r/popculturechat • u/LMRowanComedy You’re killing me, Smalls 😩 • Nov 24 '25
Pop Culture Trivia 🤓 What is your favorite example of delayed gratification in pop culture?
Delayed
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u/JuliasTooSmallTutu Protruded from the narrative Nov 24 '25
Titanic’s first week box office returns were solid but not spectacular. Word of mouth and people returning to see it multiple times is what propelled it to become the first film to make one billion dollars.
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Nov 24 '25
Word of mouth and people returning to see it multiple tim
My sister saw it in theaters seventeen times.
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u/Illustrious-Grl-7979 Nov 24 '25
I must confess I saw it at least 3 timew at the theater, but with different people. I also bought the soundtrack CDs, both regular and orchestral. 🙂
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u/limee89 Nov 24 '25
Jesus, reading your comment reminds me how much I miss the 90s.
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u/MrsSmith2246 Nov 24 '25
Ugh me too and myself back there. I'd really love a do-over in some areas of my life. The nostalgia for me is too saturated with regret to enjoy right now
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Nov 24 '25
I still own the two pack VHS!
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u/sk8tergater Nov 24 '25
It’s still super weird to me to watch the movie all the way through with no break after “I believe you may get your headlines Mr Ismay”
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u/EveningFeature2093 Can I live? Nov 24 '25
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u/Sproose_Moose Confidence is 10% work and 90% delusion Nov 24 '25
Jfc watching it once in 1997 was enough for my lifetime
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u/HaterMD Dear Diary, I want to kill. ✍️ Nov 24 '25
This was me with the first Harry Potter, lol. Every time one of my family members or friends’ parents mentioned going, asking if I’d seen it yet, I’d play coy. I ended up watching it eleven times.
My mother couldn’t even be mad.
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u/Special-Garlic1203 Nov 24 '25
Titanic is like the ultimate anti-plot twist. There's quite literally no other way the story could have gone, basic history and the framing device both make it abundantly clear this isn't getting a happy ending, and knowledge of who Cameron is as a director signal this will not be a regular period drama.
But you're still caught off guard by the love story very suddenly and rudely being interrupted and all of a sudden it's a disaster epic, and the commitment to really showing the scale of the disaster.
I'm extremely interested in who helped with the script because I don't think Cameron stumbled onto the sleight of hand with narrative fallacy of Jack as protagonist and then Rose taking agency of her own story at the end. He's a good director but he excels at the technical aspects. I do not believe planet ice became the movie we got without some outside intervention. It just took perfectly blends what he's good at and what he's usually bad at in a way that has something for just about everyone
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Nov 24 '25
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u/PastoralPumpkins Nov 24 '25
The power of Leo. I knew someone who saw Romeo and Juliet five times and yes, she was a teenage girl.
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u/anonymoususer98545 Nov 24 '25
Former teenage girl~i saw it an ungodly number of times too. But for John Leguizamo and Harold Perrineau. The crushes still stand, lol.
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u/PastoralPumpkins Nov 24 '25
I was in 4th grade when Titanic came out and I still managed to see it twice in the theaters!
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u/tvp204 Mom, I am a rich man💰 Nov 24 '25
Are teenage girls not people?
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u/TropicalPrairie Nov 24 '25
Teenage girls often have their interests ridiculed and mocked, yet they have a buying power and influence that can drive economies. Of course they are people, but they aren't generally respected for what they bring to the table (and that is by design unfortunately).
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u/contemplatingdaze no broke boys, no new friends Nov 24 '25
Unfortunately it’s because of the lack of assumed purchasing power and trend hopping.
As a former teenaged girl, I do get it. But when I loved something I went HARD for it. Still do 😅
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u/MyStanAcct1984 Nov 24 '25
As someone who was also alive then :) I think this undersells the story a little. It worked for younger women 10/10 but also for young couples-- love story for her, action for him.There were so many man-on-the-streets interviews of couples going to see it....
I'm not a huge fan artistically speaking but the conceptual angle wrt marketing and audience grab is fantastic.
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u/Smallworld_88 Nov 24 '25
I remember the 5th grade girls in my class bringing their titanic ticket stub collections to school
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u/mindylahiriMDbitch I am asking WHERE HE IS GOING Nov 24 '25
Dirty dancing almost getting a ‘straight to video’ treatment then becoming one of the most iconic films ever.
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u/trippapotamus You’re doing amazing, sweetie! 👏👏📸 Nov 24 '25
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u/TheHighlightReel11 Nov 24 '25
“I do, because I’m her father and she’s sixteen. What are you.. like 38?”
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u/trippapotamus You’re doing amazing, sweetie! 👏👏📸 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
lolol idk how I’ve never seen that but thanks for enlightening me. Valid. I loved that movie as a kid but now as an adult she looks soooo young. I don’t remember if they ever actually say her supposed age but it’s obviously apparent there was a gap (in terms of the storyline, I know there literally was)
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u/teachertraveler1 Nov 24 '25
Kelly Bishop wasn't supposed to be the mom but was brought in at the last minute. She talks about it in her memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl. Fantastic read, would highly recommend the audiobook where she reads it herself.
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u/slothsie Nov 24 '25
I found the original soundtrack vinyl in my mom's collection and yoinked it so fast. She's been framed on my wall for the past 15 years 🥰
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u/Nasus_13 I wont not fuck you the fuck up 🥊🥊 Nov 24 '25
I was in middle school when this came out and all the girls were obsessed with this movie.
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u/Chalky_Cupcake Nov 24 '25
Let the record show that i never slept on Megamind.
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u/jungfraulichkeit jesus was a carpenter 💋 Nov 24 '25
I’m biased against Megamind because I saw it in theaters at 15 on my first date ever with a boy and he showed me photos of his amphibian collection beforehand and then gave me my first kiss in front of my MOM when she picked me up and then I broke up with him at school the next day. Good movie though.
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u/GlitterDoomsday Nov 24 '25
Poor amphibian boy, you broke his heart 😂😂😂
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u/jungfraulichkeit jesus was a carpenter 💋 Nov 24 '25
I just stalked him on LinkedIn and he manages a pet store now. Proud of him :’)
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Nov 24 '25
Damn...if only you had kept him away from your mom, you could now have access his whole collection of cute/cool amphibians photos, pet store manager version
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Nov 24 '25
It’s genuinely one of my fav movies. That (and Shrek 2) are comfort films for me lmfao
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u/Miss-Tiq Nov 24 '25
Same. I'm much more likely to re-watch Megamind than Despicable Me. It's more silly and witty and less cloying.
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u/redassaggiegirl17 Nov 24 '25
I've literally never seen DM, but I've seen Megamind at least a dozen times
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u/killJoytrinity8 angela basset did the thang 💃🏽 viola davis my woman king 👑 Nov 24 '25
My country has loved megamind since day 1, it was on tv all the time when I was younger and you bet I watched it every time.
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u/Samiiiibabetake2 Nov 24 '25
Same. I’ve got very real feelings about how Megamind was the better and way less annoying moving. “I’m going to pack my thing and go” lives in my head rent free.
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u/No-Database-9556 Nov 24 '25
Schitts creek was just a little Canadian show until it got on Netflix, blew up, and swept the Emmy’s in its last season.
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u/Antique-Quail-6489 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
I was SO confused by this. I had watched some of it on cbc and couldn’t really get into it and ignored it. And then suddenly a little while later it was everywhere. I started questioning if this was the same show and if I was going crazy.
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u/No-Database-9556 Nov 24 '25
The only people who I knew watched it early on was my mom and grandmother. And I don’t typically trust that demographic regarding cbc sitcoms. But gotta give it to them, they were right.
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u/Catezero Nov 24 '25
My dad has watched it in its entirety. My dad doesn't watch ANYTHING. It almost feels like a balm in these trying times when you can find a show that gen z quotes endlessly and even old boomer ass Canadian men are like "heh, yeah, I like that"
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u/PSB2013 Nov 24 '25
Me too! My mom watched it, and she was like, "You have to see it, it's so good!". I had zero faith but watched an episode with her to humor her, and I was so pleasantly surprised! I was fully not expecting the swearing.
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u/bottleglitch Nov 24 '25
Did you ever return to it? The first season was not nearly as good. I’d see it here and there and then was also so confused when it blew up, but I went back to it and realized that as it continues on, it becomes one of the best sitcoms ever imo. Plus just SUPER heartwarming and that’s what people gravitated toward during the pandemic.
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u/little-bird Nov 24 '25
I know a couple of people who gave up on it very early because “the characters are so unlikeable” 😝 and I definitely get that - but I think they start out unlikeable in pretty funny and realistic/relatable ways, then the show develops each character in a way that you never really see on sitcoms.
the main cast goes through so much growth in the following seasons, while still keeping the comedy and the individual quirks that made each of them unique. it’s like the opposite of Flanderization.
by the end you find it so heartwarming because you’ve learned to care for these weirdos, and the way you’ve seen them mature makes the finale feel like they've really earned it, instead of the awkward schmaltz that writers usually force into their character conclusions.
truly top-tier storytelling for a sitcom.
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u/bottleglitch Nov 24 '25
Ooh, “the opposite of Flanderization” is so accurate! I totally agree with your take.
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u/limee89 Nov 24 '25
Please tell me you gave it another go? I admit the first 2 episodes were kind of like "meh" but I was hooked fast. I honestly thought it was going to be one of those stupid humor but no sir... it's on my top 5 favorite tv shows of all time. The fact it's Canadian is the cherry on the cake.
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u/Bl1nk1nUR4r34 We Should All Know Less About Each Other Nov 24 '25
same, watched 3 episodes and tapped out
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u/time4listenermail Nov 24 '25
It took me a minute to get into it, despite adoring Catherine O’Hara. A solid friend recommended it, and said to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I did. It’s simply the best.
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u/Cass_Cat952 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Nov 24 '25
SC was good, but I'm still upset The Good Place didn't get any Emmys for its final season
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u/ith228 Nov 24 '25
The term you’re looking for is sleeper hit, not delayed gratification.
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u/I-Am-The-Warlus 🎼Music Aficionado🎶 Nov 24 '25
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The film bombed when it came out but it wasn't until the midnight screening became a thing, that RHPS became a household name.
Other note;
I thought the GameCube came out before PS2 & Xbox
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u/YouNeedCheeses Nov 24 '25
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u/SwoozyClancey Is this chicken or is this fish? 🤔🤔 Nov 24 '25
Tim Curry as Frankenfurter really did things to me
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u/Tariovic lazy 50-year-old bougie bitch 💋 Nov 24 '25
The Shawshank Redemption and Withnail & I are two movies that were box office disappointments but were given new life with video release. Both are now beloved classics.
Off topic: I was working away from home, and my boyfriend at the time told me on the phone not to come home as he had got another woman pregnant. I stayed the weekend with a coworker. She put on a movie to cheer me up, and she chose... The Shawshank Redemption. I mean, I loved the film, but it wasn't the jolly romp I would have expected in the circumstances.
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u/Ill_Entertainment895 Nov 24 '25 edited May 05 '26
I bulk delete Reddit comments using Redact which also supports Twitter, Discord, Instagram, and data brokers.
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u/TheHighlightReel11 Nov 24 '25
GameCube and Xbox came out within a month of each other, but the PS2 was released over a year prior to both.
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Nov 24 '25
Nine Inch Nails “Pretty Hate Machine” was not an immediate smash hit. Trent Reznor’s initial label, TVT, punished him for it by calling the record “an abortion” and threatened to take over Reznor’s creative process for the next album.
To stall this threat, Trent went on tour and stayed on the road for over THREE YEARS. Eventually, word of mouth about the live shows got out and the album blew up.
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u/Kerfluffle-Bunny not about to ‘back that ass up’ with Sharon 🔙🍑🆙 Nov 24 '25
Such an amazing album. Then he went shook the genre on its damn head with Broken.
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u/catsandnaps1028 Nov 24 '25
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u/yekirati Deposit 10% and her wig. 💅 Nov 24 '25
Right? Even if they underperformed, I still think 6:16 in LA and Euphoria were some of Kendrick's best songs of the feud. Euphoria goes so hard!
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Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
6.16 in LA didn't even underperform. It was a response to Taylor Made Freestyle which Drake posted on IG. So Kendrick responded by only uploading on IG.
And since Drake tried to bring Taylor Swift into the mix for some reason, Kendrick responded by having Soundwave and Jack Antonoff produce the song [Both have produced songs for Taylor in the past]
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u/sidecarfalcon69 Nov 24 '25
I’ll remember when Not Like Us dropped for the rest of my life. It was already on some “how the fuck is he doing this?” shit but then i listened to it with my ex who was not much of a Kdot fan at the time and she had me run it back like 5 times in a row.
Went from “damn this battle is fun to follow” to “oh shit.. Kendrick is about to take over the entire world.”
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u/stocktonbound Nov 24 '25
The Grammys are overall unserious but it was definitely an "oh shit" moment when Not Like Us won 2 of the "Big Four" awards. That was unprecedented for a diss track written by a Black man.
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u/insertcoolnamehere_7 Oh no baby, what is you Dune??? Nov 24 '25
The “oh shit” moment at the Grammys for me was the entire audience singing “A Minooooooor.” Imagine a room of your peers, coworkers, people you look up to all joyfully calling you a pedo. It was beautiful. 🥹
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u/DestroyerOfMils that’s my purse, i don’t know you! 👛🫵 Nov 24 '25
It was indescribable. I was already a huge dot fan since tpab, and I knew what an amazing thing I was experiencing while it was happening and my brain was FUCKING EXPLODING.
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u/pork_floss_buns Nov 24 '25
It was one of the funnest weeks on the internet. I will never forget hearing the opening of MTG and laughing at how diabolical it was.
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u/jungfraulichkeit jesus was a carpenter 💋 Nov 24 '25
Euphoria is a masterpiece.
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u/HereOnCompanyTime Renee Rapp is mean girl Jojo Siwa 💋 Nov 24 '25
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u/username_elephant Nov 24 '25
They definitely did. But they're Drake fans, and thus were pre-selected for being slow on the uptake.
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u/Ill-Squirrel-9418 (seemingly bald) Nov 24 '25
Yeah. I wasn't even that invested, and even I knew how it was gonna go down.
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u/Idk_scarred_4394 Nov 24 '25
I didn't take it seriously at first because of drake - that man moves goofy. Then Kendrick responded, and i was sat lol
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u/isaasplf Nov 24 '25
people like to say euphoria underperformed when euphoria to me was when the battle was won by kendrick. how do you come back from a six minute character assassination like that? it was over by "when i see you stand by sexyy red i believe you see two bad bitches"
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u/sonofcabbagemerchant Nov 24 '25
Yeah that one felt like personal wishful thinking. At best some people thought they were tied at the point OP references. There was no collective assertion Drake was winning if anything Euphoria was still seen as the top song.
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u/aybsavestheworld Not a white refrigerator honey Nov 24 '25
Anyone who has ever witnessed Kendrick’s career in any capacity knows that man is on a whole other level than… well… most rappers really.
Good kid maad city is an impossible achievement and there’s never gonna be an album like that making us peep into black peoples lives in a more raw way. Like ever.
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u/teachertraveler1 Nov 24 '25
I was living in Europe and Meet the Grahams dropped early Saturday morning and I was literally on a plane waiting to take off, listened to two minutes with my jaw on the floor, had to turn airplane mode on and wait until landing, listened to the rest of the song and was in such a daze I don't exactly remember how I got from the airport onto a bus to the city center. 😂
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u/bloodypolarbear Nov 24 '25
Also how can it be "delayed" gratification when it was like four days between Euphoria and Not Like Us, all anyone was talking about at the time was how quick that all came out!
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u/Groot746 Nov 24 '25
Right? Also think it's hilariously ridiculous to put "YouTuber made a video" on the level of these other examples, lol
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u/bae_leef DAH 👹 Nov 24 '25
Cherry on top was the Super Bowl at the beginning of this year, and then Dodgers wining against Toronto in the World Series a few weeks ago (cue Not Like Us on the stadium organ 🎶)
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u/DigitalNecromancy Nov 24 '25
Also Kendrick playing Toronto's stadium before Drake while touring the victory lap of the victory lap of the victory lap. I was there, and that show went HARD.
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u/bae_leef DAH 👹 Nov 24 '25
Omg I’m so jealous you were there that must have been the best night ever 😂
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u/hera-fawcett Nov 24 '25
ngl i would love an intricate song by song timeline of kdot and drake.
bc i know im missing some huge ass bombs
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u/Cubriffic Nov 24 '25
Folie a Deux going from the album that got Fall Boy Boy booed at their own shows in 2009 to being aeguably their most popular and most respected album amongst fans in 2025.
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Nov 24 '25
Oh, you mean my fav Fall Out Boy album? I will never understand why people hated this. It went platinum in my house when it first dropped lmao.
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u/KaneDewey Nov 24 '25
My take is: it was the singles.
"I don't care" was okay. Did not move the Mainstream public that much, but for the diehard fans, it felt like an empty song from a band that sold out. "America's suitehearts" was too little too late for the fans and the album was trashed because of the already made up mind of the crowd.... Until they gave it a second listen, years later.
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u/Low-Appointment-2906 *drops bottom lip* how you doin? 👄 Nov 24 '25
Girl, are we twins? I just commented about this 😭
It's insane how long it took people to realize how amazing that album is. So many years defending that album, I'm so happy it's so loved now.
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u/AllTheTeaPlease247 Nov 24 '25
Headfirst Slide is a masterpiece and I can't believe people ever disliked this album
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u/Cubriffic Nov 24 '25
It's my favourite album of all time, I'll find any excuse to talk about it lol!
As someone who started listening in 2015 and fell in love with Folie instantly, it's baffling that it was so hated for the longest time.
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u/Special-Garlic1203 Nov 24 '25
Because it was a complete and total departure from their earlier sound. They abandoned the majority of their early fanbase and then had to go and get an almost entirely new one. It's very weezer-esque
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u/Cubriffic Nov 24 '25
Maybe it's hindsight, me not being there in the moment or my music judgement just sucks but Folie doesn't feel like a total departure from Infinity on High to me. Obviously its a different sound but it feels more like a natural progression of their sound than a hard 180 into a new genre. Their first 4 albums all feel this way to me.
I would argue Mania is the album with the complete and total departure from their usual sound (I really like this album but I get why it's so divisive)
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u/Low-Appointment-2906 *drops bottom lip* how you doin? 👄 Nov 24 '25
Same! It kinda exposes my instability, but I just can't help talking about it and suggesting it to people lmaooo 😭
I'm honestly still confused why it was hated? Especially when you compare FAD to their post-hiatus music. FAD was not THAT different from their previous stuff. Seriously baffling.
But I also find it ironic that the album title alludes to insanity. I think it mentally destroyed people with how good it was, and accidentally accrued hate as a result lol 🤷♀️
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u/killJoytrinity8 angela basset did the thang 💃🏽 viola davis my woman king 👑 Nov 24 '25
Wait wait wait - fad was hated at first???? Why? Or there something else going on, because it's got some seriously insanely good songs!!!
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u/CapMoonshine Nov 24 '25
IDK what it is about Fall Out Boy but they've always seemed to have weirdly finicky fans.
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u/jsamurai2 Nov 24 '25
It’s the genre/time period I think. They’re the most commercially successful so it’s more apparent but ‘selling out’ or changing to sound more pop is/was considered Very Uncool.
Source: 15 year old me that said fuct was radio trash (it is in fact fantastic I was just salty they changed their sound lol)
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u/AllTheTeaPlease247 Nov 24 '25
I never realized this was slept on until I joined Reddit. This was my 2nd favorite album by them, instant banger immediately. Glad it's getting its respect now though
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u/CapMoonshine Nov 24 '25
Wow no mention of the OG Star Trek?
When it first came out it was nearly cancelled after the first season. Fan popularity got it renewed and now it's a cornerstone of Pop Culture, with countless references, spinoffs and other media inspired by it.
Almost everyone knows Spock, Kirk, Picard, "Khaaaaan!", and the "Live long and prosper" hand gesture, even without seeing the show.

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u/Momasaur Nov 24 '25
I might be taking a risk here of being that person and also being wrong, but the OG OG Star Trek was a hit at first, then cancelled after season three (and credit where credit's due, that show only moved ahead because Lucille Ball funded it). There were twice as many movies as there were seasons!
Now the Next Gen, that was almost cancelled and held on due to fans.
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u/CapMoonshine Nov 24 '25
Yeah OG, original Star Trek with Kirk, Spock, Uhura and a low budget is what I'm talking about lol.
When it came out it was nearly cancelled after season one due to low ratings, fans petitioned and wrote in to have it renewed for another season. And then it was cancelled after season three, as you said.
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u/Go0verboard Nov 24 '25
It was also saved by women who had it during the day while they were working in the home and organised the first "conventions" as get togethers with actors in their living rooms.
Women popularised science fiction TV to later be a marginalised audience of it.
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u/kris_jbb (seemingly bald) Nov 24 '25
ed westwick's agent told sebastian stan he was overacting and doing too much on screen
WELL, he is not the one representing an oscar nominee now and still stuck with chuck bass references in 2025 🚶♀️
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u/Quick-Time Nov 24 '25
Wait, did Ed Westwick’s agent actually say this to Sebastian? Is there an article that says this? Cause that’s so hilarious 😂 Should it be a surprise that Sebastian made it over Ed? Ed Westwick’s acting is utter shit.
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u/kris_jbb (seemingly bald) Nov 24 '25
seb said it himself but as a cute little fact but i, a hater, took it personally ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V10_uSDzpsQ&t=575s 4:30)
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u/Quick-Time Nov 24 '25
I’m a Ed Shitwick hater, and I also take it personally as well.
Side Note: Chck Bss is the worst character in all of television, and I wish he died in Prague. He also didn’t deserve Blair in the end, Dair all the way!
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u/Chelz91 Nov 24 '25
If you’re a real fan of rap in no way did euphoria underperform.
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u/CatlovesMoca Nov 24 '25
I don't think any of Kendrick's songs underperformed. And in fact 6:16 AM was removed from streaming if I recall correctly.
What was delayed was that Drake egged on Kendrick to release a diss track (Push Ups) and Kendrick took a little time but he came hard. And Not Like Us was the nail in the coffin.
When I think of delayed gratification and rap. For Lil Kim fans, when she said what is done in the dark comes to light about Nicki. Well that took a decade or so, but Lil Kim has been vindicated.
Or another example is that Jay Z's first album did terribly. But he later became a big success.
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u/tangointhenight24 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Lady Gaga vs Katy Perry in 2013. Katy was dominating the charts and the airwaves with her Prism era, while Gaga's career was going downhill.
Flashforward a decade and the tables have turned dramatically.
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u/bubba1834 POOT that thing back where it came from or so help me Nov 24 '25
I loved the Artpop era so much. That concert was so fun and I think about some of those songs like once a week lol
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u/TropicalPrairie Nov 24 '25
Justice for Artpop! I quite liked it as well and surprised it was panned.
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u/Low-Appointment-2906 *drops bottom lip* how you doin? 👄 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
It took Fall Out Boy coming back from hiatus and releasing... not-so-great music for people to realize their last album before their hiatus, Folie à Deux (which got trashed so bad it's part of the reason they took a break), is actually a goddamn masterpiece. I'm so happy for the redemption arc of that album, it's one of my all-time favorite albums ever.
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u/Special-Garlic1203 Nov 24 '25
I don't know anyone who's changed their mind on their sell out arc. I just know a lot of young people who liked the album and don't realize how disappointing the emo alternative bands all selling out was for the people who thought it was some kind of like, uprising against the system and the return of rock as a commercially viable genre. Only for it to rapidly devolve back into pop
I like pop. I don't even dislike pop punk. It was disappointing to see what was once such a promising band with edge lose all their teeth. Not objectively bad in a vacuum. Disappointing arc in the grand scheme. And I don't know any early to middle of the road fans who have changed their mind on that.
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u/AllTheTeaPlease247 Nov 24 '25
I think they had "sold out" (I don't care for that term) before then. They were on One Tree Hill in 2005/2006 and had music in the 2006 gymnastics movie "Stick It" before IOH came out in 2007. Depending on how you look at it, only TTTYG and FUTCT would've been the real "edgy" albums. Factoring in that they kind of ignore Evening Out.
Granted, I didn't really get into their whIle discography until 2006/2007, but they never really came across as really edgy or fighting the system and I also dislike that we as a society feel the need to look down in bands for finding commercial success. I wouldn't even call their sound pure "pop". It's definitely stayed pretty pop punk/pop rock throughout with some natural progression and variations in sound.
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u/urrobotfriend Great, but can you also lick it? Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Hard agree. I'm speaking from my very narrow view and experience in the early 2000s and as someone who legitimately enjoyed every album they put out between 2000 and 2010. I don't think FOB was taken seriously as an emo band after "Sugar, We're Going Down". I was a freshman when FUTCT came out and it seemed like no one within my circle ever viewed FOB as emo enough after that point. That was a poppy album, they were a poppy band.
I think "emo" had a lot of branches where many bands found success, and it's not that FOB wasn't successful but they just never really found the branch that suited them in the emo days. TTTYG was like Taking Back Sunday emo, IOH was like Jimmy Eat World emo, and then FAD was just something completely different entirely... I don't even think you could call it emo. I mean it was an embarrassing time where being a poser was the worst thing you could be... and spending a decade playing with your sound could be viewed as just that.
They did get the last laugh though. Their old "emo" albums hold up way better than most of the emo and even the pop music from that era.
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u/Smallworld_88 Nov 24 '25
I went from disliking when bands sold out (when I was young) to thinking “we shouldn’t look down on bands for finding commercial success” and then this year I read Mark Hoppus’ memoir and I was like oh wait, it really is a shame when a band sells out and this is why.
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u/PinkPositive45 Nov 24 '25
I will never forget the first time I heard Meet the Grahams. My jaw dropped and I genuinely felt unease. It’s a great song but it’s so scathing. I felt like I did something wrong.
Then Not Like Us dropped and I was obsessed.
Meet the Grahams was the kill shot, Not Like Us was Kendrick dancing on Drake’s grave.
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u/fizzledarling Nov 24 '25
“You raised a horrible fuckin' person, the nerve of you, Dennis” like goddamn
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u/TropicalPrairie Nov 24 '25
No one talks about Meet the Grahams! It's such a dark song. People need to read the lyrics as I've never seen anyone in music release something so scathing (the only word that can describe it).
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u/battlecat136 All this from a slice of gabagool?! Nov 24 '25
It's almost like a short horror story when you read the lyrics. The vibes are sideways when you include the music. Makes my own skin uncomfortable to be in.
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u/joaaaaaannnofdarc Nov 24 '25
I still listen to all Kendrick’s diss tracks and still meet the grahams is callous
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u/PinkPositive45 Nov 24 '25
When he starts the “YOU LIED” section, I feel scolded. I didn’t do anything but I feel the walls closing in on me. In a good way though lol, if that makes sense.
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u/bluetortuga Be honest, Victoria Nov 24 '25
I know the overarching narrative about this but I admit to being a little out of touch. Does anyone have a good deep dive / breakdown of this whole situation? The articles I’ve found are very thin. I’m looking to lose a few hours, lol.
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u/Impossible-Yam3680 did I ask? mind your own business Nov 24 '25
Charli XCX releasing Party 4 U in 2020 to go viral in 2025
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u/Commercial_Sense7352 We Should All Know Less About Each Other Nov 24 '25
We can go even further and say her career in Vroom Vroom to Crash, then getting her flowers in Brat
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u/jsamurai2 Nov 24 '25
As a longtime casual charli fan I was honestly baffled that brat was so big, not because it isn’t good but because she’s put out more commercially appealing versions of her sound and they didn’t gain traction like that. How do you like brat but not crash??
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u/benabramowitz18 Nov 24 '25
The New England Patriots drafting some scrawny kid from Michigan in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft. This guy will never be a starter!
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u/chadthundertalk Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
What's crazy about him is that, to this day, Tom Brady can still recite from memory, off the cuff, exactly who got drafted ahead of him, in what order, and how long they all lasted in the league
EDIT: Who like "which quarterbacks", not all 198 players
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u/Technical_Ad_4894 Don’t run from this curling iron Nov 24 '25
6:16 never got the sample clearance so it couldn’t be officially streamed on most platforms. Kendrick was never losing that battle.
The PS2 is one of the most profitable gaming systems ever.
i question the veracity of this post.
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u/proproctologist Nov 24 '25
Delayed gratification is the wrong phrase too. The term they’re looking for is sleeper hits (or even revisionist) and the examples are still slightly off lol
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u/Technical_Ad_4894 Don’t run from this curling iron Nov 24 '25
Yep, op is shoehorning these examples in and they don’t actually fit
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u/GordonTheGnome Nov 24 '25
First seeing Donald Glover in Community, then watching him blow up with Childish Gambino and Atlanta
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u/Impossible-Yam3680 did I ask? mind your own business Nov 24 '25
Chappell Roan releasing her debut album in 2023, but blowing up the next year
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u/Vero_Goudreau Nov 24 '25
I saw her open for Olivia Rodrigo at the end of March 2024 and she was virtually unknown. Less than a month later she was everywhere. I don't think I've ever seen someone else get this famous, this fast.
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u/peatoast Nov 24 '25
I saw her at OSL at 5 pm! 96% of the festival goers were at her set. It was insane! Love every second of it!
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u/RealisticSeason9559 Nov 24 '25
Mariah Carey was ridiculed over Glitter (movie) and the soundtrack was her lowest performing album to that date. (The fact that it was released on 9/11 didn't help, though.) She was subsequently bought out from her record deal by her label and was largely counted out. Only for her to make one of the biggest "comebacks" in 2005 with The Emancipation of Mimi that was the biggest selling album of the year in US and the second single "We Belong Together" spent 14 weeks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100. It was later also awarded "Song of the Decade" by Billboard.
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u/SpyOfMystery I am furious, but I am sailing. Nov 24 '25
The Glitter soundtrack is such an underrated album
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u/nizey_p She made Sombr unfollow me. Nov 24 '25
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u/iwrotethissong Nov 24 '25
Young Glen Powell in Spy Kids 3 (2003), and present-day Glen Powell.
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u/graft_vs_host Nov 24 '25
That’s a child on the left?? No joke, I thought it was a masculine woman in her mid 40s.
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u/HighlyOffensive10 I'm much too busy for such a degrading activity Nov 24 '25
Really wanted not to like him (because he was being pushed so hard) but I kind of get the hype.
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u/nizey_p She made Sombr unfollow me. Nov 24 '25
It’s refreshing to get someone who’s not scared to show us he wants it. In a world full of nonchalant guys, give me the go getter.
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u/Ultragrrrl Nov 24 '25
Someone described him as looking like a capybara (not that anything is wrong with that). I can’t unsee.
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u/Frenchie_Lamore SHE DOESNT EVEN GO HERE Nov 24 '25
I didn't know who Lizzo was until her song Truth Hurts was in the movie Someone Great on Netflix, and I swear she blew up shortly after that.
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u/mmmpppwww Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Saw her way back in September of 2018 and couldn't figure out why she wasn't more popular. It wasn't until the following April when her album dropped that she got super famous. And yes, I was very smug about it lol
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u/aybsavestheworld Not a white refrigerator honey Nov 24 '25
I think Rupaul’s Drag Race can be an example here. It was a little sub culture show for the first 3-4 seasons and then I think after the 6th season it exploded. Worldwide recognition, growing fan base and now drag has become very mainstream that we see drag queens in shows, movies, music videos and fashion shows even.
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u/kakashi_hotcakes those are his hooves you bitch Nov 24 '25
some of these make me feel like i’m living in an alternate reality. like my experience with most of these was just not the same
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u/bubba1834 POOT that thing back where it came from or so help me Nov 24 '25
I still play my GameCube
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u/skunkachunks Nov 24 '25
AirPods were absolutely ridiculed at launch. Now, people are wearing corded earbuds as a counter culture statement bc of how dominant they are.
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u/alpacaapicnic Nov 24 '25
I’m old enough to remember when headphone cords were the centerpiece of Apple’s ad campaigns
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u/mandeltonkacreme slay conclave queen!!! 👸🏻 Nov 24 '25
Is the GameCube controller thing a universal opinion? I have small hands and consider the GameCube controller pretty awful and counter-intuitive on top 😅
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u/FishermanNatural3986 Nov 24 '25
I mean it's a good console but the PS2 was a monster that the Gamecube never even came close too
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u/Charmarta Hey, its Nikki Blonsky from the movie HAIRSPRAY! Nov 24 '25
I mean, thats Nintendo. Great games but awful consoles in comparison. The switch feels like the ps3 but i will always own a Nintendo product anyway because i NEED to play every zelda game and a lot of mario/yoshi stuff.
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u/PastoralPumpkins Nov 24 '25
A Princess Bride wasn’t popular when it was released, but became a classic thanks to vhs rentals. I would say the same with Hocus Pocus.
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u/SPZ_Ireland Nov 24 '25
Euphoria was Kendrick's first full song of the beef, came before Family Matters and was better than Push-Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle.
What is this revisionism?
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u/WayneTerry9 Nov 24 '25
The Kendrick one seems off, if anything the delay was the wait to get Euphoria
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u/screamqueen87 Nov 24 '25
When reputation first came out, it didn't get the best fan reception or reviews. Now fans have been begging for years for the Taylor's version and it is considered a fan favorite album.
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u/urgasmic Nov 24 '25
could probably include the PS3 with the gamecube.
craig mazin went from directing/writing Superhero Movie to making one of HBO's best miniseries Chernobyl.
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u/Existence_is_tiring Digging Up Bones Nov 24 '25
Love that megamind makes the list
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u/Judythepancake Listen to the women john! Nov 24 '25
People going back to WKUK after the death of Trevor Moore and Zach becoming a horror movie director
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u/James_Parnell Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
not only did the gamecube have more powerful hardware than the PS2, but if you compare the top games on each platform, the critical consensus is about the same. Also that controller is meh. This is some ragebait
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u/unconfusedsub Nov 24 '25
Megamind was/is my 19year olds favorite movie from the time he was 4 till now. He will watch it at least once a month now.
I can quote that movie front to back and was always bummed no one else understood "spee-eye-der" =(














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