Bad Blood (Taylor Swift song)
"Bad Blood" | ||||||||||||||||
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Single by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar | ||||||||||||||||
from the album 1989 | ||||||||||||||||
Released | May 17, 2015 | |||||||||||||||
Format | Digital download | |||||||||||||||
Recorded | 2012-2014 | |||||||||||||||
Genre | Pop[1] | |||||||||||||||
Length | 3:19 | |||||||||||||||
Label | ||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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"Bad Blood" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, from her fifth studio album 1989 (2014). The album and remixed version of the song, with the latter featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar, was released on May 17, 2015, by Republic Records as 1989's fourth single. The album version was written by Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback, with Lamar writing his verses on the remixed version. The lyrics of "Bad Blood" describe the betrayal of a close friend. The album version is the eighth track of 1989.
The remixed version received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production and Lamar's guest verses. The song reached number-one in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States, becoming the third song from 1989 to do so. The accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and features an ensemble cast. The video previously held the 24-Hour Vevo Record with 20.1 million views, before being surpassed by Adele's "Hello". It won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The song and its music video were nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video at the 58th Grammy Awards.
A cover version of "Bad Blood" was released as the first promotional single from singer-songwriter Ryan Adams' interpretation of Swift's 1989 album, released in September 2015.
Writing and composition
"That was about losing a friend… But then people cryptically tweet about what you meant. I never said anything that would point a finger in the specific direction of one specific person, and I can sleep at night knowing that. I knew the song would be assigned to a person, and the easiest mark was someone who I didn't want to be labeled with this song. It was not a song about heartbreak. It was about the loss of friendship."
—Swift, behind the meaning of the song and the media's varying perception of the undisclosed person in the song.[2]
Swift co-wrote "Bad Blood" about an undisclosed female musical artist. Swift says the artist attempted to sabotage one of her concert tours by hiring people who worked for her.[3] Publications such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, and The Washington Post have speculated that Katy Perry is the subject of the song.[4][5][6][7] Daniel D'Addario for Time and Emily Yahr for The Washington Post noted parallels between "Bad Blood"'s lyric "If you live like that, you live with ghosts" and "Ghost", a song from Perry's 2013 album Prism.[6][7] The album version of the song only contains Swift as the vocalist on verses, while the single version features a re-worked instrumental and guest vocals from rapper Kendrick Lamar on verses.
Jem Aswad of Billboard felt the song is "reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl".[8] The Guardian's Kitty Empire wrote that the song "faintly recalls Charli XCX with its stark beats."[9]
Critical reception
The original version of "Bad Blood" received generally unfavorable reviews from music critics, who described the song as "clichéd" while also criticizing its writing, chorus, and production.[10][11][10][10][12][12][13] However, Entertainment Weekly listed it as one of the best songs on the album.[14]
In contrast, the remixed version of the song featuring guest vocals from Kendrick Lamar received generally positive reviews, with praise from music critics directed at Lamar's guest verses and the reworked instrumental.[15][16] George Seabrook of The Edge awarded the song four and half stars out of five, and called it "glorious" and "intoxicating". He praised the song for "Lamar’s simple, brutally effective verses" and acknowledged the collaboration as "not just one more meaningless stunt collaboration, but a powerful new duo".[17]
Commercial performance
"Bad Blood" first charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in November 2014 and January 2015 as an album cut from 1989, peaking at number 78.[18]
Following the music video premiere at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, the remixed version of the song featuring Kendrick Lamar re-entered the chart at number 53 and number 26 on the Digital Songs Chart, selling 47,000 digital copies.[18] The following week, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending May 24, 2015, selling 385,000 copies and jumping 52 positions, one of the largest jumps to the top spot in Billboard history. It became her fourth number one single and the third number one from 1989 (following "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space"), making Swift the first artist since Adele to yield three Hot 100 chart toppers from the same album; it is also her fourth consecutive top-10 single from 1989.[19] It also became her 18th top 10 single and Lamar's second (also his first number-one single in the United States).[19] It held the top spot for one week, before being replaced by Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again". The song remained in the top 10 for thirteen consecutive weeks before dropping 9-12 on September 5, 2015.[20] By the end of 2015, the song had sold 2,580,000 digital copies in the US.[21]
Music video
Background
The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who previously directed the music video for the second single from 1989, "Blank Space". The video was filmed in Los Angeles on April 12, 2015, but the setting for the video is London. The music video premiered on May 17, 2015, at the start of the Billboard Music Awards.[22] Each actor chose their character's name.[23] Swift began teasing the video in May on Instagram by posting photos of each character.
Synopsis
The music video starts with Catastrophe (Taylor Swift) fighting off a group of men wearing suits in an office in London, for a mysterious briefcase, while Arsyn (Selena Gomez) is seen wearing black tights and high heels and beating men by arm bending and hitting them with her black heels. When all of the men are defeated, Arsyn double crosses Catastrophe by stealing the briefcase in Catastrophe's hand and kicking her out of a window. The song begins with Catastrophe lying on a broken car, as Welvin da Great (Kendrick Lamar) begins to rap his verse and Lucky Fiori (Lena Dunham) smokes a cigar. Catastrophe is shown being nursed back to health by a trio of girls called The Trinity (all played by Hailee Steinfeld), and after some time, she is ready to start training for her revenge. The other characters in the video are shown in succession, some in training with Catastrophe. They are (in order of appearance):
- Dilemma (Serayah)
- Slay-Z (Gigi Hadid)
- Destructa X (Ellie Goulding)
- Homeslice (Martha Hunt)
- The Trinity (Hailee Steinfeld)
- Mother Chucker (Cara Delevingne)
- Cut-Throat (Zendaya)
- The Crimson Curse (Hayley Williams)
- Frostbyte (Lily Aldridge)
- Knockout (Karlie Kloss)
- Domino (Jessica Alba)
- Justice (Mariska Hargitay)
- Luna (Ellen Pompeo)
- Headmistress (Cindy Crawford)
When her training is complete, Catastrophe and her friends exact their revenge on Arsyn and her henchwomen. The two teams approach each other in what seems to be slow motion while an enormous explosion goes off in the background, blotting out the London skyline, including 30 St Mary Axe, and the video ends with both of the girls simultaneously striking each other in the face.[24]
Reception
Rolling Stone described it as a "futuristic neo-noir" video.[23] Daniel D’Addario of Time called it Swift's "most elaborate" music video yet, and compared the visuals to Sin City.[25] Slate agreed and found other film inspirations: "Along the way, they pay homage to countless films. Besides the video’s Robocop premise, there’s its Sin City aesthetic, its nod to Tron’s light cycles, and its Kill Bill-like fight in the snow."[26] Billboard drew parallels between the video and the music videos for the Britney Spears songs "Toxic" and "Womanizer", which were both directed by Kahn.[27] The video broke Vevo's 24-hour viewing record by accumulating 20.1 million views in its first day of release, beating the 19.6 million 24-hour record previously held by Nicki Minaj for the music video of her song "Anaconda" in 2014.[28] It was later broken by Adele's "Hello" in October 2015, with 27.7 million views in the first 24 hours.[29] As of February 2016, the video has amassed over 760 million views.
"Bad Blood" received eight nominations at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.[30] Ultimately, it won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
Track listing
- Digital download[31]
- "Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)" – 3:19
Awards and nominations
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Song | Nominated | [32] |
Choice Music - Collaboration | Won | |||
Choice Break-Up Song | ||||
MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | [30] | ||
Best Collaboration | ||||
Best Art Direction | Nominated | |||
Best Cinematography | ||||
Best Editing | ||||
Best Direction | ||||
Best Visual Effects | ||||
Song of Summer | ||||
MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | Won | [33] | |
Best Video | Nominated | |||
Best Collaboration | ||||
American Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | [34] | ||
2016 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Song | [35] | |
Grammy Awards | Best Pop Duo/Group Performance | Pending | [36] | |
Best Music Video | ||||
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Song of the Year | Pending | [37] | |
Favorite Collaboration | ||||
iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best Collaboration | Pending | [38] |
Charts
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[81] | 3× Platinum | 210,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[82] | 3× Platinum | 240,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[83] | Gold | 7,500* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[84] | Silver | 200,000 |
United States (RIAA)[85] | 4× Platinum | 2,580,000[21] |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Since May 2013, RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.[86]
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label |
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United States | May 17, 2015 | Digital download[31] | Big Machine |
May 19, 2015 | Contemporary hit radio[87] |
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Italy | June 12, 2015 | Mainstream radio[88][89] |
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See also
- List of number-one singles of 2015 (Australia)
- List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015
- List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2015
- List of number-one digital songs of 2015 (US)
- List of Billboard Pop Songs chart number-one songs of 2015
References
- ↑ Molanphy, Chris. "Why Is Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar’s “Bad Blood” No. 1?". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ↑ Chuck Klosterman (October 15, 2015). "Taylor Swift on "Bad Blood," Kanye West, and How People Interpret Her Lyrics". GQ. (Advance Publications). Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ Eells, Josh (September 8, 2014). "Cover Story: The Reinvention of Taylor Swift". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ↑ Strecker, Erin (September 9, 2014). "Did Katy Perry Confirm Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' Song Is About Her?". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ↑ Drell, Cady (December 31, 2014). "12 Biggest Feuds of 2014: Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- 1 2 D'Addario, Daniel (October 27, 2014). "Is Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' About Katy Perry? A Textual Analysis". Time. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- 1 2 Yahr, Emily (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood': How we can tell she's singing about Katy Perry". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ↑ Aswad, Jem (October 24, 2014). "Album Review: Taylor Swift’s Pop Curveball Pays Off With ‘1989’". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ↑ Empire, Kitty (October 26, 2014). "Taylor Swift: 1989 review – a bold, gossipy confection". The Guardian. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Taylor Swift 1989 Track by Track Album Review". HitFix.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ McIndoe, Joe (29 October 2014). "Track-by-Track Album Review: Taylor Swift - 1989". CultNoise.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- 1 2 Diver, Mike (11 April 2014). "Taylor Swift - 1989". ClashMusic.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift's '1989': Album Review". Daily News. 23 October 2014.
- ↑ Markovitz, Adam (November 11, 2014). "1989". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ↑ Young, Alex (17 May 2015). "Kendrick Lamar shines in Taylor Swift’s "Bad Blood" remix". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' video has sound, fury and Kendrick Lamar". Los Angeles Times. May 18, 2015.
- ↑ Seabrook, George (May 20, 2015). "Review: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". The Edge. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- 1 2 Trust, Gary (May 21, 2015). "Wiz Khalifa Tops Hot 100, Taylor Swift Re-Enters Following BBMAs Video Premiere". Billbaord. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- 1 2 Trust, Gary (May 28, 2015). "Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' Blasts to No. 1 on Hot 100". Billboard. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ Trust, Gary (June 3, 2015). "Wiz Khalifa's 'See You Again' Replaces Taylor Swift at No. 1 on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 Nielsen Music U.S. Report" (PDF). Nielsen. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift to Debut 'Bad Blood' Video During 2015 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- 1 2 "Watch Taylor Swift's Futuristic, Neo-Noir 'Bad Blood' Video". Rolling Stone. May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ↑ This Week's Fresh Music Top 20, 4Music, 21 June 2015
- ↑ D’Addario, Daniel (May 18, 2015). "Watch Taylor Swift’s Star-Studded Music Video for ‘Bad Blood’". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ↑ Shetty, Sharan (May 18, 2015). "Taylor Swift’s "Bad Blood" Video Has Enough Celebrities to Be an Actual Movie". Slate. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Strecker, Erin (May 17, 2015). "Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' Video: 15 Things We Need To Talk About Right Now". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ↑ Strecker, Erin (May 21, 2015). "Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' Video Breaks Vevo Record". Billboard. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ↑ "#Hello, 27.7M views in one day! @Adele just snatched the 24 hr record". Twitter. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- 1 2 "2015 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Revealed: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran & More". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- 1 2 "Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar) – Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Winners of Teen Choice 2015 Announced". Teen Choice Awards. August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ↑ Szalai, Georg. "MTV EMAs: Taylor Swift Leads With 9 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swift-ed-sheeran-the-weeknd-top-ama-nominations-20151013
- ↑ "Nominees & Winners". People's Choice Awards. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Final Nomination List : 58th Grammy Awards" (PDF). Grammy Award. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Here Are The Nominees For The 2016 Kids’ Choice Awards". MTV News. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ↑ "iHeartRadio Music Awards Announce 2016 Nominees, Performers & New Categories". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Top 100 Billboard Brasil - weekly". Billboard Brasil. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Taylor Swift. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Canada AC for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Canada Hot AC for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Top 40 Chile - weekly". Chile Singles Chart. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 23 january 2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=
(help) - ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201523 into search. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Euro Digital Songs for Taylor Swift. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift feat.Kendrick Lamar: Bad Blood" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Taylor Swift – Bad Blood" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 22, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Top Digital - Classifica settimanale WK 21 (dal 2015-05-18 al 2015-05-24)". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "מדיה פורסט - לדעת שאתה באוויר". Mediaforest.biz. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Taylor Swift. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-05-30". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201523 into search. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2015-07-28". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-05-30" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Taylor Swift. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Taylor Swift. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Taylor Swift. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Taylor Swift. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Taylor Swift. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ↑ "Canadian Hot 100 Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2015". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Hot 100: Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Adult Contemporary Songs Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Adult Pop Songs Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Media Group. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Pop Songs Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Media Group. Retrieved December 9; 2015. Check date values in:
|access-date=
(help) - ↑ Ryan, Gavin (December 5, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Adele 'Hello' Spends Sixth Week at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Taylor Swift – Bad Blood". Music Canada. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Taylor Swift – Bad Blood". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 26, 2015. Enter Bad Blood in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – Bad Blood". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 15, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "RIAA Adds Digital Streams To Historic Gold & Platinum Awards". Recording Industry Association of America. May 9, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift - Bad Blood (Radio Date: 12-06-2015)". EarOne.
- ↑ "TAYLOR SWIFT "Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)" - (Radio Date: 12/06/2015)". radioairplay.fm.
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