I Can (Blue song)

"I Can" is a song by British pop group Blue, taken from their fourth studio album, Roulette. It was the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. The song came 11th scoring 100 points. The single was released on 1 May 2011 as a digital download, with the physical release the day after. "I Can" peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blue's lowest-charting single in the UK. The song was written by group members Duncan James and Lee Ryan with Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan, and Norwegian production team StarSign. It was produced by Ronny Svendsen and Hallgeir Rustan, the latter who previously produced several of Blue's hit singles.

Critical reception

Digital Spy gave the song three stars out of five, and wrote: "I've never lost anything quite like this/ No second chances if I don't find it," the band continue over juddering synths that give way to a fist-clenching, Blue for 2011 chorus that sadly just misses the spot - the watered down production suggesting they aren't as cocksure of this plan as they claim. [...] Still - call them crazy, but there's enough here to suggest they might just pull the whole thing off."

I Can (Nas song)

"I Can" is the second single from the Nas album, God's Son. It was released internationally February 11, 2003.

Composition

Boasting production from Salaam Remi, the song samples Ludwig van Beethoven's "Für Elise" and The Honey Drippers' "Impeach the President".

Its lyrics are positive, encouraging the youth to stay drug-free, and pursue their dreams. The lyrics also detail various events in African history.

Music video

The music video, directed by Chris Robinson, was shot in Philadelphia, and contains footage of Nas rapping while children stand around him. The video starts out with the music from the introduction of "Get Down," but it soon transitions into "I Can." As the video starts, a young girl starts off by playing the piano in a vacant lot, and later one can see children jumping on a mattress in the same lot. The video also contains footage of break dancing and famous Egyptian structures.

Reception

The single received mixed to positive reviews. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine labels "I Can" as "a silly stay-in-school ad attached to a Beethoven sample." This comment may be attributed to the "singsongy" call and response chorus featuring the voices of young children. Other reviewers appreciated "I Can" more: Jon Robinson of IGN.com claims that on his second single, "Nas delivers some of his most inspiring lyrics to date."

Better Than Raw

Better Than Raw is the eighth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1998. The album spawned the singles "I Can" and "Hey Lord!".

The album was recorded at Chateau du Pape and Crazy Cat Studios in Hamburg and at Mi Sueño Studio in Tenerife. It was produced and mixed by Tommy Hansen at Chateau du Pape and mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis, London.

Track listing

Personnel

Helloween

Others

Trivia

Hardcourt

A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. They are typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic material to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these are now rare.

Tennis

Tennis hard courts are made of synthetic/acrylic layers on top of a concrete or asphalt foundation and can vary in color. These courts tend to play medium-fast to fast because there is little energy absorption by the court, like in grass courts. The ball tends to bounce high and players are able to apply many types of spin during play. Flat balls are favored on hard courts because of the extremely quick play style. Speed of rebound after tennis balls bounce on hard courts is determined by how much sand is in the synthetic/acrylic layer placed on top of the asphalt foundation. More sand will result in a slower bounce due to more friction.

T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)

"T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" is a song by American rapper will.i.am, featuring vocals from Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez. The song was released via the iTunes Store on November 20, 2011, just hours after its debut at the American Music Awards. The music video for the song was released on December 12, 2011. The song was originally released as part as the lead single of will.i.am's fourth studio album, #willpower, but was not included on the album.

Background

will.i.am first announced the song via his Twitter account, before announcing it via various online media. Links to a demo version of the song were made available via Dipdive and Google+. On November 18, Will released the cover art for the single, using it as his Twitter avatar and background. The song was premiered live on November 20, 2011, live at the 2011 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theater. The performance included will.i.am and Lopez performing live, and Jagger performing via video link. The song was made available on iTunes immediately following the AMA performance. The song was produced by Audiobot, Dallas Austin and will.i.am, as well as Jimmy Iovine. will.i.am originally presented the track to Iovine without the featured artists, as a finished work, and was caught off guard by his request to add performers to the song. In response, he threw out Jagger's name among possible collaborators because he thought it would never happen. Iovine ended up producing Jagger's vocals - it was the first time he had produced in decades. Immediately after the AMA performance, will.i.am thanked Fighting Gravity via Twitter. will.i.am also performed the song live at the American Giving Awards on December 10. Neither Lopez nor Jagger appeared.

Hard (TV series)

Hard is a French television series created and produced by Cathy Verney, airing since 9 May 2008 on Canal+ in France, and later internationally. The series focuses on the pornographic movie industry. It is part of the "New Trilogy" collection on Canal+.

Synopsis

After the sudden death of her husband, Sophie discovers through her mother-in-law, that her late husband did not run a successful software company, but instead produced pornographic films, with Soph'X being the legacy.

Bewildered and dismayed, at discovering a world she couldn't conceive of in a thousand years, she hesitates between taking over the company or selling everything to resume her job as a lawyer. To pay the mortgage held by her husband before his death, she has to decide to modernize Soph'X, until a meeting with porn star and pillar of the company, Roy Lapoutre, forces her hand.

Cast

Run!

"Run!" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. Regular cast members Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) and Santiago Cabrera (Isaac Mendez) do not appear in this episode.

Plot

Meredith calls and informs Nathan that their daughter Claire is still alive. Aware that the scandal could ruin his political future, Nathan gives Meredith $100,000 for her silence. Elsewhere, Mrs. Bennet's health deteriorates, causing the rift between Claire and Mr. Bennet, since she blames him for her mother's condition. He grounds her after learning she skipped school, prompting Claire to be more outraged. Claire later shows up at Meredith's trailer, hoping that her biological father could help Mrs. Bennet. Meredith tells Claire that he will only disappoint her, and Meredith herself is going back to Mexico. She takes a picture of Claire as remembrance, which she later shows to a visiting Nathan. Meredith offers to introduce them, but Nathan refuses - this crushes an eavesdropping Claire. Visibly upset, Nathan gets inside his limo and leaves. Claire hurls a stone at his rear window in anger.