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| Network: | NBC |
The fifth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 1 to September 15, 2010. For this season, production staff introduced two new quarter-finals: one for Wildcards selected from the participants eliminated during auditions or their respective quarter-final, and one for acts that auditioned via YouTube, following changes in the online application process. Following the conclusion of the fourth season, David Hasselhoff left the program, and was replaced by Howie Mandel.
The fifth season was won by soul singer Michael Grimm, with classical crossover singer Jackie Evancho finishing in second, and blacklight performaners Fighting Gravity placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.11 million viewers, with its season finale the most watched in the program's history with around 16.41 million viewers.
Auditions for the fifth season's competition took place during Winter until mid-Spring 2010. Auditions were filmed in Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Chicago and at the Universal Orlando Resort. Prior to production starting, David Hasselhoff left the show to focus on a new project, leaving a replacement needed for his role as judge.[1] A week after Hasselhoff announced his departure from AGT, the network unveiled his successor as Howie Mandel,[2] who had recently finished his fourth season as host of the American edition of Deal or No Deal (before its eight-year hiatus began that year).
For this season, format changes included the addition of two new rounds in the quarter-finals. The first new round was arranged for online auditions, which in itself was modified in rules and arrangements. Prior to the fifth season, most online auditions were made via MySpace and did not guarantee that any submissions made would secure a place in the competition. However, these online applications were later changed so that applicants could submit recorded auditions on a special YouTube channel. Eleven acts were picked by the judges, while a twelfth would be selected by voting from online viewers, guaranteeing a place in the competition via a special quarter-final round. The second new round was a reformatting of the Wildcard system. Unlike the original format, the judges could each pick about four participants who were eliminated from the competition, either at the Vegas Verdicts stage or in the quarter-finals. The decision to include two new quarter-finals to the competition's schedule, meant that the number of quarter-finalists allowed to move on to the semi-finals, were reduced to around four from each quarter-final. The top three were voted on by the public, and the fourth was chosen by the judges from those placed fourth and fifth respectively, in the public vote.
Another change in the format was a deeper involvement of guest performers in America's Got Talent. While the program had mainly made use of them for entertainment during the Results episode aired after the Performance episodes in the previous season, additional guest performers became involved in the program after the rules on performances in the live grand-final were changed. Participants could each conduct a performance alongside a guest performer, with the choice determined by the type of act they performed. Despite arranging a variety of guest performers for this season, the involvement of Susan Boyle during the results of the Top 10 final was cancelled at the last minute, due to a legal complication securing the rights to a song by Lou Reed.[3]
Of the participants who auditioned for this season, sixty-five secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Seven of these would later be given a second chance in the Wildcard quarter-final, after losing their initial quarter-final. About twenty-four of these advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, with ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals, and four finalists securing a place in the grand-final of the competition. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
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Wildcard Quarter-finalist| Participant | Age(s) | Genre | Act | From | Quarter-Final | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airpocalypse | 22-40 | Music | Air Band | Seattle | 1 | ||
| Alice Tan Ridley | 57 | Singing | Singer | New York City | 2 | ||
| Anna and Patryk | 12 | Dance | Ballroom Duo | New Hyde Park, New York & New York City | 4 | ||
| Antonio Restivo | 39 | Magic / Danger | Magician | Las Vegas | 2 | ||
| 25-37 | Music | Band | Austin, Texas | 4 | |||
| AscenDance | 29 | Acrobatics / Dance | Acrobat Duo | Berkeley, California | 2 | ||
| Austin Anderson | 31 | Comedy | Comedian | Omaha, Nebraska | 5 | ||
| Booker Forte | 21 | Dance | Dancer | Virginia Beach, Virginia | 5 | ||
| Cam Hodges | 22 | Singing | Singer | Seattle | 5 | ||
| Cheer SF | 19-52 | Dance / Acrobatics | Cheerleading Group | San Francisco | 2 | ||
| Chipps Cooney | 61 | Comedy / Magic | Magician | Edgewater, New Jersey | 3 | ||
| Christina & Ali | 13 & 20 | Singing | Singing Duo | Idaho Falls, Idaho | 1 | ||
| CJ Dippa | 12 | Music | Rapper | Denton, Texas | 3 | ||
| Connor Doran | 17 | Variety | Indoor Kite Flyer | 6 | |||
| Da Maniacs | 25-56 | Dance | Dance Group | Dallas, Texas | 4 | ||
| Dan Sperry | 25 | Magic | Magician | Las Vegas | 5 | ||
| Debra Romer | 21 | Singing | Singer | Kalamazoo, Michigan | 3 | ||
| Dylan Plummer | 12 | Variety | Jump Roper | Cincinnati, Ohio | 5 | ||
| Eric "Doogie" Horner | 30 | Comedy | Comedian | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4 | ||
| Fighting Gravity | 19-22 | Dance | Blacklight Dance Group | Blacksburg, Virginia | 1 | ||
| Future Funk | 5 & 10 | Dance | Dance Duo | Las Vegas | 1 | ||
| Hannibal Means | 59 | Singing | Opera Singer | Vienna, Austria | 2 | ||
| Harmonica Pierre | 74 | Music | Harmonica Player | Tucson, Arizona | 3 | ||
| Haspop | 32 | Dance | Dancer | Los Angeles (originally Lyon, France) | 3 | ||
| Iron Horse | 22-27 | Singing / Music | Band | Crete, Illinois | 2 | ||
| Jackie Evancho | 10 | Singing | Classical Singer | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 5 | ||
| Jeremy VanSchoonhoven | 27 | Danger | Extreme Cyclist | Talent, Oregon | 3 | ||
| Kaya & Sadie | 32 & 36 | Dance | Belly Dancers | Denver, Colorado | 3 | ||
| Kristina Young | 22 | Singing | Singer | Little Rock, Arkansas | 5 | ||
| Kruti Dance Academy | 15-33 | Dance | Dance Group | Atlanta, Georgia | 6 | ||
| Kung Fu Heroes | 23-31 | Acrobatics | Martial Arts Group | Costa Mesa, California | 1 | ||
| Lil Chris | 12 | Singing | Singer | Sarasota, Florida | 2 | ||
| Lindsey Stirling | 23 | Music | Violinist | Provo, Utah | 4 | ||
| Luigi | 20 | Singing | Singer | Highland, California | 3 | ||
| Maestro Alexander Bui | 16 | Music | Pianist | Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey | 5 | ||
| Maricar | 38 | Variety | Burlesque Painter | Los Angeles | 1 | ||
| Mary Ellen | 74 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | Manheim, Pennsylvania | 4 | ||
| Michael Grasso | 36 | Magic | Magician | Cape May, New Jersey | 6 | ||
| Michael Grimm | 30 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | Hancock County, Mississippi | 2 | ||
| Michael Lipari & Ashleigh Dejon | 29 & 30 | Acrobatics | Aerial Duo | Los Angeles | 6 | ||
| Mona Sampath Dance Company | 9-31 | Dance | Dance Group | Sunnyvale, California | 2 | ||
| MURRAY | 30 | Magic | Magician | Las Vegas | 4 | ||
| Nathaniel Kenyon | 19 | Singing | Singer | Baxley, Georgia | 1 | ||
| Nick Pike | 30 | Danger | Daredevil | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | 1 | ||
| NU Covenant | 21-27 | Singing | Vocal Group | Cleveland, Ohio | 4 | ||
| Paul Safy Jr. | 26 | Singing | Singer | New York City | 1 | ||
| Pizza Patt | 27 | Variety | Pizza Dough Juggler | Columbus, Ohio | 5 | ||
| PLUtonic | 19-28 | Singing | A Cappella Group | Tacoma, Washington | 5 | ||
| Polina Volchek | 24 | Acobatics | Acrobat | Las Vegas (originally Moscow, Russia) | 3 | ||
| Prince Poppycock | 32 | Singing | Opera Singer | Los Angeles | 4 | ||
| Pup | 58 | Animals | Dog Act | Redwood City, California | 5 | ||
| RNG | 11-13 | Dance | Dance Group | Seattle | 1 | ||
| Ronith | 59 | Comedy | Impressionist | Seattle | 2 | ||
| Rudi Macaggi | 43 | Acrobatics | Acrobat | Las Vegas | 4 | ||
| Studio One Young Beast Society | 10-21 | Dance | Dance Group | Orlando, Florida | 3 | ||
| Ryan Rodriguez | 29 | Dance | Dancer | Santa Cruz, California | 5 | ||
| Sally Cohn | 75 | Music | Hand Whistler | Portland, Oregon | 1 | ||
| Strikers All Stars | 22-26 | Dance | Dance Group | Los Angeles | 4 | ||
| Swing Swift Slide Show | 30-31 | Danger | Sideshow Performers | Las Vegas | 6 | ||
| Taylor Mathews | 18 | Singing | Singer | Alexandria, Louisiana | 4 | ||
| The Hot Shot Tap Dancers | 19-25 | Dance | Tap Dance Group | Portland, Oregon | 1 | ||
| The South Philly Vikings | 16-56 | Dance | Dance Group | Philadelphia | 3 | ||
| The Strange Familiar | 27 | Singing / Music | Band | Woodland Hills, California | 3 | ||
| The Strong Man | 43 | Variety | Strongman | Pesotum, Illinois | 2 | ||
| Wreckless | 17-26 | Dance | Dance Group | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | 2 |
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Guest Performers, Results Show: Selena Gomez & the Scene, and cast of Rock of Ages & Dee Snider
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (July 14) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kung Fu Heroes | 1 | |||||
| Christina & Ali | 2 | |||||
| Airpocalypse | 3 | |||||
| The Hot Shot Tap Dancers | 4 | |||||
| Paul Safy Jr. | 5 | |||||
| Future Funk | 6 | |||||
| Sally Cohn | 7 | |||||
| Nick Pike | 8 | |||||
| RNG | 9 | |||||
| Maricar | 10 | |||||
| Fighting Gravity | 11 | |||||
| Nathaniel Kenyon | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Cirque Du Soleil, and cast of Train.
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (July 21) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheer SF | 1 | |||||
| Alice Tan Ridley | 2 | |||||
| Mona Sampath Dance Company | 3 | |||||
| Iron Horse | 4 | |||||
| The Strong Man | 5 | |||||
| Ronith | 6 | |||||
| Hannibal Means | 7 | |||||
| Wreckless | 8 | |||||
| Lil Chris | 9 | |||||
| AscenDance | 10 | |||||
| Antonio Restivo | 11 | |||||
| Michael Grimm | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Mike Posner, and the JabbaWockeeZ.
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (July 28) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The South Philly Vikings | 1 | |||||
| CJ Dippa | 2 | |||||
| Harmonica Pierre | 3 | |||||
| Polina Volchek | 4 | |||||
| The Strange Familiar | 5 | |||||
| Haspop | 6 | |||||
| Luigi | 7 | |||||
| Chipps Cooney | 8 | |||||
| Kaya and Sadie | 9 | |||||
| Jeremy VanSchoonhoven | 10 | |||||
| Debra Romer | 11 | |||||
| Studio One Young Beast Society | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Taio Cruz, and Bret Michaels.
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 4) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Da Maniacs | 1 | |||||
| NU Covenant | 2 | |||||
| Anna and Patryk | 3 | |||||
| Lindsey Stirling | 4 | |||||
| Doogie Horner | 5 | |||||
| Rudi Macaggi | 6 | |||||
| Taylor Mathews | 7 | |||||
| Mary Ellen | 8 | |||||
| ArcAttack | 9 | |||||
| Prince Poppycock | 10 | |||||
| MURRAY | 11 | |||||
| Strikers All Stars | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Lin Yu Chun, Evolution of Dance, and David & Dania.
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 11) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLUtonic | 1 | |||||
| Dylan Plummer | 2 | |||||
| Pup | 3 | |||||
| Cam Hodges | 4 | |||||
| Ryan Rodriguez | 5 | |||||
| Austin Anderson | 6 | |||||
| Booker Forté | 7 | |||||
| Pizza Patt | 8 | |||||
| Kristina Young | 9 | |||||
| Maestro Alexander Bui | 10 | |||||
| Dan Sperry | 11 | |||||
| Jackie Evancho | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: LeAnn Rimes, and Criss Angel.[4]
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 18) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kruti Dance Academy | 1 | |||||
| Rudi Macaggi | 2 | |||||
| CJ Dippa | 3 | |||||
| RNG | 4 | |||||
| Harmonica Pierre | 5 | |||||
| Michael Grasso | 6 | |||||
| The Hot Shot Tap Dancers | 7 | |||||
| Doogie Horner | 8 | |||||
| Connor Doran | 9 | |||||
| Anna and Patryk | 10 | |||||
| Michael Lipari & Ashleigh Dejon | 11 | |||||
| Swing Shift Side Show | 12 | |||||
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Guest Performers, Results Show: Jimmy Fallon, Kylie Minogue, and Recycled Percussion.
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 25) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna & Patryk | 1 | |||||
| Christina & Ali | 2 | |||||
| Antonio Restivo | 3 | |||||
| Future Funk | 4 | |||||
| Taylor Mathews | 5 | |||||
| Connor Doran | 6 | |||||
| Dan Sperry | 7 | |||||
| Kristina Young | 8 | |||||
| ArcAttack | 9 | |||||
| Michael Grimm | 10 | |||||
| AscenDance | 11 | |||||
| Prince Poppycock | 12 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Le Rêve, and Jason Derülo.
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (September 1) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Tan Ridley | 1 | |||||
| Haspop | 2 | |||||
| Maestro Alexander Bui | 3 | |||||
| Michael Lipari & Ashleigh Dejon | 4 | |||||
| Michael Grasso | 5 | |||||
| Debra Romer | 6 | |||||
| Studio One Young Beast Society | 7 | |||||
| Jeremy VanSchoonhoven | 8 | |||||
| Nathaniel Kenyon | 9 | |||||
| MURRAY | 10 | |||||
| Jackie Evancho | 11 | |||||
| Fighting Gravity | 12 | |||||
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Guest Performers: Enrique Iglesias (Performance Episode); Sarah McLachlan, and cast of American Idiot (Results Show).[5]
| Top 10 Finalist | Order | Buzzes | Result (September 8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio One Young Beast Society | 1 | |||||
| Christina and Ali | 2 | |||||
| Jeremy VanSchoonhoven | 3 | |||||
| Taylor Mathews | 4 | |||||
| Anna & Patryk | 5 | |||||
| Fighting Gravity | 6 | |||||
| Michael Grimm | 7 | |||||
| Michael Grasso | 8 | |||||
| Prince Poppycock | 9 | |||||
| Jackie Evancho | 10 | |||||
Guest Performers, Results Show: Usher, the Goo Goo Dolls, cast of Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, and T-Pain.
Finalists performed with their favorite singers: Prince Poppycock sang a duet with Donna Summer, Michael Grimm with Jewel, Jackie Evancho with Sarah Brightman[6] and Fighting Gravity performed with Lionel Richie joining in singing.
| Grand-Finalist | Order | Buzzes | Result (September 15) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Poppycock | 1 | 4th | ||||
| Michael Grimm | 2 | 1st | ||||
| Jackie Evancho | 3 | 2nd | ||||
| Fighting Gravity | 4 | 3rd | ||||
The following ratings are based upon those published by Nielsen Media Research after this season's broadcast:
| Order | Episode(s) | Airdate | Rating | Share | Rating/Share (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | Rank (Timeslot) | Rank (Night) | Rank (Week) | |
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| 1 | "Los Angeles Auditions" | June 1, 2010 | 7.4 | 13 | 3.6/11 | 12.35 |
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| 2 | "Dallas Auditions" | June 2, 2010 | 6.1 | 10 | 2.9/9 | 10.35 |
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| 3 | "New York City Auditions" | June 8, 2010 | 7.4 | 12 | 3.7/10 | 13.09 |
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| 4 | "New York Auditions (Part 2)" | June 15, 2010 | 6.2 | 10 | 3.0/8 | 10.55 [9] |
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| 5 | "Orlando Auditions" | June 16, 2010 | 6.7 | 11 | 3.1/9 | 11.65 |
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| 6 7 | "Orlando Auditions (Part 2)" "Portland Auditions" | June 22, 2010 | 6.8 | 12 | 3.4/10 | 11.65 |
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| 8 | "Portland Auditions (Part 2)" | June 23, 2010 | 7.2 | 12 | 3.5/10 | 12.37 |
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| 9 | "Chicago Auditions" | June 29, 2010 | 6.0 | 10 | 2.9/9 | 10.23 |
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| 10 | "Final Auditions" | June 30, 2010 | 7.5 | 13 | 3.5/11 | 12.94 |
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| 11 | "Vegas Week (Part 1)" | July 6, 2010 | 7.0 | 12 | 3.4/10 | 11.82 |
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| 12 | "Vegas Week (Part 2)" | July 7, 2010 | 6.7 | 12 | 3.4/10 | 11.95 |
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| 13 | "Quarterfinals, Group 1" | July 13, 2010 | 6.8 | 11 | 3.3/10 | 11.63 |
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| 14 | "Quarterfinals, Group 1 Results" | July 14, 2010 | 6.5 | 11 | 3.0/10 | 11.17 [15] |
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| 15 | "Quarterfinals, Group 2" | July 20, 2010 | 6.2 | 11 | 3.0/9 | 10.48 |
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| 16 | "Quarterfinals, Group 2 Results" | July 21, 2010 | 5.9 | 10 | 2.6/8 | 10.02 |
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| 17 | "Quarterfinals, Group 3" | July 27, 2010 | 5.6 | 10 | 2.6/8 | 9.69 |
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| 18 | "Quarterfinals, Group 3 Results" | July 28, 2010 | 5.7 | 10 | 2.6/8 | 9.76 |
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| 19 | "Quarterfinals, Group 4" | August 3, 2010 | 6.0 | 10 | 2.9/8 | 10.37 |
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| 20 | "Quarterfinals, Group 4 Results" | August 4, 2010 | 5.9 | 10 | 2.8/8 | 10.06 |
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| 21 | "Quarterfinals, Group 5: YouTube" | August 10, 2010 | 6.2 | 11 | 2.9/9 | 10.48 |
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| 22 | "Quarterfinals, Group 5: YouTube, Results" | August 11, 2010 | 6.2 | 11 | 2.8/8 | 10.67 |
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| 23 | "Quarterfinals, Group 6: Wild Card" | August 17, 2010 | 6.1 | 10 | 2.9/8 | 10.19 |
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| 24 | "Quarterfinals, Group 6: Wild Card, Results" | August 18, 2010 | 6.0 | 10 | 2.6/8 | 10.30 |
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| 25 | "Semifinals, Group 1" | August 24, 2010 | 6.5 | 11 | 3.1/9 | 10.80 |
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| 26 | "Semifinals, Group 1 Results" | August 25, 2010 | 6.1 | 10 | 2.7/8 | 10.52 |
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| 27 | "Semifinals, Group 2" | August 31, 2010 | 6.7 | 11 | 3.0/9 | 11.50 |
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| 28 | "Semifinals, Group 2 Results" | September 1, 2010 | 6.2 | 10 | 2.5/8 | 10.47 |
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| 29 | "Top Ten, Performances" | September 7, 2010 | 7.3 | 12 | 3.3/9 | 12.35 |
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| 30 | "Top Ten, Results" | September 8, 2010 | 7.3 | 12 | 2.8/8 | 12.14 |
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| 31 | "Finals, Performances" | September 14, 2010 | 8.7 | 14 | 3.9/11 | 14.60 |
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| 32 | "Finale" | September 15, 2010 | 9.5 | 16 | 3.9/11 | 16.41 |
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