So Pure
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Post by So Pure on Nov 11, 2010 10:43:06 GMT -5
Following the fiasco surrounding legitimacy of ‘Breaking News’, a new song from Michael Jackson’s first posthumous LP ‘Michael’, the King of Pop’s estate have released a statement to his legions of fans.
Dear Fans,
As the Michael album was being put together, it was decided to bring Teddy Riley on board to work on several songs, including “Breaking News,” a song Michael recorded with Eddie Cascio and James Porte in late 2007 while living at the Cascio family home with his children. Riley produced and submitted “Breaking News” to Sony for inclusion on the album. At that time, no one ever mentioned that the vocals we heard on the Cascio songs, which were basically in demo format, might not be Michael. It was known, however, that the background vocals were a combination of Michael and James Porte.
After the tracks were submitted to Sony, three of these Cascio songs were selected to be on the album, and “Breaking News” was one of the three. The day after the submission and selection of the album tracks, for the very first time, the authenticity of Michael’s vocals on the Cascio tracks was questioned.
Because of these questions, I was immediately asked by co-Executors John Branca and John McClain to conduct an investigation regarding the authenticity of the lead vocals on the Cascio tracks.
Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years – Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley – were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All of these persons listened to the a cappella versions of the vocals on the Cascio tracks being considered for inclusion on the album, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the lead vocals were sung by Michael. They all confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.
Michael’s musical director and piano player on many of his records over a 20-year period, Greg Phillinganes, played on a Cascio track being produced for the album, and said the voice was definitely Michael’s. Dorian Holley, who was Michael’s vocal director for his solo tours for 20 plus years (including the O2 Concert Tour) and is seen in the This Is It film, listened to the Cascio tracks and told me the lead vocal was Michael Jackson.
These are all engineers, producers and musicians who worked on tours and/or in the studio with Michael when he was recording Bad, Thriller, Off The Wall, Dangerous, Invincible, HIStory and Blood On The Dance Floor, and they all reconfirmed their belief that the lead vocals were Michael’s voice on the Cascio tracks.
The Estate then retained one of the best-known forensic musicologists in the nation to listen to the vocals without any instrumental accompaniment (“a cappella”), and to compare them with a cappella vocals from previous Michael songs. This expert performed waveform analysis, an objective scientific test used to determine audio authenticity, on the Cascio tracks, as well as previously released tracks with Michael’s voice, and reported that ALL of the lead vocals analyzed (which included Cascio tracks) were the voice of Michael Jackson.
Sony Music conducted their own investigation by hiring yet a second well-respected forensic musicologist who also compared the a cappella lead vocals from Cascio tracks against previously released vocals of Michael’s, and found that Michael’s voice was the on all sets of the raw vocals. The Cascio tracks were also played for two very prominent persons in the music industry who played crucial roles in Michael’s career. Both of these individuals believed that the lead vocals were Michael’s.
Just to be absolutely certain, I also contacted Jason Malachi, a young singer who some persons had wrongfully alleged was a “soundalike” singer that was hired to sing on the Cascio tracks, and I confirmed that he had no involvement with this project whatsoever.
Sony decided that, given the overwhelming objective evidence resulting from the exhaustive investigations outlined above, they wanted to release a record that included three of the Cascio-Porte tracks – because they believed, without reservation, that the lead vocal on all of those tracks were sung by Michael Jackson.
Although there still seem to be concerns being expressed in some quarters about the authenticity of the lead vocals, notwithstanding the opinion of those who worked with Michael, and two independent forensic analysts, ultimately, Michael’s fans will be the judges of these songs, as they always are. We take all fan comments very seriously, and as I’d stated above, there is nothing more important to the Estate than Michael’s music, his legacy and his fans.
Michael’s fans are extraordinary in their quest for accuracy and their passions to raise their voices in a search for truth! We join with them in our care and concern for Michael. We are continuing to follow up with those who have worked in the studio or on tours with Michael, and if any new information comes to light, we will keep you and the fans advised.
Thanks,
Howard
Howard Weitzman, Esq. Attorney for the Estate Of Michael Jackson Santa Monica, CA
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HolidayGuy
Diamond Member
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Posts: 33,875
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Post by HolidayGuy on Nov 11, 2010 11:17:05 GMT -5
So... does that settle it? Some will always wonder, I guess.
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Post by JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME on Nov 11, 2010 16:40:35 GMT -5
So... does that settle it? Some will always wonder, I guess. Them issuing a 'statement' like this still doesn't put it to rest for several reasons. It's obvious that the label needed to quiet down any discussion about the authenticity of the vocals because they do want people to buy the album when it is released. So by issuing a statement, they think that would happen. The majority of the fans will not let this go. Also, by mentioning how so many people were asked to authenticate whether that was really Michael or not on the song, it doesn't help because there is no way to actually check that such a rigorous process was done. And that soundalike singer guy had been mentioned on several message boards and it wouldn't surprise me if they just searched through some of the message boards for some of this info and assembled this 'statement'. A lot of people in Michael's life (unfortunately) told him exactly what he wanted to hear (and for their own benefits and ulterior motives) and it would totally make sense if still continued to act that way for their own personal gain. And since these experts and other music people would probably get paid and compensated for telling the label the 'correct' answers, they probably thought it was best to say that it really was him on the songs. This is an awful lot of trouble for them to have to go through for a song that may not even be a proper single from the album. They probably didn't anticipate such a situation. And all this casts a big ugly cloud over the era and could potentially harm sales of the project in the long term even if all of it gets resolved properly.
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Post by JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME on Nov 12, 2010 3:25:55 GMT -5
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A Michael Jackson duet with Akon recorded in 2007 will be released Monday morning as the first official single from the late pop star's next album, Epic Records announced Friday. "Michael," Jackson's first album of new music in nine years, also includes duets with rapper 50 Cent and rocker Lenny Kravitz, according to Epic. It will be released on December 14. "Hold My Hand" featuring Akon was chosen to be the first single because the estate found a handwritten note from Jackson that indicated his desire that it be the first single on his next project, the company said. The song is familiar to Jackson fans because an unfinished version of the song leaked onto the Internet in 2008, but Akon returned to the studio to complete a new version, Epic said. Janet Jackson opens up about Michael "The world was not ready to hear 'Hold My Hand' when it leaked a couple years ago," Akon said. "We were devastated about it." The song is now in "its final state," Akon said. "It has become an incredible, beautiful, anthemic song," he said. "I'm so proud to have had the chance to work with Michael, one of my all-time idols." The song will be unveiled on www.michaeljackson.com at 12:01 a.m. ET Monday and then will be available for purchase by digital download, the company said. The 10-track album will mostly include "songs that Michael worked on recently. There are also earlier compelling tracks," Epic said. It includes "Breaking News," a song streamed online last week as a preview. While Epic did not list the producers involved, it did provide a track list for the album: 1. Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon) 2. Hollywood Tonight 3. Keep Your Head Up 4. (I Like) The Way You Love Me 5. Monster (Featuring 50 Cent) 6. Best Of Joy 7. Breaking News 8. (I Can't Make It) Another Day (Featuring Lenny Kravitz) 9. Behind The Mask 10. Much Too Soon
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2010 17:05:14 GMT -5
Keep Your Head Up leaked. Its one of his typical sappy slower songs. It sounds like something Whitney might sing too. I hope this album is at least going to be better than Invincible. It probably will at least not be as bloated as that album with all the tracks that one had
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2010 18:09:52 GMT -5
Michael Jackson's 'Michael' Could Sell 400,000 in First Week
Michael Jackson The initial U.S. shipment of Michael Jackson's "Michael," due Dec. 14 on Epic Records, is 900,000, according to retail sources. Sony is projecting first-week CD sales of 340,000 and digital album sales of 60,000. That projection is similar to debut-week sales of Jackson's album "This Is It," though that album had the marketing strength of a major motion picuture behind it. "This Is It" sold 373,000 units in its first week and has sold 1.6 million units since its release in October 2009, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Second week projections for "Michael," are set at 280,000 units, while digital sales are expected to slip from its debut week percentage of 15% to 8%. But both of those percentages are better than the digital sales garnered by "This Is It" in its first week when the format accounted for 5.6% of total sales.
"Michael" will carry a $10.25 wholesale cost and a $13.98 list price.
Most music merchants say the controversy surrounding the posthumous single "Breaking News" should stoke awareness and sales for the new album "Michael."
"I think people will come out to buy the album, especially with the controversy," Edge Entertainment Distribution music buyer Danny Cohen says.
The debate on song quality and authenticity will likely be a moot point by Nov. 15, when the Jackson website is scheduled to debut "Hold My Hand," which features Akon. That first commercially available single from "Michael" will be available for sale the same day at digital stores like iTunes.
Some merchants worry that the quality of the first song being streamed from Jackson's site may not inspire consumers to run out and buy the set on street date. One merchant described "Breaking News" as "an interesting choice to sell an album. It's not a good first look for the album."
Merchants say that Sony sales representatives have told them the single was chosen more because of the lyrical content as a way to herald the news about the upcoming album.
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 12, 2010 18:10:28 GMT -5
Keep Your Head Up is sappy but I like it. I LOVE IT! OOOH! I LOVE IT! Get it Michael!
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Post by JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME on Nov 14, 2010 4:44:54 GMT -5
Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am criticizes Sony for releasing new Michael Jackson album
While the Net is buzzing about Michael Jackson’s posthumous Michael album hitting stores next month, one of the King of Pop’s biggest fans, producer and Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am, hasn’t even heard the much-talked-about new song “Breaking News.” He’s not really interested in it, either. “Whoever put it out and is profiting off of it, I want to see how cold they are,” he says, “to say that what [Michael] contributed during his life wasn’t enough. He just wasn’t any ordinary artist. He was a hands-on person. To me it’s disrespectful. There’s no honoring.”
The producer collaborated with Jackson in 2006 on what would have been Jackson’s comeback album, following 2001′s Invincible. He can’t understand how Sony, Epic’s parent company, could release fragmentary works from a man who was so meticulous. “Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they’re finished,” Will says. “Maybe if I never worked with him I wouldn’t have this perspective. He was very particular about how he wanted his vocals, the reverb he used…he was that hands-on.”
Earlier this year, Will talked to Access Hollywood about some of the songs he recorded with Michael, mentioning “Dreaming,” “Still the King,” and a James Brown tribute called “I Will Miss You.” But he still maintains that none of them will ever be released, because Jackson didn’t give them a final okay. “He kept his vocals and I kept the music,” he says. “We had that understanding.”
What do you think of Will’s thoughts? Is Sony right to release Michael’s music without his blessing?
Source - EW.com
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 14, 2010 13:11:00 GMT -5
Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am criticizes Sony for releasing new Michael Jackson album While the Net is buzzing about Michael Jackson’s posthumous Michael album hitting stores next month, one of the King of Pop’s biggest fans, producer and Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am, hasn’t even heard the much-talked-about new song “Breaking News.” He’s not really interested in it, either. “Whoever put it out and is profiting off of it, I want to see how cold they are,” he says, “to say that what [Michael] contributed during his life wasn’t enough. He just wasn’t any ordinary artist. He was a hands-on person. To me it’s disrespectful. There’s no honoring.” The producer collaborated with Jackson in 2006 on what would have been Jackson’s comeback album, following 2001′s Invincible. He can’t understand how Sony, Epic’s parent company, could release fragmentary works from a man who was so meticulous. “Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they’re finished,” Will says. “Maybe if I never worked with him I wouldn’t have this perspective. He was very particular about how he wanted his vocals, the reverb he used…he was that hands-on.” Earlier this year, Will talked to Access Hollywood about some of the songs he recorded with Michael, mentioning “Dreaming,” “Still the King,” and a James Brown tribute called “I Will Miss You.” But he still maintains that none of them will ever be released, because Jackson didn’t give them a final okay. “He kept his vocals and I kept the music,” he says. “We had that understanding.” What do you think of Will’s thoughts? Is Sony right to release Michael’s music without his blessing? Source - EW.com How much money did Michael owe Sony before his death?
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Post by JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME on Nov 14, 2010 15:28:48 GMT -5
How much money did Michael owe Sony before his death? Some estimates put that amount at somewhere between $300 million and $500 million. I'll find a source for that. EDIT: Some info about that
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Minor Scratch
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Post by Minor Scratch on Nov 14, 2010 22:03:04 GMT -5
I think this will definitely do more than 400K first week if 'Hold My Hand' is successful, word gets around about the record, and the material that leaks is decent.
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So Pure
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Post by So Pure on Nov 15, 2010 10:04:41 GMT -5
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Rican@
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[Only dry eyes, I would love on you for years]
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Post by Rican@ on Nov 15, 2010 10:26:57 GMT -5
The song is great but he is hardly singing. It's Akon's song, nevertheless I like it and it has that Michael's feel to it
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worldwide
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Post by worldwide on Nov 15, 2010 12:06:30 GMT -5
Really average song. Akon sings 90% of the vocals, as if it's his track. And I hate Akon and his voice. Album has duets with Akon and 50 cent? Nuff said.
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 15, 2010 12:14:06 GMT -5
The song is great but he is hardly singing. It's Akon's song, nevertheless I like it and it has that Michael's feel to it Michael is singing around two thirds of the song. Akon is basically singing the chorus with Michael and playing hype man during the verses which were both sung by Michael.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 12:29:23 GMT -5
#WendyWilliamsICan'tGIF
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So Pure
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Post by So Pure on Nov 15, 2010 13:50:59 GMT -5
I thought it was supposed to be on iTunes same day!?
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Rεvôlvεr†
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Post by Rεvôlvεr† on Nov 15, 2010 14:29:22 GMT -5
Akon does NOT sing 90% of the vocals.. if you listen harder it's more 50/50.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 14:58:50 GMT -5
I think people are confusing a lot of Michaels vocals for being Akon.
Also did anyone notice the TAFKAP symbol next to the tiger on the album cover? I wonder what they even did that. Prince's camp is making them remove it.
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 15, 2010 17:39:08 GMT -5
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Nov 16, 2010 9:39:54 GMT -5
"Hold My Hand" is average-sounding- kinda like Hootie and the Blowfish's own "Hold My Hand."
The track is not on iTunes, far as anyone can tell. I figured Sony would withhold individual-track releases to boost album sales.
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Rεvôlvεr†
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Post by Rεvôlvεr† on Nov 16, 2010 15:40:10 GMT -5
"Hold My Hand" is average-sounding- kinda like Hootie and the Blowfish's own "Hold My Hand." The track is not on iTunes, far as anyone can tell. I figured Sony would withhold individual-track releases to boost album sales. It's on iTunes in other countries, so I figure it'll be released here too.
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Post by Ke$ha's Left Tittie on Nov 16, 2010 23:57:47 GMT -5
Why Michael Jackson's New Album Could Debut Stronger Than 'This Is It' November 16, 2010 - Retail | Rock and Pop By Ed Christman Nearly a year and a half after the tragic death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop continues to play a significant role in boosting the fortunes of his label Epic Records and its parent Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson's total U.S. music sales are on pace to fall sharply in 2010 from last year, when grief over his untimely death on June 25, 2009, sparked a massive spike in sales of his catalog. But Billboard estimates that Jackson's sales will still account for more than a fifth of Epic's overall recorded-music sales for 2010, helped by the highly anticipated Dec. 14 release of "Michael," a collection of previously unreleased recordings. Sony has been telling retailers that it expects "Michael" to generate U.S. sales in its first three weeks -- the final three weeks of 2010 -- that will top the first three weeks of sales for Jackson's 2009 hits collection "This Is It." That seems like a tall order, considering that "This is It" was tied to the hit movie documentary of the same name and was released just four months after Jackson's death. In addition, "Breaking News," the first song that Epic released from the album, drew a mixed reaction from radio programmers (Billboard, Nov. 20). And notwithstanding Taylor Swift's remarkable million-plus, first-week sales for her album "Speak Now," the increasingly challenging sales environment for recorded music has contributed this year to disappointing debut weeks for albums from Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band (Billboard, Nov. 13). But given the timing of the release of "Michael," Sony's expectations don't appear to be overly optimistic. "This Is It" came out on Oct. 26, 2009, during the lowest sales volume week of 2009, according to Nielsen SoundScan. By contrast, the Dec. 14 street date of "Michael" means its first two sales weeks will coincide with what are traditionally the biggest sales weeks of the year -- Christmas week and the week before Christmas. Sony is expected to ship 900,000 units of the album and has told retailers that it expects "Michael" to debut with first-week U.S. sales of 400,000 units (15% of them digital), followed by sales of 280,000 and 84,000 in the each of the next two weeks. That would top the debut-week sales of "This Is It" by 27,000 and would give the new title a combined three-week tally of 764,000 -- 11% higher than the 686,000 units that "This Is It" sold in its first three weeks, according to SoundScan. Another factor that will contribute to a strong debut for "Michael" is the continued halo effect from Jackson's death. In 2009, Jackson's U.S. album sales and sales of track-equivalent albums (or TEA, where 10 digital tracks equal an album) totaled 9.5 million units, accounting for 7% of Sony's total sales in 2009 and 41.5% of Epic's sales, SoundScan says. That helped boost Sony's total U.S. market share in 2009 by more than two percentage points to 27.9%, from 25.2% in 2008, according to SoundScan. So far this year through the week ended Nov. 7, Jackson's album plus TEA sales totaled 1.8 million units, or 1.6% of Sony's sales and 12.7% of Epic's sales, according to SoundScan. That's down sharply from last year, but already exceeds Jackson's full-year 2008 album plus TEA sales of 1.6 million, or 1.2% of Sony's sales and 11.9% of Epic's sales, SoundScan says. Moreover, Billboard projects Jackson's sales through the rest of 2010, including sales of "Michael," to boost his full-year 2010 album with TEA sales to 3.2 million, accounting for an estimated 2.7% of Sony's full year sales and 22% of Epic's sales. www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i156046bdea3250ced91d671723701d76
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 17, 2010 12:14:45 GMT -5
Interesting article.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2010 14:11:06 GMT -5
Do You Know Where Your Children Are with Jay-Z leaked. That seems like a weird song title...
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r.enato
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Earth Intruder
Then you put your hand in mine...
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Post by r.enato on Nov 17, 2010 14:11:45 GMT -5
omg, hahaha
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Bojangles
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Post by Bojangles on Nov 17, 2010 14:20:30 GMT -5
"Hold My Hand" is veryyy average...
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 17, 2010 17:40:08 GMT -5
OMG The Do you know where your children are? is HOT! WHOLLY MOLLY! That song should've been first. The non singles seem to be far hotter than the Breaking News and the HMH song.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2010 18:38:42 GMT -5
Do you Know Where Your Children Are is not even on the album
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Post by Adonis the DemiGod! on Nov 17, 2010 23:26:22 GMT -5
Do you Know Where Your Children Are is not even on the album I realized that after i already posted earlier.
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