led to the breakup of the studio-owned theater chains in the late 1940s. Columbia responded by distributing a program which put forward the film's patriotism and support of democracy and publicized the film's many positive reviews.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Other objections were voiced as well. Joseph P. Kennedy, the American Ambassador to Great Britain, wrote to Capra and Columbia head Harry Cohn to say that he feared the film would damage "America’s prestige in Europe", and because of this urged that it be withdrawn from European release. Capra and Cohn responded, citing the film's review, which mollified Kennedy to the extent that he never followed up, although he privately still had doubts about the film.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The film was banned in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and in Franco's Spain. In the Soviet Union, the film was released to cinemas in as "The Senator". According to Capra, the film was also dubbed in certain European countries to alter the message of the film so it conformed with official ideology.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: When a ban on American films was imposed in German occupied France in 1942, some theaters chose to show "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" as the last movie before the ban went into effect. One theater owner in Paris reportedly screened the film nonstop for 30 days after the ban was announced.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: The critical response to the film was more measured than the reaction by politicians, domestic and foreign. The critic for "The New York Times", for instance, Frank S. Nugent, wrote that "[Capra] is operating, of course, under the protection of that unwritten clause in the Bill of Rights entitling every voting citizen to at least one free swing at the Senate. Mr. Capra's swing is from the floor and in the best of humor; if it fails to rock the august body to its heels – from laughter as much as from injured dignity – it won't be his fault but the Senate's, and we should really begin to worry about the upper house."


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" has been called one of the quintessential whistleblower films in American history. Dr. James Murtagh and Dr. Jeffrey Wigand cited this film as a seminal event in U.S. history at the first "Whistleblower Week in Washington" (May 13–19, 2007).


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" has often been listed as among Capra's best, but it has been noted that it "marked a turning point in Capra's vision of the world, from nervous optimism to a darker, more pessimistic tone. Beginning with "American Madness" (1932), such Capra films as "Lady for a Day" (1933), "It Happened One Night" (1934), "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), and "You Can’t Take It With You" (1938) had trumpeted their belief in the decency of the common man. In "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", however, the decent common man is surrounded by a venal, petty and thuggish group of crooks. Everyone in the film – except for Jefferson Smith and his tiny cadre of believers – is either in the pay of the political machine run by Edward Arnold's James Taylor or complicit in Taylor's corruption through their silence, and they all sit by as innocent people, including children, are brutalized and intimidated, rights are violated, and the government is brought to a halt".


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: Nevertheless, Smith's filibuster and the tacit encouragement of the Senate President are both emblematic of the director's belief in the difference that one individual can make. This theme would be expanded further in Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) and other films.


title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

text: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was a box office success upon its release, earning theatrical rentals of $3.5 million in the United States alone. It became the second-highest-grossing film of 1939 and was also the third highest-grossing film of the 1930s decade, only behind "Gone with the Wind" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: The president of the Soviet Union (), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was the head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 15 March 1990 to 25 December 1991.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: Mikhail Gorbachev was the only person to occupy this office. Gorbachev was also General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between March 1985 and August 1991. He derived an increasingly greater share of his power from his position as president until he finally resigned as General Secretary after the 1991 coup d'état attempt.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: Prior to the creation of the post of president, the "de jure" head of state of the Soviet Union was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, who was often called the "president" by non-Soviet sources. For most of the Soviet Union's existence, all effective executive political power was in the hands of the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the chairman of the Presidium exercising largely symbolic and figurehead duties. Starting with Leonid Brezhnev in 1977, the last four general secretaries—Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, and Gorbachev—simultaneously served as "de jure" head of state during their time in office.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: The president was initially elected by the Congress of People's Deputies and served as "ex officio" chairman of that body, but all future elections were to have been by popular vote. The president reported to the Supreme Soviet. On 24 September 1990, Gorbachev persuaded the Supreme Soviet to give him the power to rule by unrestricted decree (on the economy, law and order, and the appointment of government personnel) until 31 March 1992. Another power was the right to declare direct presidential rule in troubled areas and abolish democratic elected bodies if necessary. During the election of the president several candidates were nominated, among leading contenders were KGB chairman Vadim Bakatin and Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: The vice president of the Soviet Union was the deputy head of state. If the president was killed or unable to be in office, the vice president would become president. The only person to hold this office was Gennady Yanayev, who the following year became the leader of the


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: Gang of Eight which attempted the August coup, assuming the position of acting president of the Soviet Union on 19 August 1991. After three days the coup collapsed and Gorbachev was restored.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: Following the coup attempt, Gorbachev remained president until the country's dissolution, when he resigned and declared his office to be extinct. The powers of the position were subsequently ceded to the new President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: With his right hand on a red bound copy of the Soviet Constitution, placed on a small table before the Congress, the president-elect (Gorbachev) took the following oath:


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: ""I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the peoples of our nations, to strictly observe the Soviet Constitution, to guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens and to conscientiously fulfill the high responsibilities placed in me as president of the Soviet Union.""


title: President of the Soviet Union

text: Members of the Communist Party voted on establishing a presidency on 7 February 1990. The first and only presidential election took place on 14 March 1990. The Congress of People's Deputies decided that they would elect the first president into a five-year term, then turn over presidential elections to the public beginning in the planned 1995 presidential election.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The sixth season of the American television medical drama "Grey's Anatomy", commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 24, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by ABC Studios, in association with Shondaland Production Company and The Mark Gordon Company; the showrunner being Shonda Rhimes and head writer Krista Vernoff. Actors Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, and Justin Chambers reprised their roles as surgical residents Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens, and Alex Karev, respectively. Heigl was released from her contract in the middle of the season, while T. R. Knight did not appear as George O'Malley, because Knight was released from his contract at the conclusion of season five. Main cast members Patrick Dempsey, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens, Jr., Sara Ramirez, Eric Dane, Chyler Leigh, and Kevin McKidd also returned, while previous recurring-star Jessica Capshaw was promoted to a series-regular, and Kim Raver was given star-billing after the commencement of the season.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The season follows the story of surgical interns, residents and their competent mentors, as they experience the difficulties of the competitive careers they have chosen. It is set in the surgical wing of the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, located in Seattle, Washington. A major storyline of the season is the characters adapting to change, as their beloved co-worker Stevens departed following the breakdown of her marriage, O'Malley died in the season premiere—following his being dragged by a bus, and new cardiothoracic surgeon Teddy Altman is given employment at the hospital. Further storylines include Shepherd being promoted to chief of surgery, Seattle Grace Hospital merging with the neighboring Mercy West —introducing several new doctors, and several physicians lives being placed into danger—when a grieving deceased patient's husband embarks on a shooting spree at the hospital, seeking revenge for his wife's death.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The series ended its sixth season with 13.26 million viewers, ranking #17 in terms of ratings, the lowest the series had ever ranked up to then. The season received mixed-to-positive critical feedback, with the season's premiere and finale given heavier critical acclaim, in contrast to the middle. The season was one of the least acclaimed in terms of awards and nominations, being the show's only season not to warrant a Primetime Emmy nomination. Despite the polarizing aspects of ratings and awards, the season managed to receive a spot on "Movieline" top 10 list. Buena Vista released the season onto a DVD box-set, being made available to regions 1 and 2.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" is the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live. The sixth season's episodes are altogether 1032 minutes in length. Each episode of this season is named after a song.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The season was produced by Touchstone Television ABC Studios, The Mark Gordon Company, Shondaland and was distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. The executive producers were creator Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Joan Rater and James D. Parriott. The regular directors were Shonda Rhimes, Krista Vernoff, Stacy McKee, William Harper, Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg and Peter Nowalk. At the conclusion of season 5, T. R. Knight was released from his contract, following a disagreement with Rhimes. When asked to make a 'flashback' appearance in season six, Knight declined. Heigl's appearances in the season were sporadic, seeing Stevens depart and return twice. Although she was scheduled to appear in the final 5 episodes of the season, Heigl requested that she be released from her contract 18 months early, and made her final appearance on January 21, 2010. Heigl explained that she wanted to spend more time with her family, and did not think it would be respectful to "Grey's Anatomy" viewers to have Izzie return and depart yet again. The season's 2-hour opener showed the doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital, grieving the loss of their deceased friend, O'Malley. The special's writer, Vernoff, commented: "It's heartbreaking. I fell in love with George, like many of you did, in season one."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The ninth episode of the season, "New History", saw the arrival of Altman, which ended up forming a love-triangle between her, Hunt, and Yang. Raver commented on this: "She was in Iraq with Owen. She's a cardiac surgeon. She's really good at what she does. There'll be some interesting stuff between Teddy, Owen and Cristina." The episode's writer, Heinberg, offered his insight:


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" saw the departure of Stevens, following the breakdown of her marriage with Karev. Series' writer Joan Rater commented on this: "Izzie getting the clean scan back gives Alex the freedom to leave. Because he never would have left her when she was sick, he's a good guy. And I'm not saying that Alex ever consciously thought, I can’t leave her while she's sick, but now that she's not, now that she seems like she's going to get better, it just comes to him. He deserves more. He's a good guy and he deserves more. But loving Izzie showed him that he can be good, is good. So it was a little gift. And when he tells Izzie he's done, he's not bitter or angry, he's just done." The writing of the 2-part season 6 finale, caused struggle to Rhimes. She elaborated on this:


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The sixth season had 13 roles receiving star-billing, with 12 of them returning from the previous season, 1 of whom previously in a recurring guest capacity. The regulars portray the surgeons from the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital as new rivalries and romantic relationships begin to develop after the hospital's merger with Mercy West. Meredith Grey, a surgical resident and the protagonist of the series, is portrayed by Ellen Pompeo. Fellow third-year residents Cristina Yang, Izzie Stevens and Alex Karev are portrayed by Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers, respectively. Attending general surgeon Miranda Bailey was portrayed by Chandra Wilson whose main storylines throughout the season focus on her divorce and the development of new romantic relationships. Seattle Grace Hospital's Chief of Surgery and general surgeon Richard Webber was portrayed by James Pickens, Jr., who returns to alcoholism after being sober for 20 years.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: Sara Ramirez acted as bisexual orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres, Eric Dane played womanizer plastic surgeon Mark Sloan, Chyler Leigh portrayed Meredith's half-sister and second-year surgical resident Lexie Grey, Kevin McKidd appeared as trauma surgeon Owen Hunt, and Patrick Dempsey featured as chief of neurosurgery Derek Shepherd. After having previously appeared in a multi-episode arc in a guest-star capacity in the show's fifth season, Jessica Capshaw began receiving star-billing in the season's premiere episode in the role of attending pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins. The ninth episode of the season marked the introduction of the new chief of cardiothoracic surgery Teddy Altman, portrayed by Kim Raver, whose mysterious romantic past with Hunt develops into one of the season's main stories. Starting with the nineteenth episode of the season, Raver began receiving star-billing.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The sixth season introduces several new recurring characters who start to develop progressive and expansive storylines throughout the season. Mercy West surgical residents Reed Adamson, Charles Percy, April Kepner and Jackson Avery were portrayed by Nora Zehetner, Robert Baker, Sarah Drew and Jesse Williams, respectively. Jason George portrayed Miranda Bailey's love-interest, anesthesiologist Ben Warren. Thatcher Grey (Jeff Perry) and Sloan Riley (Leven Rambin) have been part of the season's main story arcs, while numerous episodic characters have made guest appearances: Demi Lovato as Hayley, Sara Gilbert as Kim Allen, Marion Ross as Betty, Mandy Moore as Mary Portman, Ryan Devlin as Bill Portman, Nick Purcell as Doug, Michael O'Neill as Gary Clark, Danielle Panabaker as Kelsey, Adrienne Barbeau as Jodie Crawley, Héctor Elizondo as Mr. Torres, Cody Christian as Brad Walker, Amy Madigan as Dr. Wyatt, and Missi Pyle as Jasmine. Former series-regular Kate Walsh returned to the series as a special guest-star, portraying neonatal surgeon and obstetrician-gynecologist Addison Montgomery.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The sixth season opened up to 17.04 million viewers with a 6.7/17 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. Although the rating was a 1% decrease from season five's opener, it managed to rank first for its time-slot and the entire night, in terms of both ratings and viewership, and served as the season's most viewed episode. "Sympathy for the Parents" was the season's least viewed episode, and up to that point, the series' as well, garnering only 9.87 million viewers. The season's finale garnered 16.13 million viewers, and received a 6.2/18 rating, ranking first for its time-slot and the entire night, in terms of both ratings and viewership. Although the finale was a success for the night, it was a 1% decrease from season five's finale, but served as the season's second most viewed episode. Overall, the season ranked at #17 for the year, and had an average of 13.26 million viewers, a 5% decrease from the previous season's ranking.


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The season received mixed-to-positive reviews among television critics. Speaking of the premiere, Glenn Diaz of "BuddyTV" noted that the special foreshadowed a "very dark" season, adding: "The talk between George's mom and one of the surgeons [Torres] proved to be one of the more heart-breaking scenes in an episode that in itself is heartbreaking enough." In contrast, Kelly West of "TV Blend" was critical of the premiere, writing: "I don’t think based on the first episode that we can say that Grey's is headed in a new direction, nor do I think the writers are making much of an effort to bring the series back to the greatness that was its earlier seasons. That said, this is Grey's Anatomy and with that comes the usual drama, sex, love and whacky medical mysteries thrown in the mix to keep things moving. If that's what you’re looking for, I think you’ll enjoy the season premiere just fine." Capshaw's performance this season was praised, with "The TV Addict" calling her "immensely likeable". Although "Sympathy for the Parents" was the least viewed episode, "TV Fanatic" called the episode "touching", praising Chambers' performance. "TV Fanatic"'s reaction to the season was fairly mixed, with Steve Marsi saying that "Grey's Anatomy" was facing an identity crisis after viewing "Give Peace a Chance". He said that: "Still popular but lacking its past magic, it's trying to decide what to become. All we can say is that if it becomes what we saw 12 hours ago, we are all for it. Last week saw the doctors plunging into "ER"-style chaos with 12 different doctors giving 12 different accounts of one case. Last night, we saw something else equally unusual." He praised Patrick Dempsey's performance, saying: "Again, it was a single case that took up the entire hour, but instead of 12 doctors' version of events, the focus was largely on just one, and the best one: Dr. Derek Shepherd. Patrick Dempsey's McDreamy character may be eye candy, but he's got substance. Last night's episode proved that in spades, and was one of the series' best in some time."


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The season's finale "Death And All His Friends" was highly praised. Marsi gave the episode five stars, and expressed that it may have been the best episode of the series, adding: "The writing and acting were absolutely stellar, and may lead to many Emmy nominations, but even more impressively, despite a killing spree, it remained distinctly Grey's. Some of the back-and-forths between the characters were truly memorable, and some of the developments so heartbreaking that we don't even know where to begin now. Seriously, the Season 6 finale left us laying awake afterward thinking about everything, a feeling we haven't had from Grey's in years and rarely achieved by any program." John Kubicek of "BuddyTV" also noted that the finale was the best episode, adding: "[It was] two of the best hours of television all year. It was certainly the best "Grey's Anatomy" has ever been, which is saying a lot since I'd written the show off for the past few years. No show does a big traumatic event like "Grey's Anatomy", and the shooter gave the show license for heightened drama with five major characters being shot over the two hours. It was emotional, expertly paced and had me in tears for most of the finale." "Entertainment Weekly" wrote, "At any rate, now you can at least see where it all began. And while you’re still pondering how Grey's can still be so damn good sometimes,"


title: Grey's Anatomy (season 6)

text: The season was one of the least acclaimed of the series, in terms of awards and nominations. Despite not being nominated for a Primetime Emmy, the show received two Creative Arts Emmy Awards: Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special for "How Insensitive" and Outstanding Makeup For A Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) for "Suicide is Painless". The season also received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series at the GLAAD Media Awards. Wilson was awarded the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series for her directing in "Give Peace a Chance". The season also ranked at #10 on "Movieline" top ten list.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: Alice's Wonderland Bakery is an American computer-animated television series based on the 1951 Disney animated feature film "Alice in Wonderland" which is produced by Disney Television Animation and premiered on Disney Junior on February 9, 2022. On the same day of the premiere, the first 6 episodes were released early on Disney+ in selected countries. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: The series revolves around Alice, the great-granddaughter of the original Alice Pleasance Liddell, who is a young baker working at the Wonderland Bakery. As she explores the kingdom on various culinary adventures, she is accompanied by Fergie the white rabbit, Hattie, and Rosa, the Princess of Hearts.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: The teapot-shaped Wonderland Bakery has a kitchen where some of the equipment are animated, namely the oven and the mixer. The bakery also has a pantry which is vertical tunnel where the ingredients are on shelves on the sides, and anyone who enters will mostly float inside as if they are in space.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: The desserts (and to lesser-extent foods) the characters make are mostly magical, resulting either troublesome or pleasant effects.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: The series premiered on February 9, 2022. It premiered on Disney Junior in the Middle East and Africa, France and Poland on June 4, 2022.


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: Victoria Davis of "Animation World Network" reviewed the series positively. Harlan Sharpe of "Fatherly" praised the idea of a reboot dealing with cooking, saying ""Alice’s Wonderland Bakery" isn’t trying to remake "Alice in Wonderland", it’s trying to give families a magical and offbeat show that is pro-baking." Laurel Graeber of "The New York Times" took notice of the cultural diversity of the characters and their voice actors compared to the original "Alice in Wonderland". Alex Reif of "LaughingPlace.com" gave a positive review of the series, praising the musical moments, and complimenting the ethnic inclusiveness, comparing to the 1990s Disney Channel live-action series "Adventures in Wonderland", stating, "That show depicted a more multicultural version of Wonderland and "Alice’s Wonderland Bakery" is cut from a similar cloth, with a new generation of kids being able to see themselves in this magical world."


title: Alice's Wonderland Bakery

text: Eden Espinosa received nominations for Best Voice-Over Actor (Television) at the 2022 Imagen Awards and for Outstanding Voice Performance in a Preschool Animated Program at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards.


title: Darren Waller

text: Darren Charles Waller (born September 13, 1992) is an American football tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech. He is the great-grandson of composer and jazz pianist Fats Waller.


title: Darren Waller

text: Darren Waller was born in Landover, Maryland, to Dorian and Charlena Waller. He has a sister, Deanna. He was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Marietta, Georgia, and Acworth, Georgia. Darren Waller's great-grandfather was jazz musician Fats Waller. Darren produces hip-hop music in his spare time.


title: Darren Waller

text: Waller attended and played college football at Georgia Tech as a wide receiver where he redshirted his freshman season of 2011 and decided to forgo his final year of eligibility by entering the 2015 NFL Draft.


title: Darren Waller

text: The Baltimore Ravens selected Waller in the sixth round with the 204th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The selection was acquired in a trade in exchange for Rolando McClain. Waller became the 27th wide receiver drafted in 2015. On May 7, 2015, the Baltimore Ravens signed Waller to a four-year, $2.39 million contract that included a signing bonus of $104,732.


title: Darren Waller

text: Throughout training camp, Waller competed for a roster spot as a backup wide receiver against Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro, and Kamar Aiken. Head coach John Harbaugh named Waller the sixth wide receiver on the depth chart to begin his rookie season, behind Steve Smith Sr., Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro, Marlon Brown, and Breshad Perriman.


title: Darren Waller

text: On July 1, 2016, Waller was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.


title: Darren Waller

text: On June 30, 2017, Waller was suspended for one year without pay for again violating the substance-abuse policy.


title: Darren Waller

text: On August 7, 2018, Waller was reinstated by the league after completing a rehabilitation program at Borden Cottage and serving his year-long suspension. He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.


title: Darren Waller

text: On November 26, 2018, Waller was signed by the Oakland Raiders off the Ravens' practice squad. During the 2018 season, he appeared in four games and had six receptions for 75 yards.


title: Darren Waller

text: On "Hard Knocks" with the Raiders, he was featured in an episode detailing his struggle with substance abuse and his steps taken to overcome it. In Week 1 of the 2019 season against the Denver Broncos, Waller caught seven passes for 70 yards in the 24–16 win. During Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, Waller finished with 134 receiving yards on 13 receptions, marking his first career game with over 100 yards, but the Raiders lost 34–14. On October 16, 2019, Waller signed a three-year contract extension with the Raiders through the 2023 season. In Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, Waller caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the 42–24 loss. In Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Waller caught seven passes for 100 yards in the 40–9 loss. In Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans, he caught seven passes for 63 yards in a 42–21 loss. During Week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Waller finished with eight catches for 122 receiving yards as the Raiders lost 20–16. In Week 17 against the Denver Broncos, Waller caught six passes for 107 yards, including a 75-yard catch, during the 16–15 loss. Waller was named as an alternate to the 2020 Pro Bowl, and after the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl, he was originally supposed to be named in as a replacement for Travis Kelce, but he had recently had thumb surgery and was unable to play. Jack Doyle was instead named as Kelce's alternate. Waller finished the 2019 season with 90 receptions for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns. He was ranked 99th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.


title: Darren Waller

text: In Week 2 of the 2020 season against the New Orleans Saints on "Monday Night Football", he had 12 receptions for 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 34–24 victory. He was fined $30,000 by the NFL on October 5, 2020, for hosting a maskless charity event during the COVID-19 pandemic in violation of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols for the 2020 season. In Week 13 against the New York Jets, Waller had 13 receptions for 200 receiving yards, establishing a new Raiders franchise record for a tight end, while also scoring two touchdowns in a 31–28 win. In Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers on "Thursday Night Football", Waller had nine receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown during the 30–27 overtime loss. In Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins, Waller recorded 5 catches for 112 yards during the 26–25 loss. In Week 17 against the Denver Broncos, Waller recorded nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown as well as catching the game winning two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to secure a 32–31 win for the Raiders.


title: Darren Waller

text: For the 2020 season, Waller established career highs in receptions (107), receiving yards (1,196) and touchdowns (9). His 107 receptions ranked fourth in the NFL and first among tight ends, while his yardage ranked tenth overall and second among tight ends (behind Travis Kelce's 1,416 yards). He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. He was ranked 35th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.


title: Darren Waller

text: In the 2021 regular season opener, Waller had ten receptions for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 33–27 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. In Week 11, against the Cincinnati Bengals, he had seven receptions for 116 yards. He finished the 2021 season with 55 receptions for 665 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 11 games. He was ranked 58th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.


title: Darren Waller

text: On September 10, 2022, Waller signed a three-year, $51 million contract extension with the Raiders, becoming the highest-paid tight end in the league. He was placed on injured reserve on November 10, 2022. He was activated on December 17.


title: Darren Waller

text: Waller began abusing oxycodone at 15 years old and drinking alcohol at 16 years old. His oxycodone addiction escalated to the point that he was eventually spending $100 per day on pills. Later in life, he began using "a lot of" cocaine. On August 11, 2017, in Maryland, he overdosed on pills while sitting in his parked Jeep. After spending 34 days in a substance abuse rehabilitation program in Camden, Maine, he took a job stocking shelves at a Sprouts Farmers Market.


title: Darren Waller

text: Waller founded the Darren Waller Foundation in 2020 to "equip youth to avoid and overcome addiction to drugs and alcohol and support youth and their families during their recovery and treatment journey."


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series "Mad Max". Created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy, the character was originally played by actor Mel Gibson in the first three films from 1979 to 1985, and later Tom Hardy in the in 2015.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: In "Mad Max", Max Rockatansky is a Main Force Patrol officer tasked with maintaining law and order on the roads of a dystopian Victoria, Australia. Max is quiet, rarely speaking to any great extent, and never paying much attention to his steadily increasing reputation. He and his wife, Jessie, have an infant son, referred to only as "Sprog" (slang for "child") in the film.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Though the best officer on the force, he is secretly afraid that he is becoming as cold and heartless as the criminals he pursues. He reaches a breaking point when a gang of criminally insane bikers led by the Toecutter burn Max's partner Goose alive inside a borrowed ute. The sight of Goose's charred body in a hospital bed prompts Max to tender his resignation from the MFP. However, he is convinced by his commanding officer to take a vacation before committing to his decision. Max goes on holiday with his family, but this leads to a chain of events that ultimately results in the Toecutter's gang killing Jessie and Sprog. Overwhelmed with grief and rage, he goes AWOL from the MFP, steals their Pursuit Special ("the last of the V8 Interceptors") and systematically pursues and kills each gang member responsible. Max is injured in an ambush set for him by the Toecutter, where he is shot in the left leg and has his right arm run over at the elbow. Despite his injuries, he manages to fatally shoot gang lieutenant Bubba Zanetti and pursues the Toecutter to his death. After hunting down final gang member Johnny the Boy and leaving him in a death trap, Max drives out into the wasteland, leaving the fading remnants of civilization behind him.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: In this film, set about three years after the first film, Max, while wandering the wasteland of the outback in his new home, the battle scarred Pursuit Special, discovers a besieged group of people manning a remote oil drilling station and refinery. After losing nearly all of his remaining worldly possessions, including his dog and his car, Max, with few options left, agrees to help the refinery's denizens to escape through hordes of marauding motorcycle gang members and their leader Humungus. In this film, although Max has lost everything, he is able to find, at least in part, his humanity once again. However, he still cannot form any significant bonds with others and chooses to continue wandering the wasteland alone.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: In this installment of the "Mad Max" series, it has been eighteen years since Max Rockatansky left his life behind him following his revenge killings of the Toecutter and his gang, and fifteen years after his defeat of the Humungus. Since that time he has wandered through the outback, scavenging whatever he needed for survival. His hair has grown long, and very few remnants of his old police uniform remain recognizable. After falling foul of Aunty Entity, the dictatorial leader of the settlement of Bartertown, Max is exiled into the desert. He stumbles across and is rescued by a tribe of children living in a wilderness oasis, the descendants of survivors of a crashed airliner, becoming their saviour and protector against the vicious world outside. In this movie, Max is able to come full circle, regaining his humanity and soul once again, and sacrificing his own well-being for the sake of others.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Sometime after "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", the opening to "Fury Road" finds Max haggard and alone with his car. After his Interceptor is wrecked and he is captured by a gang known as the "War Boys", he is imprisoned and used as a live blood donor for the gang. Strapped to the hood of a car in pursuit of the War Boys' renegade general, Imperator Furiosa, Max escapes and reluctantly helps Furiosa in her quest to help five women escape from the War Boys' despotic leader, Immortan Joe. After the group defeat their pursuers, Max parts ways with the survivors of the group and disappears.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: The first video game to feature the character was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game's plot is loosely based on "Mad Max 2".


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Max's journey to the Plains of Silence takes an unexpected turn when a group of War Boys run him off the road and steal his clothes, his supplies, his weapons, and his car before leaving him to rot in the desert sun. Traversing the wasteland in search of his prized Interceptor, Max meets a hunchbacked mechanic named Chumbucket, an overzealous individual that's hell-bent on crafting the perfect vehicle, the Magnum Opus. After giving Max hope of exacting vengeance on Scrotus, the two form an unlikely partnership and set out in the base of the Opus in search of food, water, allies, upgrades, and redemption in a world devoid of sanity.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: During the first two films, Max makes use of a Pursuit Special, though he drives a different vehicle (an MFP Interceptor) earlier in the first film. Between the second and third films, after the destruction of the Pursuit Special, Max acquires a roll-cage equipped vehicle based on a pick-up truck and set up to be used as a camel-drawn wagon at need. This is later stolen from him. He later steals it back after it has been modified to run on methane and uses it during the final chase sequence.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: He wears the black MFP issue uniform of heavy duty riding leathers, which become ripped and patched through the course of the series. During his time with Main Force Patrol, he is armed with a revolver which he does not use, favouring a sawn-off shotgun which he uses in the second and third films. In the third film, he uses a more traditional shotgun, and, after accumulating even more weapons, surrenders them all in Bartertown, which "The Scotsman" calls a moment of self-parody.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Max possesses considerable skill with firearms and is an excellent shot, but his most apparent skill is combative driving: he can shoot accurately with one hand while driving with the other. At the time of "Mad Max", he was considered the "top pursuit man" in the MFP. He can easily pursue or evade gangs in the wasteland, whether overrunning another vehicle at high speed or ramming vehicles off the road. This skill is apparent with trucks as well as automobiles, as he drives a semi truck after sustaining serious injuries in the second film.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Max displays fast reflexes in "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" by grabbing a snake before it can bite him and in "Mad Max: Fury Road" stomping a two-headed lizard that runs towards him from behind. This leads Aunty Entity to choose him to kill Master Blaster in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", as he was the first to survive her "audition." Max also displays a fair amount of mechanical and electronics ability, performing minor repairs on his own vehicle and rigging two to explode should someone tamper with them or his fuel tanks. He also improvised a time delay fuse with only a cigarette lighter, a lamp housing and the leaking fuel of an overturned vehicle.


title: Max Rockatansky

text: Max is primarily a survivalist in the wasteland and can tolerate discomfort and pain in achieving a goal, but unlike many movie protagonists, Max is susceptible to realistic and sometimes permanent injury: his left knee is blown out by a gunshot towards the end of the first film, he walks with a slight limp with the help of a leg brace in the second film, and the knee is still tightly bandaged in the third film. In "Fury Road", Max's left knee brace makes another appearance and still appears to affect his mobility, albeit only slightly. An injury to his left eye as a result of the crash of the Pursuit Special in "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" is evident years later in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."


title: Max Rockatansky

text: "Entertainment Weekly" ranked the character eleventh on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine also listed the characters portrayed by Kevin Costner in "Waterworld" and "The Postman" as "copycat descendants" of Max Rockatansky. "Total Film" ranked him #75 in their Top 100 Movie Characters of All Time.


title: Fairuz

text: Nouhad Wadie' Haddad (, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz (, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists and most famous singers in the history of the Arab world. Fairuz is considered the musical icon of Lebanon and is popularly known as "the soul of Lebanon".


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz began her musical career as a teenager at the national radio station in Lebanon in the late 1940s as a chorus member. Her first major hit, "Itab", was released in 1952 and made her an instant star in the Arab world. In the summer of 1957, Fairuz held her first live performance at the Baalbeck International Festival where she was awarded with the honor of "Cavalier", the highest medal for artistic achievement by Lebanese president Camille Chamoun. Fairuz's fame spread throughout the Arab world in the 1950s and 1960s, leading her to perform outside of Lebanon in various Arab capitals, including Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Rabat, Algiers, and Tunis.


title: Fairuz

text: She has received multiple tokens of recognition and awards throughout her career including the Key to the Holy City awarded by the Jerusalem Cultural Committee, the Jordanian Medal of Honor presented by King Hussein of Jordan, the French Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, the Highest Artistic Distinction, awarded by Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Throughout the years, she headlined at the most important venues in the world such as Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and United Nations General Assembly Lobby in New York, the Olympia and Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens.


title: Fairuz

text: In a career spanning over six decades, Fairuz has recorded nearly 1500 songs, released more than 80 albums, performed in 20 musicals and sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the highest selling Middle-Eastern artists of all time, and one of the best-selling music artists in the world.


title: Fairuz

text: Nouhad Haddad was born on November 20, 1934, in Lebanon into a Syriac and Maronite Christian family. Her father was born in Mardin, Turkey. The family later moved into a home in a cobblestone alley called Zuqaq el Blatt in Beirut. Living in a single room of a typical Lebanese stone house facing Beirut's Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate school, they shared a kitchen with the neighbors. Her father, "Wadīʿ" was a Lebanese of the Syriac Orthodox faith, and worked as a typesetter in a print shop.


title: Fairuz

text: By the age of ten, Nouhad had become well-known at school for her unusual singing voice. She would sing regularly during school shows and on holidays. This brought her to the attention of Mohammed Flayfel, a well-known musician and a teacher at the Lebanese Conservatory, who happened to attend one of the school's shows in February 1950. Impressed by her voice and performance, he advised her to enrol in the conservatory, which she did. At first, Nouhad's conservative father was reluctant to send her to the conservatory. At the persuasion of his brother Nouhad's uncle, he eventually agreed to let her go on the condition that her brother accompany her.


title: Fairuz

text: Mohammed Flayfel took a close interest in Nouhad's talent. He started training her through the chanting of Quranic verses (in the recitative style known as Tajweed), which is the way preceding artists sang, a tactic to help with her control of classic Arabic intonation and poetic form. In an audition, Nouhad was heard singing by Halim el Roumi, head of the Lebanese radio station established in 1938, making it one of the oldest stations in the Arab world. Roumi was impressed by her voice and noticed that it was flexible, allowing her to sing in both Arabic and Western modes. At Nouhad's request, El Roumi appointed her as a chorus singer at the radio station in Beirut, where she was paid twenty-one U.S dollars every month, which, adjusted for inflation, in 2020 would amount to one hundred ninety-five dollars. He also went on to compose several songs for her and chose for her the stage name Fairuz, which is the Arabic word for turquoise.


title: Fairuz

text: A short while later, Fairuz was introduced to the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Mansour, who also worked at the radio station as musicians. Their chemistry was instant, and soon after, Assi started to compose songs for Fairouz. One of these songs was "Itab" (the third song he composed for her), which was an immediate success in the Arab world. It established Fairuz as one of the most prominent Arab singers at that time.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz rose to fame during the golden era of Arabic music and is one of the last figures and contributors of that time alive today. Her voice represented the 20th century's Lebanese pop culture..Throughout her career, she has established a style of universality and relatability as she made music that tackled issues ranging from adolescence and love to political plight and patriotism, even "snappy Christmas carols", which made her work accessible to all. Fairuz is known for her particularly forlorn style of music, which is a fusion of western and Arab sounds. Her music is set apart by its melancholic and nostalgic humor, along with Fairuz's stoic image as well as yearning voice, that is almost prayer-like, often described by experts as airy, clear, and flexible, different from the common ornamentation style commonly found in Arab music.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz's first large-scale concert was in 1957, as part of the Baalbeck International Festival which took place under the patronage of Lebanese President Camille Chamoun. She performed in the Folkloric section of the festival representing "The Lebanese Nights". Fairuz was paid one Lebanese pound for that show, but she and the Rahbani brothers would become staples of the festival and featured most years until the civil war in Lebanon. The trio's performances at first were just small skits, but eventually they became full-blown musical operettas, and concerts followed for many years. Fairuz amassed more fame when she aligned herself with the Palestinian cause in their conflict with Israel and produced a number of militaristic and patriotically somber songs for them.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers started to garner more attention with their innovative ventures and went on to revolutionize the blueprint for Lebanese music. It started with incorporating western sounds into their music and eventually shaping the Lebanese style of music, since before the music had to fit into a certain mold. This mold was the dominant Egyptian style of music, in the Egyptian dialect that would typically have a duration of thirty minutes. The trio started working with their own prototype, which was shorter three-minute songs in the Lebanese dialect that would tell a story. This change was received as well as it was due to growing discontent for traditional and indigenous music. Beirut at this time was undergoing rapid modernization and cultural expansion. Some of those who lived in the city were not of Arab background, making it harder to relate to the musical forms of the time. So when Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers introduced a more modern yet still traditional form of music, they drew in mass appeal. This helped reshape the modern Lebanese identity especially in music and would go on to make significant contributions to the history of oriental music. These songs would also customarily included commentary and themes of local and regional socio-political and historical issues. As the 1960s wore on, Fairuz became known as the "First Lady of Lebanese singing", as Halim Roumi dubbed her. During this period, the Rahbani brothers wrote and composed for her hundreds of famous songs, most of their operettas, and three motion pictures. In those productions, they also chose to abandon the popular improvisatory nature of Arab performances for more well-rehearsed and produced ones.


title: Fairuz

text: In 1971, Fairuz's fame became international after her major North American tour, which was received with much excitement by the Arab-American and American community and yielded positive reviews of the concerts. To date Fairuz has performed in many countries around the globe including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, Greece, Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Italy, and her home country Lebanon.<ref name="Fairuz / فيروز"></ref>


title: Fairuz

text: On September 22, 1972, Assi suffered a brain hemorrhage and was rushed to the hospital. Fans crowded outside the hospital praying for him and lighting candles. After three surgeries, Assi's brain hemorrhage was halted. Ziad Rahbani, the eldest son of Fairuz and Assi, at age 17 gave his mother the music of one of his unreleased songs "Akhadou el Helween" (that he had composed to be sung by Marwan Mahfouz in "Sahriyyi" Ziad's first play). His uncle Mansour Rahbani re-wrote new lyrics for it to be called "Saalouni n'Nass" ("The People Asked Me") which talked about Fayrouz being on stage for the first time without Assi. Three months after suffering the hemorrhage, Assi attended the premiere performance of that musical "Al Mahatta" in Piccadilly Theatre on Hamra Street. Elias Rahbani, Assi's younger brother, took over the orchestration and musical arrangement for the performance.


title: Fairuz

text: In 1978, the trio toured Europe and the Persian Gulf nations, including a concert at the Paris Olympia. As a result of this busy schedule, Assi's medical and mental health began to deteriorate. Assi Rahbani eventually died in 1986, no longer married to Fairuz but due to the influence, his family and Fairuz had in Lebanon the factions in Beirut had a cease-fire allowing the funeral procession to travel from the Muslim side of the city to where Assi would be buried on the Christian side. Fairuz then began to work almost exclusively with Ziad Rahbani, her son on producing her music.


title: Fairuz

text: Amid the Lebanese Civil War, Fairuz's fame catapulted. Unlike many of her famous peers, she never left Lebanon to live abroad. She did not hold any concerts there with the exception of the stage performance of the operetta "Petra", which was performed in both the western and eastern parts of the then-divided Beirut in 1978. The war lasted fifteen years (1975–1990), took 150,000 lives, and fostered a divided nation. This was the period where her role as a prominent Lebanese figure would be cemented. She and the Rahbani brothers would frequently express their dissent for the war in their music, and their refusal to take sides and non-partisan stances helped them appeal to all of Lebanon, which then allowed Fairuz to become a voice of reason and unification for the Lebanese people. This was especially important because the war itself was so multifaceted and involved many conflicting opinions between the state and different militias. To the Lebanese, she became a lot more than just an entertainer. She became a representation of Lebanon, as well as stability in a time of insecurity and uncertainty.


title: Fairuz

text: After the artistic divorce between Fairouz and the Rahbani brothers in 1979, Fairuz carried on with her son, composer Ziad Rahbani, his friend the lyricist Joseph Harb, and composer Philemon Wahbi. Ziad Rahbani was a constant driving force in the evolution of Fairuz's music style, as he worked to break away from what his parents had previously established. The songs he went on to compose for Fairuz would stray from the nostalgic nationalism that showcased the folkloric style Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers were known for; instead, he and Fairuz would go on to delve into a more modern sound in the form of jazz and funk.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz made a second and final European Television appearance on French TV on October 13, 1988, in a show called "Du côté de chez Fred". Fairuz, who had scheduled a concert at the POPB of Paris Bercy concert hall three days later on October 16, was the main guest of French TV presenter Frédéric Mitterrand. The program features footage of her rehearsals for her concert at Bercy in addition to the ceremony featuring then French Minister of Culture Jack Lang awarding Fairuz the medal of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. It also includes a video montage of her previous movies and concerts. In that show, Fairuz also sang the three songs "Ya hourrié", "Yara" and "Zaali tawwal".


title: Fairuz

text: Her first CD, "The Very Best of Fairuz," was published in 1987 and contained the emblematic song "Aatini al Nay wa ghanni" (Give me the flute and sing), based on a poem in "The Procession" by Khalil Gibran. It was first sung at the end of the sixties.


title: Fairuz

text: In the 1990s, Fairuz produced six albums (two Philemon Wahbi tributes with unreleased tracks included, a Zaki Nassif album, three Ziad Rahbani albums, and a tribute album to Assi Rahbani orchestrated by Ziad) and held a number of large-scale concerts, most notably the historic concert held at Beirut's Martyr's Square in September 1994 to launch the rebirth of the downtown district that was ravaged by the civil war. She appeared at the Baalbeck International Festival in 1998 after 25 years of self-imposed absence where she performed the highlights of three very successful plays that were presented in the 1960s and 1970s.


title: Fairuz

text: In 1992, Madonna used some parts of Fairuz's songs in her album without permission; the singers settled the matter outside of court, but Madonna's album and single were prohibited in Lebanon.


title: Fairuz

text: She also performed a concert in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena in 1999 which was attended by over 16,000 spectators, mostly Arabs. Ever since, Fairuz has held sold-out concerts at the Beiteddine International Festival (Lebanon) from 2000 to 2003, Kuwait (2001), Paris (2002), the United States (2003), Amman (2004), Montreal (2005), Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Baalbeck, BIEL (2006), Athens, Amman (2007) Damascus, and Bahrain (2008).


title: Fairuz

text: On January 28, 2008, Fairuz performed at the Damascus Opera House in an emotional return to the Syrian capital, where she played the lead role in the musical "Sah el-Nom" ("Good Morning"), after more than two decades of absence from the country, in one of a series of events highlighting UNESCO's designation of Damascus as the Capital of Arab Culture that year. Commenting on the event, the BBC wrote: "Every day the sun rises over Syria you hear one voice across the country – Fairuz, the legendary Lebanese singer and greatest living Arab diva". Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, said that the Syrians were thrilled about the performance and that Fairuz reminded them of the "good old days". People from all ages attended the concert and the auditorium was packed with listeners. Fairuz said that she had never seen such an audience in her life. However, her decision to perform there drew criticism from Lebanese politicians who considered Syria to be a hostile nation.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz's new album entitled "Eh... Fi Amal" was released on October 7, 2010, produced by Fairuz productions and written entirely by her son Ziad Rahbani. Two concerts took place at BIEL Center in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 7 and 8.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz released her first album in seven years titled "Bebalee" on September 22, 2017. On June 21, 2017, her daughter Reema Rahbany released the first single from the album "Lameen". The song is a tribute for Fairouz's late husband Assi Rahbany and was released in commemoration of his anniversary. Lameen is inspired by the French song "Pour qui veille l'étoile" and was adapted into Arabic by Reema Rahbany.


title: Fairuz

text: On 1 September 2020, French president Emmanuel Macron visited Fairuz in her house during trip to Lebanon after the Beirut explosion.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz married Assi Rahbani, one of the Rahbani brothers who helped shape her singing career, on January 23, 1955. Fairuz and Assi Rahbani had four children: Ziad (born 1956), a composer, playwright and pianist; Hali (born 1958, paralyzed since early childhood after meningitis); Layal (born 1960, died in 1988 of a stroke), also a composer; and Rima (born 1965), a photographer and film director. Fairouz was born to a Syriac Orthodox family. She is of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, having converted when she married Assi Rahbani. Very little is known about Fairuz's personal life and affairs, as she is described as having a hermetic nature and separates Nouhad from Fairuz.


title: Fairuz

text: The 2008 concert in Damascus angered some of her fans and several Lebanese politicians who described Syria as "enemy territory in the grip of a brutal secret police force". Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party, accused Fairuz of "playing into the hands of Syrian intelligence services", while fellow party member Akram Chehayeb said that "those who love Lebanon do not sing for its jailers", in reference to the three-decades-long Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Even some Syrian opposition activists called on her to boycott the event as just three years prior Syria had been accused of carrying out a series of assassinations on the Lebanese. This came amid a political crisis in Lebanon between pro-and anti-Syria factions. As well as a renewed Syrian government crackdown on dissent that same day during which several people were arrested, including opposition figure Riad Seif and twelve other activists of the anti-government Damascus Declaration.


title: Fairuz

text: A poll conducted a week before the concert by "NOW Lebanon", a Lebanese web portal sympathetic to the anti-Syria March 14 Alliance, showed that 67% of the respondents were opposed to Fairuz's appearance in Damascus, with one of the website's editorials saying that "this was not the moment for a musical love-in". Supporters of Fairuz counterclaimed that she has always been above politics. Fairuz refrained from commenting on the controversy. However, in a letter to the event's organizers, she said that the concert should be viewed from a cultural perspective, and wrote: "Damascus is not a cultural capital for this year only, but will remain a role model of art, culture and authenticity for the coming generations." She also told the head of the organizers that she felt it was a return to her second home. Syrian commentator Ayman Abdelnour said that Fairuz was performing to the Syrian people, not their rulers. Her brother-in-law and her former partner Mansour Rahbani also defended her decision to perform there, saying it was "a message of love and peace from Lebanon to Syria".


title: Fairuz

text: In 1969, Fairuz's songs were banned from radio stations in Lebanon for six months because she refused to sing at a private concert in honour of Algerian president Houari Boumedienne. The incident only served to increase her popularity. Fairuz said that while always willing to sing to the public and to various countries and regions, she would never sing to any individual.


title: Fairuz

text: Since many of the Rahbanis' works were co-written by Assi's brother Mansour, in June 2010, a year after Mansour's death in January 2009, a Lebanese court banned Fairuz from singing material that involved his contributions. The issue began when Mansour's children filed a lawsuit against Fairuz when she was set to perform the song "Ya'ish Ya'ish" at the Casino du Liban. As a result, Fairuz could not perform such works without Mansour's children's permission. The court's decision led to protests around the world in response to what her fans perceived as an act of "silencing". Hundreds gathered in front of the National Museum of Beirut, led by a number of Arab artists, including Egyptian actress Ilham Chahine who flew to Lebanon in order to join the sit-in. "She is a great artistic personality who has entertained millions for decades. We cannot keep silent over this humiliating attitude to her and to art and artists in general. Fairouz to me is above all laws. She is like the mother whom, even when she errs, we are eager to forgive," Chahine added. Ian Black wrote on "The Guardian": "Outrage over her silencing has been a reminder of the extraordinary loyalty she still inspires across the region". Other reactions included a protest concert in Egypt, and a "Shame!" headline displayed by Emirati newspaper "Al-Ittihad".


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz's son, Ziad Rahbani, sparked controversy in December 2013 during an interview with the "Al-Ahed" website when asked whether his mother shared his supportive stance on the political vision of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, a dominant but highly controversial political and military force in Lebanon. Ziad replied: "Fairuz is very fond of Sayyed Hassan [Nasrallah], although she will be displeased with me, as she was after my last television interview when I revealed some personal information and she quickly interrupted me". There were strong reactions to this statement, which went viral on social media, and the country's different media outlets did not deviate from their political stances when reacting to Ziad's words. Politicians and celebrities stepped in as well, some of whom objected to affiliating Fairuz to one side of Lebanon's political divide over another, including Druze leader Walid Jumblatt who said: "Fairuz is too great to be criticized, and at the same time too great to be classified as belonging to this or that political camp". "Let us keep her in her supreme position, and not push her to something she has nothing to do with," Jumblatt added. Ziad, who claims to speak on his mother's behalf "because she prefers to remain silent", responded to his critics by saying: "Apparently it isn’t allowed in the age of strife for the princess of classy Arab art to voice love for the master of resistance". Nasrallah, commenting on the issue during a speech, stated: "An educated highly respected thinker and artist, who may be espoused different ideologies, might disagree with you on political matters, but personally have [a] fondness for you, because of your character, conduct, sacrifices and so on. If such a person were to say that he or she liked someone, then all hell would break loose".


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz is the Arab world's most famous and most listened-to singer. For decades, almost all radio stations in the Arab world have been starting their morning broadcast with a Fairuz song, and her songs were continuously listened to during the war, as the people could expect to hear a patriotic melody of peace and love. "The Guardian" stated that "she sang the story of a Lebanon that never really existed" and "essentially helped build the identity of Lebanon, just 14 years after it became an independent country". Fairuz is held in high regard in Lebanese culture because, in a region divided by many conflicts and opinions, she acts as a symbol of unity.


title: Fairuz

text: In 1997, Billboard stated "even after five decades at the top, [Fairuz] remains the supreme Diva of Lebanon". In 1999, "The New York Times" described her as "a living icon without equal" and stated that her emergence as a singer paralleled Lebanon's transformation from a backwater to the vibrant financial and cultural heart of the Arab world.


title: Fairuz

text: In a 2008 article, BBC described her as "the legendary Lebanese singer and greatest living Arab diva". In an article about world music, "The Independent" stated, "All young female singers in this region seem to be clones of her" and that "she's such an important artist that you have to get to grips with her".


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz was honored in many countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, the United States, Egypt, and France, in which François Mitterrand awarded her the Order of Arts and Letters in 1988 and Jacques Chirac first awarded her the Legion of Honour in 1998 ("Chevalier").


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz has performed in many countries around the globe including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, Greece, Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Italy, and her home country Lebanon.


title: Fairuz

text: During her performances, Fairuz is known to take on a very rigid and cold stance, due to her stage fright. She claims that the hierarchic nature of her performances is because she is singing as if she were praying. She is also described as being incredibly reserved and modest in the way a mother would be, and embodies the Lebanese woman at home.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz possesses a large repertoire of songs, sources disagree on the exact number, but it is between fifteen hundred and three thousand.


title: Fairuz

text: Around 85 Fairuz CDs, types of vinyl and cassettes have been officially released so far. Most of the songs that are featured on these albums were composed by the Rahbani brothers. Also featured are songs by Philemon Wehbe, Ziad Rahbani, Zaki Nassif, Mohamed Abd El Wahab, Najib Hankash and Mohamed Mohsen.


title: Fairuz

text: Many of Fairuz's numerous unreleased works date back to the 1950s and 1960s and were composed by the Rahbani Brothers (certain unreleased songs, the oldest of all, are by Halim el Roumi). A Fairuz album composed by Egyptian musician Riad Al Sunbati (who has worked with Umm Kulthum) was produced in 1980 but is unlikely to be released. There are also fifteen unreleased songs composed by Philemon Wehbe and 24 unreleased songs composed by Ziad Rahbani in the 1980s.


title: Fairuz

text: Fairuz has also released a live album on Folkways Records in 1994, entitled "Lebanon: The Baalbek Folk Festival".


title: Fairuz

text: Musical plays or operettas were the cornerstone works of the Rahbani Trio, Fairuz, Assi and Mansour. The Rahbani Brothers produced 25 popular musical plays (20 with Fairuz) over more than 30 years. They were possibly the first to produce world-class Arabic musical theatre.


title: Fairuz

text: The musicals combined storyline, lyrics and dialogue, musical composition varying widely from Lebanese folkloric and rhythmic modes to classical, westernized, and oriental songs, orchestration, and the voice and acting of Fairuz. She played the lead roles alongside singers/actors Nasri Shamseddine, Wadih El Safi, Antoine Kerbaje, Elie Shouayri (Chouayri), Hoda (Fairuz's younger sister), William Haswani, Raja Badr, Siham Chammas (Shammas), Georgette Sayegh and many others.


title: Fairuz

text: The Rahbani plays expressed patriotism, unrequited love and nostalgia for village life, comedy, drama, philosophy, and contemporary politics. The songs performed by Fairuz as part of the plays have become immensely popular among the Lebanese and Arabs around the world.


title: Fairuz

text: Most of the musical plays were recorded and video-taped. Eighteen of them have been officially released on audio CD, two on DVD ("Mais el Reem" and "Loulou"). An unauthorized version of "Petra" and one such live version of "Mais el Reem" in black and white exist. "Ayyam al Hassad" ("Days of Harvest") was never recorded and "Al 'Urs fi l’Qarya" ("The Marriage in the Village") has not yet been released (yet an unofficial audio record is available).


title: Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2005

text: The "Billboard" Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Its data, published by "Billboard" magazine and compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as airplay and streaming. At the end of a year, "Billboard" will publish an annual list of the 100 most successful songs throughout that year on the Hot 100 chart based on the information. For 2005, the list was published on December 20, calculated with data from December 4, 2004, to November 26, 2005. The R&B track "We Belong Together" by American singer Mariah Carey was named the number 1 song of 2005 and it spent the longest time at number 1 for the year, 14 weeks. This is also the third-longest time at number 1 for a single in the 57-year history of the Hot 100 post-1958 inception, after Mariah Carey's own collaboration with Boyz II Men, "One Sweet Day", which spent 16 weeks atop the Hot 100 from 1995 to 1996, and "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, featuring Justin Bieber, which equaled that mark in 2017, both being beaten in 2019 by "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, which had 19 weeks at #1.


title: Hung Up

text: "Hung Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album "Confessions on a Dance Floor" (2005). Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2005. Written and produced by Madonna in collaboration with Stuart Price, "Hung Up" prominently features a sample from the instrumental introduction to ABBA's single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", for which Madonna personally sought permission from its songwriters, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. This is thought to be only the second time Andersson and Ulvaeus have given permission to sample one of their songs, following Fugees song "Rumble in the Jungle" for the soundtrack of the film "When We Were Kings".


title: Hung Up

text: Musically, the song is influenced by pop music from the 1980s, with a chugging groove and chorus and a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of wasting time. Lyrically the song is written as a traditional dance number about a strong, independent woman who has relationship troubles. "Hung Up" received critical praise from reviewers, who considered it among Madonna's best dance tracks and believed that the track would restore her popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 album "American Life". "Hung Up" became a global commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the "Guinness Book of World Records". It was Madonna's 36th top 10 single on the "Billboard Hot" 100, tying her with Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten entries. It also became the most successful dance song of the decade in the United States. "Hung Up" has sold over five million copies worldwide.


title: Hung Up

text: The music video is a tribute to John Travolta and his movies, and to dancing in general. Directed by Johan Renck, the clip starts with Madonna clad in a pink leotard dancing alone in a ballet studio and concludes at a gaming parlor where she dances with her backup troupe. Interspersed are scenes of people displaying their dancing skills in a variety of settings, including a Los Angeles residential neighborhood, a small restaurant and the London Underground. Madonna has performed the song in a number of live appearances, including as the final number of 2006's Confessions Tour, a heavy metal-inspired arrangement in the 2008 leg of the Sticky & Sweet Tour, and 2012's The MDNA Tour, where the singer performed the song while slacklining.


title: Hung Up

text: In 2004, after the release of her ninth studio album "American Life", Madonna began working on two different musicals: one tentatively called "Hello Suckers" and another one with Luc Besson, who previously directed the music video for her single "Love Profusion", which would portray her as a woman on her deathbed looking back on her life. Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard, Mirwais Ahmadzaï and Stuart Price to write new songs, and told Price to pen disco songs that sound like "ABBA on drugs". However, Madonna found herself dissatisfied with the script written by Besson and scrapped it. When she began composing "Confessions on a Dance Floor", she decided to rework "Hung Up" and include it in her record.


title: Hung Up

text: "Hung Up" was one of the first songs written for the album, along with "Sorry" and "Future Lovers". It was inspired by aspects of the 1970s disco era, including the music of ABBA and Giorgio Moroder and the film "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). Madonna imagined it to be a cross between the music played at Danceteria, the New York City night club she frequented in her early days, and the music of ABBA. Their 1979 song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" formed the basis of the song. Songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus generally do not allow anyone to sample any of their tracks, an exception being Fugees, who sampled their song "The Name of the Game" for their single "Rumble in the Jungle". In order to gain the rights to sample "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", Madonna had to send her emissary to Stockholm with a letter which begged them to allow her to sample the song and also telling how much she loved their music. To the BBC she explained: "[T]hey never let anyone sample their music. Thank God they didn't say no. [...] They had to think about it, Benny and Björn. They didn't say yes straight away." The pair agreed to let Madonna use the sample only after making a copyright agreement that entitled them to a significant share of the royalties from subsequent sales and airplay. Andersson, in an interview with "The Daily Telegraph" in October 2005, declared "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" to be the essence of "Hung Up" while joking that it was his favorite Madonna song thus far. He further said:


title: Hung Up

text: "We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say 'no'. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said 'yes' this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going."


title: Hung Up

text: The song premiered in September 2005, during a television advertisement for Motorola's ROKR mobile phone. The advertisement featured Madonna and other artists jammed in a phone booth. On October 17, 2005, the song made its premiere during a live ten-minute radio interview between Ryan Seacrest and Madonna. It was also made available as a master ringtone with various mobile service providers. "Hung Up" was sent to mainstream radio in the United States on October 18. The song was added to episodes of "" and "" on November 7 and 9, 2005, respectively. While promoting "Confessions on a Dance Floor", Madonna played both "Hung Up" and the next single "Sorry" at Luke & Leroy's nightclub in Greenwich Village, where she was invited by Junior Sanchez to perform briefly as the DJ, mixing the two songs. Regarding her decision to release the song for digital download, Madonna said: "I'm a businesswoman. The music industry has changed. There's a lot of competition, and the market is glutted with new releases – and new 'thises and thats'. You must join forces with other brands and corporations. You're an idiot if you don't."


title: Hung Up

text: Musically, "Hung Up" is a dance-pop, disco and nu-disco song. According to "The New York Times", the song has vaguely familiar hooks, sustained overlays of the string arrangement and acoustic guitar enfolding the music to create a haze like sound. "Billboard" described the music as frothy, nonsensical and joyous. The instant familiarity of the sampled music is changed by Stuart Price and Madonna by adding a chugging groove and a chorus which singles it out as an independent song. Alongside the ABBA sample, "Rolling Stone" said that the song also incorporates elements of Madonna's older songs like "Like a Prayer" and "Holiday" and features fleeting quotes from bands like S.O.S. and the Tom Tom Club.


title: Hung Up

text: According to Musicnotes.com, "Hung Up" is set in common time, and has a moderate dance-beat tempo of 120 beats per minute. The key of the song is in D minor with Madonna's vocal range spanning from the low note of G to the high note of B. The song progresses in the following chord progressions of Dm–F–C–Dm in the verses and Dm–F–Am–Dm in the chorus, and changes to B–F–A–Dm for the bridge. "Hung Up" uses the sound of a ticking clock to symbolize fear of wasted time, which was incorporated by composer Stuart Price, from his remix of Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "What You Waiting For?". According to "Slant Magazine", the song embodies some of Madonna's old singles, incorporating them into the song's pitched-upward vocals while presenting an archetypical key change/tonicization during the bridge.


title: Hung Up

text: Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of a girl who once had nothing and the theme centers around love. About.com compared the lyrics of "Hung Up" and another song "I Love New York" from the "Confessions on a Dance Floor" album, to the style of the songs in Madonna's "American Life" album. According to About.com, the song is written as a very traditional dance number which is rooted in relationship issues. Also present in the lyrics is Madonna's enduring embrace of strong, independent women. The song's hook, "Time goes by so slowly for those who wait," is taken from Madonna's 1989 collaboration with Prince, "Love Song," as is the line, "Those who run seem to have all the fun."


title: Hung Up

text: "Hung Up" received critical acclaim. Keith Caulfield from "Billboard", while reviewing "Confessions on a Dance Floor", called the song "a fluffier cut". Chris Tucker from "Billboard" explained that "Madonna returns with a song that will restore faith among her minions, fans of pop music and radio programmers". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" said that Madonna kept her pop touch in "Hung Up" and called it a love song which is both happy as well as sad. Alan Light from "Rolling Stone" called the song candy coated. David Browne from "Entertainment Weekly" was impressed by the song and said "'Hung Up' shows how effortlessly she [Madonna] can tap into her petulant inner teen". Sal Cinquemani of "Slant Magazine" compared the song to the remix of Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "What You Waiting For?". Ed Gonzalez from the same magazine called the song the "biggest hit" of her career. Margaret Moser from "The Austin Chronicle" said that the song strobes and pulses along with another album track "Forbidden Love". Peter Robinson from "The Observer" commented that "Hung Up" is Madonna's "most wonderfully commercial single since the mid Eighties". Alexis Petridis from "The Guardian" called the track a "joyous...single that could theoretically have been more camp, but only with the addition of Liza Minnelli on backing vocals and lyrics about Larry Grayson's friend Everard."


title: Hung Up

text: Ben Williams from "New York" magazine described the song as sounding both throbbing as well as wistful. Christian John Wikane from "PopMatters" called the song a propulsive track. Alan Braidwood of BBC Music noted of the track: "full-on dance, dark, disco, fun, big" and compared it to other Madonna songs like "Vogue", "Deeper and Deeper" and "Ray of Light". Tom Bishop from BBC Music commented that Madonna has either reinvigorated her career or she is "merely throwing one final dance party for her long-term fans before settling down to record more sedate material". Jason Shawhan from About.com commented that the song has "way too much Abba in it for its own good." He went on to elaborate that "[t]he only reason I can think of for this to be chosen as the first single was the Motorola ad campaign. It's not a bad song by far, it has pep and a sense of fun, but it's not even close to being one of the best songs on the record". Bill Lamb of About.com said that the ABBA sample sounded completely effortless like much of Madonna's best dance music. He further elaborated that what "'Hung Up' amounts to is a big gushy love note to Madonna's core fans, those club kids who pack the floor every time they hear the pounding beats of a Madonna classic and the dj's who can't get enough of spinning her records. 'Hung Up' will send those fans into ecstasy, and it sounds good on the radio, too". Thomas Inskeep of "Stylus Magazine" declared that "Hung Up" and the next single "Sorry" might not have the same sleaze as Madonna's older songs like "Physical Attraction" or "Burning Up", but have the same "modus operandi" of being designed for "sweaty up-all-night dancing". Rob Harvilla from "The Village Voice" called the song a triumphant jazz exercise.


title: Hung Up

text: "Hung Up" was ranked at number 76 on "Rolling Stone"s 100 Best Songs of the 2000s list, calling it "One of her [Madonna's] most captivating hits ever — and thanks to those deceptively hard-hitting lyrics, one of her most personal." "NME" placed it at number 39 on their list of the best tracks of 2005. "Slant Magazine" listed the song at number 36 on their list of Best of the Aughts: Singles, saying: "'Hung Up' employs a ticking clock to represent fear of wasted time, but Madonna isn't singing about aging or saving the world—she's talking about love. It had been years since Madge sounded this vapid. With its pitched-upward vocals, infectious arpeggio sample from ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight),' and the bridge's unironic, archetypical key change, the track decidedly points to the past, and it proved that, 20 years into her career, Madonna was still the one and only Dancing Queen". The song was also named the 26th best single of 2005 by "Pitchfork". "Stylus Magazine" included "Hung Up" on their ranking of the best singles from 2005 at number 11. In 2016, "Hung Up" was named in the online poll by "Digital Spy", as "The Biggest Pop Song of the 21st Century".