April 4, 2012 
Alrighty now everybody. I am back from vacation and, although missing the warm and relaxed ambience of my vacation environment, there is something to be said about being back in the comfort of your own home.
And, oh yes, writing those Vocal Masterclass articles. Time for some Masterclass Lady love, although my girl Mindy Moore has done a remarkable job with her evaluations in my absence. Brava Mindy and thank you!
For the most part, the strongest singers have avoided elimination, although I still think that there are only a couple of singers remaining that understand the mechanics of solid vocal technique – Jessica Sanchez and Hollie Cavanagh.
The other singers are flying by the seat of their pants – lots of screaming, yelling and misplaced articulation of the lyrics. This is a general statement, mind you, but it is a common thread in the majority of these singers.
And did anyone catch Erika Van Pelt on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno? Her voice and presence were magnetic – she was wrongly eliminated and, personally, I preferred her rich, mellow sound to say Elise’s. (Yes, I know there are many Elise fans in the MCL Community, so I am being brave in making this statement).
Anyway, enough chattering from my end or there will be nothing left to say when I write the Top 8 Vocal Masterclass article.
Enjoy the show everyone and sing your thoughts with diaphragmatic freedom in the comments section.
Update: Since we heard trips last week, I wonder if we will hear duets this evening. Four guys, four girls = great duet combos!
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It’s interesting that I disagree with you concerning who is the better singer, as far as the girls are concerned. I prefer Elise to everybody else and I don’t understand why you would prefer the other girls over her. Can you explain your reasons, in a technical sense rather than aesthetically, why you prefer Hollie and Jessica?
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J. May – I am not a fan of her style of singing. It seems forced and misplaced. I will say that she really gave a strong performance last week but, overall, Jessica and Hollie have purer voices, which is naturally my preference when I listen to a singer.
Also, of the two, Jessica has a charismatic star quality that is undeniable, as does DeAndre – but he needs to solidify his voice and gain a stronger sense of direction about who he is as an artist.
I think that it comes down to a preferred style and substance. This Year’s group is so diversified that there is something for everyone and, because of this, there will be stronger disagreements among the listeners about who should take the crown.
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Elise for the win!! Sorry, can’t help but be a little obnoxious on this one – she’s a hometown girl. This is my opinion regarding Hollie vs. Jessica – Jessica is the better singer. Hollie has a great voice but she’s too young. A few more years of work especially on her breath would have done wonders for her. And don’t forget Skylar – she could be a dark horse. Of the guys who are left, Joshua is absolutely the strongest. But DeAndre could blossom over the next few weeks. And the American Idol audience is unpredictable. Two words: Lee Dewyze.
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My favorite singers/artists include Dylan, Waits, Cohen and others and they would not necessarily be accused of having pure voices. It’s the material they sing and how they sing it that moves me. This doesn’t mean that I am not moved by purity. I love listening to Jackie Evancho, for example. Jessica’s rendition of I will Always Love You was outstanding, but I still prefer Dolly Parton’s original version, which has more…character, I guess is the word. I admit that Elise has some idiosyncrasies in her style that might put some people off. I just feel that, technically, she is far superior to the rest of the girls. This is probably because of her age so maybe I am being unfair. Who knows what Jessica might do given another 10 years of experience. Thank you for letting me rant 🙂
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No problem J. That’s why this blog exists. Rant away. This is going to be a difficult year because there truly is a singer for everyone. And, as I said, I cannot deny Elise’s outstanding performance last week.
But, this show is a tricky process. I think they want a Jessica win and, as time progresses, I think the judges might do a turnaround on Elise – in the opposite direction – to ensure this win. I may be wrong. We”ll see. Elise is gaining numerous fans by the minute.
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Darlene, I didn’t forget about Skylar. But, honestly, I am becoming weary of the country winners, no matter how good they are!
It’s time for Idol to move in another direction
However, to be truthful, in another time and place, Skylar would have smoked all the previous country artists on this show. She is incredibly talent and even more confident. Nothing fazes this girl.
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I really like Elise…she is my fav this year! The rest of the girls would include Jessica and Hollie that I like. I have yet to be impressed with Skylar; I know she is from the south, but her twang is not ear friendly…it seems as if she is trying to over emphasize her southern drawl…I am from the south; so just sayin’!!!
The guys, I like Phillip, and I like Colton’s sense of who he is…he knows who he is as an artist and where he is spiritually and I really appreciate that about him.
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I really love Elise as well! I love the more raspy, smokey tone to her voice. Jessica and Hollie have beautiful voices but they are so similar. I enjoy people with an edge to their voice. I love Joshua and DeAndre! I would have to say that DeAndre’s voice is so versatile. He can do so many different things with his voice. He has not been given enough credit. Phil sounds exactly the same every week and Colton is too breathy and he squeeks alot. I’m rooting for DeAndre or Elise!
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Dodie – welcome! I love your Top 2 – DeAndre or Elise. I never thought I would see a commenter pairing those two together. Usually, it is Elise and Joshua. Interesting.
I hope you come by often to add your thoughts. Lively conversation makes the world go round. 🙂
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MCL,
You and I are in agreement about Jessica and Hollie. I guess you would know that after reading my vocal masterclass articles about them the last few weeks! They are by far the most technically gifted singers.
I have been waiting anxiously to hear your thoughts on some of the other contestants. I didn’t go into too much of the technical things when I wrote my articles. I touched on some off key moments when I heard them, but I do have some questions in my mind about a few of them. I hear Philipp as shouting at times and wondered what your thoughts are about him. I have tried to be objective in my articles, but have been honest about his music just not being my thing. The same goes for Colton. He has had a few vocal hiccups, shall we say, but he does know who he is as an artist and that is a good thing on this show. The same goes for Philipp as far as knowing who he is as an artist.
I think Joshua is quite extraordinary, but he does have a tendency to shout at times. I wonder if that is part of his gospel style. However, I think he is very strong technically, has incredible vocal power and can really bring the emotion.
I actually agree with you about Erika. I loved her gorgeous contralto voice. I did like her more than Elise. I have been hesitant to say it, because I know there are some big Elise fans. It’s not about disliking Elise. It was just my personal preference as to whose voice I loved more. I did think that Elise really killed it with last week’s performance. There is no question about that.
I just saw the song list on MJ’s blog. They didn’t say who was singing which song, but some of the choices were disappointing. Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”, Better Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”, are the two that made me groan out loud.
Anyway, I am on the west coast and will have to wait to see the show. I don’t read anything online beforehand so that I can have a fresh mind and listen for the first time as they sing on the show.
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DeAndre just killed it. First again? Why is he always so early in the show? Jimmy surly dislikes him predicting he would be B3 before he even performed? 😦
MaryJ Loved Dre and now Gwen said Dre was the entire package which is true but Jimmy is such an idiot he can’t see it?
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Did any one catch the number of that bus that ran over Elise???
I thought she sounded great…!
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Aw! Hollie…what a cutie, but all of the great songs from the 80′ s, I was hoping she would have done a Cyndi Lauper song…!
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I still stand by my assesment of Skylar…not good!!!
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Interesting night. I loved Elise last week, but honestly not so much this week. However, I really enjoyed her duet with Philip. And I have to agree with MCL and Mindy about Erika. I loved her voice and was sorry to see her go.
DeAndre was good tonight, but I’m afraid since he was first that it will hurt him. My favorite of the night was probably Joshua because I love that Simply Red song and thought he did it well.
I like Philip, but sometimes I think he’s on the verge of being really flat. Is that right?
Jessica was terrific as usual, and although Colton and Skylar are my least favorite contestants, I thought both of them were good tonight.
Hollie, I’m afraid, might be the one to go. I love Hollie’s voice, but there is definitely something missing when she performs.
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This was a great show and full of surprises. I will have my Vocal Masterclass article up sometime tomorrow.
I think DeAndre did NOT deserve the first spot yet again. Ridiculous. But, he finally got his due from the judges.
All the duets were fantastic,,weren’t they?
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I haven’t actually watched the show yet – I voted “blind”. But I only voted online because I didn’t have the text code for Elise. I hear she did not have a great night but “I Want t Know What Love Is” is a difficult song. Hopefully she will regroup for next week. I actually also really like Jessica so if/when Elise goes, she will be the one I vote for (most likely). My biggest hope for this year? That a woman wins – it’s really really really time. Crystal Bowersox should have beaten Lee Dewyze but it didn’t happen.
Can’t wait to hear the duets!!
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Right now I haven’t even seen all of the performances out on the west coast. I am so angry that my fingers are shaking as I am trying to type this. I really want to read MCL’s vocal masterclass article, because I have some real issues with what the judges are saying tonight.
The bus went over Elise? How about Hollie? Steven telling her the whole thing was off key? I listened to it again with my eyes closed. There was a key change and I don’t know if she hit it right, but I didn’t hear her off key through the whole song. The judges really want this girl out of the competition. They may just get their wish. Hollie is young and maybe not ready yet, but there is no denying the technical brilliance and quality of her voice.
I did love all of the duets tonight. I have yet to hear Colton and Skylar.
Oh and someone said that they thought Philipp was flat in that song – guess what! You are right! Not off key, but flat. The judges didn’t call him on it and I so furious right now that I cannot see straight. This is starting to remind me of Siobhan. No matter what she did, the judges just trashed her.
Elise struggled a bit with that song, but I didn’t think it was like the judges said at all.
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I’m glad it’s over. To be kind, the eighties weren’t my favorite era of music. They made a good show of it though.
I really enjoyed the duets. They WERE the show for me. The solos paled in comparison. All of the pairings worked extremely well together, and for some, it was their best performance of the season. DeAndre and Hollie fit that category to a T as do Phil and Skylar. It was probably Elise’s second or third best of the competition, but by a close margin. Though she gained in mainstream support last week, she has been a solid performer throughout the competition, at least since Vegas. Overall it appears that Colton got the short end of the stick in the duo segment, but held his own pretty well. Each of the other performers really made a mark in this format. Jessica and Joshua looked liked seasoned professional entertainers in their duet. In her case, and I mean no offense in the use of this term, but it’s hard to believe I’m watching a “child” at times. Jessica’s biggest problem in this competition is that she is too good. That doesn’t always play well with the voters. I think ABC has a hit on their hands if they build their new Duet show around an interesting format.
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Mindy,
I found that for the sake of my blood pressure, I had to give up on the notion that AI is truly a singing competition. I think it is a marketing test for Sony Interscope, and for us to a lesser extent. After that, it all comes into focus and is less maddening.
You also have to consider that the bulk of the judges’ comments come from the dress rehearsal performance and they tend to be out of sync with reality sometimes. There were two things I noticed in Hollie’s performance that you could call flaws but neither of them was pitch related to my ear. The first was when she walked to stage right and jammed with the keyboardist for a few lines. That sounded a little muddled for some reason. The second was the last time she sang the word “life” she pushed a little too far and screamed that one word. Other than that, she was more solid than we has seen her so far, with the exception. Is that pretty much what you saw?
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No typo on my part; it’s brain fade, pure and simple.
“have seen” and I probably intended to edit out “with the exception.”
BTW,
As Steven noted tonight, the drummer was a monster! He gave those skins a brutal workout. Great work.
It’s also of interest, in light of the drowning out of vocalist on the other network earlier this week, that a good sound engineer can do magic. None of the performers he played with were over powered by the drummer or any other part of the band. Kudos to the sound guy as well.
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Mindy,
I think it was the same bus that ran over Elise! I didn’t like the song Hollie sang, I thought it was way too cheesie…my problem with it, Jimmy told her the same thing but then encouraged her to sing it. With everyone else he changes their songs if he doesn’t like them.
I like Hollie and would like to see her stay over Jessica and Skylar.
Here’s my thoughts on theses guys!
I didn’t see DeAndre’s song so I can’t really comment on him, other than the clip at the end, Wow, holy fasletto batman…not good, is all I have to say about that.
Elise…wasn’t her best but wasn’t as bad as the bus driving trio made it out to be either, Elise is seasoned and smart, Jimmy needs to let her choose her own path!
Colton…I actually thought it wasn’t half bad, I liked the arrangement. There are times when he sings that he sounds a little squeaky, but over all it was okay.
Hollie…I wish that Hollie would havey gotten a Cyndi Lauper song or even a Madonna song for her voice would have been good. I just didn’t like her song choice, but really like the clearness amd tone of her voice.
Joshua…I did not watch his performance…he reminds me of the guy last year, too over the top and gospel-ly.
Jessica…should a guessed she would do a Whitney song, I wish she would have covered a different artist this week. She is really good, but has that Pia affect on me!
Phillip…wasn’t his best either…should have done born in the USA…Genisis, Phil Collins is hard to cover.
Skylar…why in the world didn’t that mangled mess at the desk call her out on her nasal approach to the song? Her voice to me is like fingernails on a chalk board! That said, I did notice something about her last night that I thought was rather cute, she looks alot like Reba.
I know these are not in order of how they sang. I did like all of the duets!!!
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Mindy…I think DeAnder will go home this week, I think Hollie will be in the bottom 3, maybe even with Elis. But I think our girls will make it for another week!
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ITA agree with Mindy Moore that the bus came for Hollie last night.
The “power problem” with the keyboard is just one way to throw off a contestant when they are ready to sing. Sure, the contestant should be able to overcome it. When Steven told Hollie her pitch was all over the place I knew the bus was running over her. I did not hear any pitch problems. I even rewatched it to listen for something I may have missed.
I was heartened to read that MCL thinks well of Hollie’s ability.
IMO this is classic AI agenda at work…time to cut Hollie so they can boost Jessica. At the same time they realy worked hard to promote all the guys last night. JLo called Deandre a “shining little star” and Jimmy I told us that Colton would not be going home. JLo suggested Joshua for the F2 and P2 got his brother in law on stage with him and interviewed by Ryan! Did you all catch the pimping that Ryan was doing? He really piled on the compliments per the AI script imo. He told Jessica Well done, incredible; remarked on her poise and confidence, etc.
Hollie is getting pushed out tonight imo. Sad. She sings better than many of the remaining contestants. But last year Gwen Stefani’s appearance as a mentor yielded a Pia elimination. We’re on time for Gwen’s appearance to be a harbinger for another Pia type of contestant to be ousted. May Hollie become the JHud of this group!
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Deandre sounded SOOO much better last night. IMO, his best performance so far. I loved that he didn’t use as much falsetto. Sadly, Elise stumbled last night, and didn’t sound nearly as good as the past few weeks. There was something about the way she pronounced words/phrases that seemed odd to me, and this song highlighted that.
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I agree Holly was thrown under the bus, there were several performances that did not go as well as hers. I always have looked at the Idol contestants from the view of do you think you would like to buy their music or go to a concert to see them. I love Holly, think she was blessed with an amazing voice. I never expected them to say “You could win this whole thing” from Randy to the comments last night. Jessica is also amazing. I love Colton, think I would buy records for all three of them. I also would enjoy them live.I also think Elise has amazing vocal “chops”. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 songs in a rowof the following, none of DeAndre who has a wonderful voice but doesn’t know what to do with it. Joshua is too insecure for me and Skylar is too dumpy. When she goes into rehersals does she not know that she is on national TV. I do not listen to her, she over does it. JMO
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Gene,
Thanks for the reminder. I did calm down after a while. You are right of course. It’s not good for the blood pressure and we have seen this before – Siobhan, anyone? You pointed out a few things that were right. The thing with Hollie, is that she is so good technically that she immediately corrects the pitch when it’s off. I don’t think the judges comments had anything to do with the dress rehearsal performances.
Someone did point out the problem with the keyboard right before Hollie had to sing. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but this was just bad luck. I don’t like making excuses, however when you are mentally ready to perform and have yourself in the right place, it’s disconcerting to say the least when there is a technical glitch that delays everything. I remember becoming very anxioux when it happened. You can psych yourself out when something like that happens. I think that Hollie ran around all over the place way too much. It was almost like she was overcompensating for previous performances. That can play havoc with breath control and cause some pitch problems, but I heard her as very strong technically. Her real issue is the inability to connect emotionally with her songs.
I did get that part when she jammed with the keyboardist. I think you are right about that. The problem is that now that the judges have made her technical vocals the issue, it will only serve to make her focus even more on that and not on getting in touch with the song.
Vonnie,
I think that the song was totally wrong for Elise. When that happens for some reason her vocals suffer. Also, I couldn’t stand the backup singers who were overpowering her and making her try to sing even louder. The whole arrangement did her no favors.
I do agree with you that Madonna might have been better for Hollie. However, with the judges having a clear agenda, I don’t know that it would have mattered. Perception is everything with this show and their insistence on saying that she is off key or off pitch is intended to hurt her with the viewing audience.
I think it’s going to be Deandre, Elise and Hollie in the bottom three. Deandre might go home because he again sang first and not everyone loves his falsetto. I don’t think the judges would use the save for any of them. I hope that I am wrong about the bottom three, but Philip could sing off key and sound awful and it really wouldn’t matter. As Gene said so well, Idol is not a true singing contest. Colton seems to be very popular, but I didn’t like this version of “Time After Time”.
I thought that Skylar wasn’t that great the last two weeks. Her song choices weren’t good and the vocals were subpar. However, she somehow made this work by sheer force of will. This is a tricky song to sing, since it can come off as kind of schmaltzy and treacly. It was a good decision for her to just stand at the mic, no moving around. This allowed her to focus on the vocals, because this isn’t an easy song to sing. She gets better when she is in her power voice. I thought she connected to the song and finished strong.
I am not looking forward to the results tonight.
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“Whose got to have it?’ Randy asks. I am always late to the party. Sorry, folks.
I agree the judges were rolling Elsie and Holly under the bus, but it didn’t work! It was time for that sweetheart to go home. DeAndre will find success, I have no doubt about it. He should also do some modeling because he’s a beautiful young man.
The Joshua and Jessica duet was the best of the evening. Jessica is such a great singer. On Joshua’s solo, he needs to cut down on his screaming. He neeeds a mellow performance without a choir.
I love Elise styling and understand how personal that performance was. She revealed that it stirred up some feelings for her. I am pleased she will be around for another week. I noticed that the choir could have drowned her out, but she stood her ground.
Phillip has been good every week, but not outstanding. He is a handsome young man, not nothing special. WGWG. I also felt the mic was louder for him in the duet with Elise. Or maybe it is just me? I actually prefer Colton’s performance.
I agree about Skylar’s twang. It is a bit too much. However, I love her energy and personality. This is a solid TOP 7 and I’m looking forward to next week!
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12 hours later and I am already missing DeAndre. But, the judges will not use the save on anyone except Jessica, Skylar and Joshua. The rest are just filler, as was the talented DeAndre.
I think he is a solid young man with enormous talent who will find career success and happiness post-Idol. David Foster? Are you listening?
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Mindy,
I agree completely with your post above,the one where you mentioned Siobhan. Let me say that, as you know I was a hugh Siobhan fan during her tenure on Idol and she was sent packing too soon. I don’t think she fit their “Idol Image” and wasn’t likely to win, but she was “targeted” way too early. I still support her as much as I can and right beside me is an autographed copy of her first CD. I also have all of her studio versions of her Idol songs on my iPod and they come up in mixes all the time. I’m also registered on her fan site so I receive email update about relevant happenings in her career. She is still a delight to listen to. That’s about all you can do when you discover one of these young artist that you like on Idol or similar shows. Show your support anyway you can and maybe they will find success on the more traditional road.
I gave consideration to Hollie regarding the keyboard incident, and had all the same thoughts you did, conspiracy, this is the last thing she needs, poor girl etc, but very much to her credit I think she handled herself very well under the circumstances. She seemed very calm and comfortable talking to Ryan during the delay. I’m pretty sure that it was just one of those things and it had to be a little embarrassing for it to have happened to Ray Chew, being the band leader. On a side note, he doesn’t get the exposure that Rickey Minor received but I think he has done an outstanding job as music director. *** It’s just occurred to me as I am typing this that the little delay may have actually helped her a little to stop thinking about her performance checklist as she seems to do. I know that’s not the norm, but… What do you think?
Let me add something else I’ve noticed to the pot to simmer a little bit. Several days ago I mentioned how Colton, DeAndre and Hollie came to be contestants this year. All of them were rehashed from last year, DeAndre came with an air of mystery as did Hollie to a lesser extent, and Colton was dragged kicking and screaming against his will (metaphorically) to audition, even though only his sister had planned to audition this year. Each of them was a known quantity, each of them has a similar newcomer artist in the competition to do battle with, (think “Battle Rounds”) and so far, two of the three have been targeted for elimination. I haven’t decided if Colton will follow suit or not. On one hand, his entry to the contest was like Melanie Amaro, so they may have trumped up his entry because he is the designated winner. On the other he may have been added as a reliable performer to round out the show until he suddenly notices the red dot on his forehead and becomes “pitchy.” So if the second scenario were to be true, each of these call back auditions would have been targeted for elimination. We will have to see how that plays out.
Make that two “something else’s.” Have you noticed how the commentary on the show, not only from the judges, but especially Jimmy and now even Ryan seem to be identical to our comments and probably those on every other Idol blog? It seems the junior producers are spending a lot of time on the net before writing the scripts for the week.
BTW, I believe the voting is counted honestly primarily due to game show fraud in the past, but it’s just extremely heavily influenced. The show is still a showcase for young singers and as such it’s still, entertaining to watch, good subject matter for MCLs excellent evaluations and lessons and, as always, it is fun for us to discuss.
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Mindy,
I agree with you about the song for Elise not being a good one, but have you noticed the keep having her sing a Stevie Nicks song for group songs, almost as if to keep her from singing one a solo song…where they know she would tear it up!
I thi k Elise and Hollie have a bus waiting for them in the wings each week!
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Yea much more yelling than singing this year. Why is that? Where did the talent go?
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