This is a bonus list of the big hits on Billboard throughout the 90's, please note that it is by no means official as I merely wanted to include better representation from 1992 onwards given how much dominance 1990 and 1991 had on Billboard's official list. What I've done is include every song that made the year end top 50 for the main, airplay or sales charts throughout the decade and early 2000 for the 1999 stragglers to try and simulate what would've come next on Billboard's official list had they stretched it out further. Once again, I'm only including songs that have already appeared on this site of mine, although I will be including alternate art once more for entries where I'm able to find it.
This was the first song to become a hit in America that wasn't given a physical release, granted it was far from the first song to chart on the airplay charts without a physical release, however it appears the Counting crows were the first band to find success with a song that wasn’t released in order to promote the album it came from in their homeland.
I feel this is one of the near misses on Billboard's official list given how much of a huge success it was on the main charts, although this is the only song from Spin doctors most can name, "Little miss can't be wrong" was also a decent success in their homeland even if it was more successful in NZ back in the day.
It's interesting this never received a physical release in their homeland given how big of a hit it was for Green day internationally, then again, this was the song that propelled Dookie into the mainstream worldwide, so perhaps there was a slither of truth when it's absence on American store shelves is what caused people to buy the album over there.
I'm not sure why this wasn't released as a single in America given how OMC's album wasn't even that big in his native NZ, I guess his American label wanted to change that given how it was a massive worldwide hit for the rapper but alas it did the album no favours over there.
This is the only new entry from MC Hammer on this list, although I did have "Addams groove" as a candidate on here given how that also did fairly well in his native America back in the day. This just goes to show how long Hammer time lasted in the early stretch of the decade even if it came to a violent end a year after this came out.
Given how overplayed this was here in Australia, I'm surprised it wasn't one of the most overplayed songs of the decade in Fastball's native America even if it makes the list purely through its airplay stats as it was never released as a single over there. They did have a second hit with "Out of my head" which saw a surge in popularity when Machine gun Kelly sampled it for his hit "Bad things."
It's little surprise this was a massive success in America given how big it was here in Australia, like many rock bands of the late 90's, these guys were a one hit wonder even in their homeland as none of their other singles managed to entice radio stations to play them or their fellow Americans to buy them.
I'm a bit surprised this didn't make the official list given how there was little chance this was going to flop on Billboard, I guess it was another near miss as it would've been a shoe in for Billboard's list had they not clogged it with throwaway entries from the first stretch of the decade.
If you're wondering why I didn't feature a song from Hootie and the Blowfish on the main list, that's because neither "I only wanna be with you" or "Hold my hand" were hits anywhere in the world outside of America as this was their only international hit for the band. Indeed, I had three other songs in their catalogue as candidates for this list, proving just how inescapable they were in their homeland.
I hope you're not sick of rock songs on this list because there's a ton of them to come, although there's some variety so this isn't a collection of songs made by a rock snob or anything. Any who, we have this one and only solo hit from Everlast six years after his big hit with his former group House of pain which proved to be a massive radio hit for him in his homeland.
Even though this was a huge chart topper for Jann Arden in her native Canada, it appears America wasn't interested in this ballad of hers until it became a chart topper here in Australia which finally compelled them to check out this hit of hers. Naturally she remains a one hit wonder over there like she does internationally.
It seems weird that this is the third biggest hit from a member of the Fugees throughout the decade given how I feel Wyclef Jean didn't explode in popularity outside of the trio until the new millennium, indeed this outranks Pras's biggest hit (which we'll get to) despite that being the definitive Fugees track outside of their big hit together (in my opinion.)
It appears the real reason for this becoming a hit in America (and I guess internationally) was that this was the soundtrack to a Peugeot 206 commercials which compelled his fellow Americans to finally let him escape the one hit wonder bin in America he had been trapped in since "It ain't over till it's over" from the start of the decade.
Even though this was 2Pac's first big international hit as well as the first top ten hit he had in America, he did have a string of other moderate hits prior to this, two of which were even candidates for this bonus list of mine ("I get around" and "Keep ya head up") proving how successful he was in his lifetime.
I guess Americans were also sad to see the end of Seinfeld given how this song that played during its series finale managed to become a massive radio hit over there, although it wasn't released as a single there likely due to their label wanting to use its popularity as an excuse to promote their (then) latest album Nimrod.
There won't be many more entries from the west coast hip hop scene to appear on this list despite how successful that scene was over in NZ, I guess Americans wanted to keep the peace by allowing both sides of the hip hop scene equal amounts of success as there were plenty of candidates I had from the east coast for this extended list of mine.
This wasn't the biggest hit that Matchbox 20 had in American airwave (that honour goes to "3am" which appears on Billboard's official 90's list) however it was their breakthrough single over there just like it was here in Australia which meant it was guaranteed success even if it never saw a physical release over there like it did over here.
I'm shocked this didn't make Billboard's official list for the 90's given how inescapable this was throughout the rest of the world, I guess Janet and Luther's fellow Americans weren't as big of fans of Mo money as the rest of the world was particularly us Aussies and Brits where this almost topped both of our charts.
It's a bit strange that this was more of an international hit that it was in 20 fingers native America, then again this is an EDM track and a rather goofy (and some might say offensive) one at that, so perhaps this is more a case of the song not resonating with their fellow Americans the same way it resonated with international audiences.
All of the spectacle that went into this song's release and it only resulted in it being the first song to debut in the Billboard top ten, granted MJ's second single from his album History was the first song to debut at number one in America, however it was clear this was the song that was meant to take that prize what with the duet with his younger sister and the expensive music video.
Both of the other two hits that Kris Kross had in NZ will be appearing on this list, I even had a third candidate for this list in "Tonite's that night" from their third album, which goes to show how popular the duo was even when entering adulthood in their homeland.
I should mention that there will be several entries on here that had a low peak position on the Billboard charts but did quite well with sales, this novelty track form Green jelly is one of these entries as it appears fans of MTV were willing to make this a massive hit on their sales chart despite radio refusing to play it.
I should point out that I didn't skip any entry from Naughty by nature when constructing my official list for the Billboard charts of the 90's, indeed they still have another appearance later down this list as well as another song of theirs that was a candidate that wasn't a hit in NZ like their three entries were.
This is the only notable hit that the Smashing pumpkins had in their homeland, I guess it makes sense given how "Disarm" was more of a surprise hit here in Australia and that they were more of an albums band back in the day. Heck the real surprise was that this was released as a single in their homeland, presumably due to the overwhelming success its album had by the time it was chosen as a single.
This is the only entry on this list to find success in the 00's, although it was more due to how long it lasted on the Billboard charts given how it was released the same time in Whitney's homeland as it was over in NZ. It remains her final hit single to date as her duet with Enrique Iglesias bombed over there.
You may be surprised to learn this was Shania Twain's breakthrough single in the UK as she only barely had success with "You're still the one" over there, naturally this meant it would be a huge hit in America given how this almost topped the charts in Australia and actually topped the charts in NZ because of its success with the Brits.
Although this was Ma$e's biggest hit over in NZ, it was merely a decent hit for the rapper in his homeland likely because his fellow Americans was already familiar with his back catalogue as opposed to the kiwis who had discovered him through his guest verse on Puff daddy's tribute tracks for Biggie smalls.
It's strange that this was more of an international success for 4 non blondes than it was on Billboard given how this nearly topped the Australian, NZ and UK charts for the LGBT band (it actually did top the Australian charts if we're going by the AMR charts.) At least it was a hit for the girls even if the radio did its best to suppress it over there.
This was the third single from Janet's magnum opus the Velvet rope, as such there was little chance this was going to flop in her homeland even if it wasn't as inescapable as several of her songs that failed to appear on the main list of mine. She would have one more hit in her homeland with "All for you" before she fell into obscurity just like she did worldwide.
If I had to guess why the A.V club once considered One hot minute an inessential album (an assessment time has hilariously aged poorly) it would be its failure to spawn a hit for the band in their homeland as the lead single to their comeback album Californication proved to be a huge hit for them over there just like it was internationally.
We haven't had a lot of international representation on this list, have we? Sorry to say but that's not going to change as Shakespeare's sister is one of the lucky few non-American artists to score an appearance on this list proving once again how shut off from the rest of the world Billboard was throughout the 90's. At least they got a look in due to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade in their native UK.
So much for Hanson being a one hit wonder in their native America, this was a top ten hit on the main Billboard charts even if a lot of its success came from its strong sales rather than airplay which admittedly had overtaken their music scene by the time it hit store shelves.
Surprised there wasn't more representation from these guys on the main list? Well, it appears their fellow Americans didn't have as much love for them as what the kiwis did as not only is this their only new appearance on this list, but also the only one that was a candidate for this list as the rest of their catalogue bombed in their homeland.
Given how inescapable these girls were in their homeland and in NZ, it only makes sense that Americans would check out to see what all the fuss was about even if it was mainly through sales as this makes the list despite failing to appear on a main Billboard year end list. Just goes to show how prominent airplay was as this could've easily made the 1999-year end list were nonphysical releases excluded.
I should've had this song appear on the main list in the position that "You learn" would've occupied, however "You learn" topped the airplay charts on Billboard as opposed to this merely being a top twenty hit on there, so I decided to place it here instead which is where I feel it would place had Billboard extended their list.
There were two other songs from Collective soul that were candidates for this list ("The world I know" and "December") however this was the only international hit the band had which is why it's their only appearance on this list. For what it's worth, I would be curious to come across a NZ airplay list for the 90's as I feel many songs that were hits here in Australia and flops over there weren't released as singles there.
I would've thought this would be a shoe in for an airplay chart topper on Billboard, alas it was only a decent airplay hit in America given how this too failed to receive a physical release for Tonic in their homeland. It did the album no favours, proving once again this practice was very hit and miss at best and a hinderance to upcoming artists at worst.
This is another example of a huge hit here in Australia not being released as a single throughout most parts of the world, as you can imagine, this was only a hit through airplay where it did extremely well for Live albeit as a sleeper hit as it lasted quite some time in their top twenty despite failing to crack their top ten.
It appears La Bouche was the penultimate champion of EDM as far as Americans were concerned (the winner of course being Real McCoy) as they have a second appearance on this list following "Be my lover" from the main list. For what it's worth, Corona came close to appearing on here with "Rhythm of the night" as did Culture beat with "Mr vain."
For what it's worth, Aaliyah did have an entry on Billboard's 90's list with "Back and forth," so it's not like her theme to the Eddie Murphy version of Dr Dolittle was her biggest hit of the decade in her homeland like it was over in NZ. That said, she also had a potential candidate for this list with "If your girl only knew" which failed to make the cut due to it flopping internationally.
I feel this almost made Billboard’s 90's list given how it was an all-round success for Arrested development both with sales and airplay, I only rank it this low due to a system I have for expanding this list for Billboard. That out of the way, it's little surprise this was a huge hit for Arrested development in their homeland as was "People everyday" which we'll revisit in a bit.
Busta Rhymes fans can rest easy as both of his big hits he had in NZ will be appearing on this list of mine, it's interesting how little success he had in his homeland throughout the 90's given how these are the only two hits he had on Billboard which were both bigger in NZ than they were over there.
In an odd move, Will Smith decided not to release this as a single even though he already topped the charts with "Getting jiggy with it" in his homeland. This meant that once again he had to rely on airplay which admittedly was strong enough for this to be a genuine success in his homeland like it was over in NZ.
This is another song I'm surprised wasn't inescapable on Billboard’s airplay charts, although it was a huge hit there as this also failed to receive a physical release even though it was eligible for the main charts when it first hit their airwaves.
I'm somewhat surprised this wasn't even bigger in America given how big of a hit it was over in NZ for all the ladies in question, I guess their fellow Americans weren't big fans of Nothing to lose given how we still have another entry from the soundtrack to come on this list of mine.
We can once again thank sales for why this appears on this list as this was barely a top twenty hit on the main Billboard charts for Cypress hill back in the day, I guess this is my way of acknowledging that there are two very different music scenes in America from the 90's depending on if we're looking at the airplay charts or the sales charts as naturally these guys had no shot of getting on the airwaves.
This is another hit that saw no airplay on the Billboard charts, I guess this goes to show that there potentially would've been even more women on the charts had they not been pushed aside for rock bands as admittedly there weren't many female rockers back in the day we didn't feature on the main list.
As with most of the unconventional tracks on this bonus list of mine, this managed to be a huge success in America due to sales as the radio stations naturally had little idea on what to do with this track from Beck. There's a good chance this would've been a massive hit for the alt rocker had airplay not been factored onto the main charts when it came out.
This is another song from the Backstreet boys that wasn't released as a single in their homeland, although it makes sense here as this was from their debut album that didn't take off internationally until their second album did two years later. Even so, I don't know why this took off on the radio stations outside of maybe it receiving a physical release in the southern hemisphere.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit in America given how this was a huge chart topper for Brownstone in NZ, granted they were from the west coast; however, I was expecting this to be better than a mere top ten hit for the trio. What's more puzzling is that they're a one hit wonder in their homeland as opposed to one of the bigger girl groups of the decade in NZ.
We're really scrapping the barrel when it comes to British representation on this list, although like "Stay" from earlier, this was one of the biggest hits of the decade in KWS's homeland which makes sense why it crossed over to Billboard like it did internationally. It could also be that the Americans were ecstatic that there was finally a dance version of the rare non disco track from KC and the Sunshine band.
This this is embarrassing, mainly because this was only a hit in America thanks to sales and even then, it was way less popular for MC Lyte in her homeland than it was in NZ where this was a huge chart topper for her. At least she had another candidate for this list with "Keep on keeping on" which meant she wasn't a one hit wonder in her homeland like she was in NZ.
This is the only new entry from Madonna on this list, as she had more success internationally than she did in her homeland, it's also the only candidate I had for her even if "You'll see" did come close to becoming a candidate for her.
Given that this was a completely different side of Will Smith from the rest of his catalogue, it somewhat makes sense this wasn't as big a hit for him in his homeland as it was internationally even if it did quite well as a physical release. Once again, we have to blame airplay for why this didn't reach the dizzying heights of success it achieved in NZ and the UK, let alone here in Australia.
Even though this appears rather low on this list, I'd like to think this was a near miss for Billboard’s 90's list given how it was an all-round success with sales and airplay upon its release. This would explain how it managed to crossover her in Australia as this remains their only hit down under.
It appears the Americans were just as big of fans of Big of five as what we Aussies were in that they were only decent fans of the series, either that or they were also iffy in allowing a (at the time) three-year-old single to become a hit from a hair metal band who didn't have another hit outside of this single.
We've now featured all of Will Smith's biggest hits on this list that he had throughout the 90's, again we have airplay to thank for how well this song did for the actor/rapper as this was also not released as a single in his homeland despite his album already being a year old when it was chosen as one.
You would think that MJ would have a ton of entries on this bonus list of mine, alas not only was this the only candidate for this list, but the only other hit he had in his homeland throughout the 90's was "In the closet" meaning that his fellow Americans really weren't interested in what he had to offer this decade compared to the rest of the world.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't on Billboard's 90's list, although I feel it barely missed the cut given how it was an all-around success as a physical release and on airplay for Tevin Campbell. This would explain its crossover success here in Australia, and indeed "I'm ready" was also a candidate for this list which was a minor hit for him in NZ.
We've now featured all three songs that Jewel scored a massive worldwide hit with on this list, indeed "Who will save your soul" would've also made this bonus list of mine had that been a hit anywhere outside of America for the Alaskan singer. Her 00's output proved to be much less popular in her homeland than it was in the southern hemisphere.
I bet you were wondering if Oasis had any success in America given how inescapable they wree throughout the rest of the world in the 90's, indeed they were even if their signature track was the only hit they had on Billboard back in the day. Still the fact they scored a hit in America with one of the few songs of theirs to not top the British charts is impressive even if it was a mere top ten hit in America.
While this was a huge hit on the Billboard sales charts, its success here in Australia (by that I mean the E.P it came from) stems from it being a surprise hit in the UK where it became one of the biggest hits of 1992 with the Brits. We'll be looking at Ugly Kid Joe's other big international hit later down this list where it too was more of a success internationally than it was on Billboard.
These guys had a slow start to the boy band wars as this was far from the biggest hit of the genre in their homeland when it was released as a single, although they did win on a technicality as "It's gonna be me" did top the Billboard charts at the start of the 00's even if the Backstreet boys racked up the hits over there.
I think this is the first song in Mariah Carey's catalogue that had no chance of getting to number one in America given how it was far from a juggernaut on the airplay charts and that her fellow Americans had already bought Music box by the time it was released as a single. That said, it was definitely a shoe in for this bonus list of mine given how well it did on the radio back in the day.
This is the only other noteworthy hit that Warren G had in his homeland given how he had no other candidates for this list of mine, although he did have a minor hit over there with "I shot the sheriff" even if that was more of an international hit for the rapper than anything.
If you're wondering if this was 98° biggest hit in their native America, you'd be wrong as that honour goes to "Because of you" from the year prior to when this became their only hit in NZ. They had two other candidates for this list; however, they were international flops which is why they won't be appearing on here.
For a song that had no chance of winning Eurovision, this had a strangely long shelf life back in the day as this managed to become a big hit for Gina G in America albeit almost a year after it topped the British charts for the Australian singer. She's a one hit wonder in America just like she is here in Australia, presumably due to migrating to the UK when she scored her international hit.
Here's the other big hit from the Nothing to lose soundtrack that failed to appear on Billboard's 90's list, this is particularly odd as this comes from Coolio who did score multiple entries on the main list as opposed to Lil Kim and company who didn't.
You'd think this would've been a huge chart topper for 3T in their homeland given how much of an international success it was, alas it wasn't as it appears this became a huge worldwide hit due to it nearly topping the UK charts for the trio which led to them having a string of hits over there whilst being a one hit wonder in their native America.
From what I can gather, this was released as the lead single to Celine Dion's second album rather than to promote the film it won an academy award for soundtracking, even so, that didn't prevent this ballad she made with Peabo Bryson from becoming a hit in America like it did in NZ.
This is the other hit that Ugly Kid Joe had worldwide, although considering how much less popular it was in their homeland than it was in the southern hemisphere, you'd swear their fellow Americans had a hate boner towards this track due to their love of the Harry Chapin original. Admittedly the original was a chart topper on Billboard back in the day, so that might very well be the case.
Well at least we get to feature a second entry from Blackstreet on this list, although this means we only have two out of their three chart toppers they had in NZ as "Take me there" won't be appearing on here. Indeed, this was far less popular for the RNB group in their homeland than it was in NZ for whatever reason.
Well at least we're able to feature a second entry from Guns n roses on this list, it appears their fellow Americans passed up their theme for Terminator 2 in favour of this being the official lead single to their Use your illusions era even if its release was somewhat delayed for whatever reason.
Even though it was a massive box office success, it appears Americans didn't care much for the soundtrack to Bad boys as this wasn't nearly as successful on Billboard as it was throughout the rest of the world. Admittedly this might've been a hit in the UK due to it being a reggae track as I doubt many people realise this and "I've got a little something for you" from MN8 come from the soundtrack.
So you'd think this would be a huge hit in America given that it was a chart topper in NZ and Australia (the AMR charts that is) alas you'd be wrong as this was only a sleeper hit on their airwaves which I guess means the fellow Americans of everyone on this track weren't big fans of Bulworth or simply didn't want to give Pras a hit before Lauryn Hill.
I guess Americans weren't too big a fan of Cool Runnings, either that or they simply didn't like this reggae cover of the Johnny Nash classic from the early 70's like the kiwis did as this was only a sleeper hit as a radio hit for the Jamaican singer. It could also be they didn't know who Jimmy Cliff was as this was the only hit he had on Billboard throughout his career.
Here's the other big hit that Busta Rhymes had in the 90's, it was even less of a success than it was over in NZ where this topped the charts for the rapper. His fortunes would change for the better moving into the new millennium as he scored a ton of success worldwide and in his homeland as a rapper and singer.
Much like in NZ, this was the lead single to Inner circle's breakthrough album in America which of course meant it was going to be a huge success for them on Billboard. Unlike in NZ, this was their only hit, meaning that their massive worldwide hit "Sweat" underperformed on the Billboard charts for the reggae group and thus won't be appearing on this list.
This is one of only two hits that Snoop Dogg had in his homeland throughout the 90's, the other was "Gin and juice" which would've had a higher placement on this list had that been a hit for him anywhere outside of his homeland. He wouldn't trouble the Billboard charts again until nine years later when "Beautiful" became a surprise hit for him in 2003.
If you were wondering if their fellow Americans paid any attention to their forced comeback in the mid 90's, they did as "I'm still in love with you" managed to make Billboard's 90's list despite this being the bigger international hit for the former boy band back in the day. Alas they really called it quits once they were done promoting their album as they only made it due to contractual obligations.
This is the other entry that Naughty by nature had on this list, you'd think it would be "Craziest" given how that was their other top ten hit they had in NZ but alas, that was a massive flop for the trio in their homeland back in the day.
This was another hip-hop track that made it big through sales in America given how it seems to have done much better in NZ where airplay wasn't a factor (at least during its popularity) as it was in the group's homeland where airplay was a massive factor in a song's popularity.
We have another entry from a British band on this list, this time it's the signature track from the Verve which became a massive radio hit for the band on Billboard even though this did receive a physical release in America back then. This also shares the distinction of it failing to top the UK charts despite the band having a British chart topper that failed to crossover that Oasis's entry from earlier had.
I'm starting to cheat a little at this point as I included the top fifty sales for 1999 even though there were slim pickings to choose from on that list, even so I had to make an incentive to include this and one other entry from the Spice girls on this list to show that the Americans did in fact listen to their catalogue outside of their debut album.
We're really racking up the Oscar winning ballads on this list, aren't we? Here's the big hit that Bruce Springsteen had worldwide from the Philadelphia soundtrack that revived his career following the lack of success he had since his magnum opus Born in the USA from a decade prior.
I guess Jamie Walter's fellow Americans weren't too big of fans of his music as the kiwis were given how much less popular this was on Billboard compared to the NZ charts back in the day. That said, at least this was eligible for my bonus list which is more than I can say for several other failed TV actors turned musicians of the decade.
It was inevitable that this would be a huge radio hit on Billboard given how it was a huge hit here in Australia for these guys, although admittedly it took a while to crossover to our charts given how it was much more of a sleeper hit in America compared to many other entries on this list.
This is the other new entry from the Spice girls on this list, it appears to have been a success purely through sales as Americans weren't interested in listening to the girls on the radio after the end of their debut album's cycle. "Too much" was a top ten hit for them on the main charts, however that's only because it was nominated for worst song at the Razzies.
This is the other big hit that Kris Kross had in NZ, naturally it was a decent hit in their native America even if it was obvious the kiwis loved their music by this point more than their fellow Americans. That said, they did see some success with their third album in their homeland where they didn't with the kiwis.
It's odd that this was the least successful single from Arrested development's debut album in their homeland given how this nearly topped the UK charts for the hip hop group back in the day. Suffice to say, it was this song that made them an international household name likely due to it sampling the Sly and the family stone track of the same name from 1970.
I guess U2 was able to find some success in America in the 90's after all given how this managed to scrape into my list, indeed "One" barely missed out on being a candidate for this list which means the band had at least some appeal in the 90's with Americans even if that appeal faded once they released Zooropa in 1993.
This was a big hit in NZ for KCI and JoJo, so naturally it would also be the case for them in their native America even if it feels more like a last hurrah for the duo given how it was one of the last songs of the decade to be a success and that they wouldn’t have another hit in the new millennium.
This entry barely made the cut for this list as it appears Americans were willing to leave George Michael behind in the 80's by the time he joined Queen to replace Freddie Mercury as their least vocalist, although he did have a few minor hits on Billboard with the entries that already appeared on this site of mine.
We have a reappearance from Len given how they managed to score a massive hit in America just before they did worldwide due to it becoming a surprise hit for the Canadian band in the UK. It was a huge hit here in Australia at the start of the 00's, making this another obligatory 00's hit down under that qualified for this 90's list of mine.
The final entry on this list of mine, it seems fitting that White town would take that honour given how he managed to find more success internationally than he did in his native UK with this track due to its novelty of a man singing a song clearly written from a woman's perspective. It did quite well on the airplay charts on Billboard, however Americans clearly were put off by the lyrics when purchasing it.
As for my final thoughts of this expanded list of mine, it’s basically the same as I had on the main list as there doesn’t seem to be any changes statistically to what was popular in America throughout the 90’s. The only new thing I’ll add is that it appears that the radio stations were more in line with rock and roll whilst audiences were spending money on RNB and hip hop according to the Billboard charts, which more than explains why there’s such a fierce rivalry between rock snobs and hip-hop snobs in America to this day. I’m not bothering expanding this list as let’s face it, I covered all the obvious absentees from the main list around the halfway point on here.
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