Knock Out Win For David Archuleta

The final match between the two David’s is finally over. David Cook and David Archuleta got to sing three songs. One round for Clive Davis song choice, second round for the songwriter’s competition song choice and the last round for the contestant’s song choice. David Cook was the first to perform followed by David Archuleta.

On the first round David Cook sang “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”. To start the show off, it was quite an okay performance for me. It was a nice song choice from Clive Davis. It just lacks something to it. David Archuleta on the other hand sang, “Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me”, another nice song choice from Clive Davis. Clive Davis is definitely the man with golden ears. On this round, David Archuleta was phenomenal. I even had chills while watching him perform. David Archuleta definitely won the first round. He sings to win and he remained humble even he received praises from the judges.

On the songwriter’s competition round, we heard two new songs from David Cook and David Archuleta. David Cook performed the song “Dream Big”. I really liked this song. I even thought it was an existing song from a rock band. The performance was great but I agree with Simon Cowell that the song choice was inappropriate for the finale. David Archuleta on the other hand sang another ballad titled “In This Moment”. It was another great performance from the little David. He was smart for choosing this song. Not only it was appropriate for the finale but it also showed his range and soul. Another point for David Archuleta on the second round.

On the third round, David Cook performed the song “The World I Know”. He was even on tears after performing the song. I just find his tears not sincere and fake. His performance was still okay for me but was a bit boring. When the judges commented, his cockiness and arrogance surfaced again. I still can remember the face Simon Cowell gave when David Cook gave his reaction. Moving along, David Archuleta sang “Imagine” from his previous performance. Now without the piano, he sang it with the guitar on the background. His performance was great but I still prefer his first “Imagine” performance. According to Simon Cowell, it was a knock out win for David Archuleta.

Former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard closed the show with his performance of “Celebrate.” We are very familiar to this song since this is the song being played on every elimination round of American Idol this seventh season. Would you believe that I only appreciated this song just now? Such a nice song.

I just hope America voted the deserving David—David Archuleta for me. This is the best American Idol season so far. The real top 2 contestants were on the finale and I predict that David Archuleta will surpass the success of Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. I was reading yesterday’s blog posts and read that David Cook’s designated numbers were congested. Would that mean that he received more votes? Waah! I hope not.

Pictures courtesy of American Idol

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David Archuleta Is My American Idol

The biggest talent show on earth will crown its newest American Idol this Thursday. The performance night of the two David’s will air tonight 6 P.M. and 8 P.M at QTV and Star World. Will it be David Archuleta, the humble balladeer or David Cook, the cocky rocker?

David Archuleta, 17, from Murray, UT was the consistent favorite this season. He has proven that even on his tender age, he can sing any songs—even the phone book. From his previous performances, my favorites were “Imagine” and “Angels.”

Here are some of the judges’ comments to David Archuleta’s performances:

Simon Cowell on “Love Me Tender”: You crushed the competition.
Paula Abdul on “Think Of Me”: It must feel great for Mariah to be able to hear your interpretation...
Randy Jackson on “Angels”: That was your hottest moment the whole season.
Simon Cowell on “Imagine”: ...you're the one to beat, and there are 19 very miserable contestants sitting here tonight.
Paula Abdul on “Imagine”: I wanted to squish you...and dangle you from my rear view mirror.
Randy Jackson on “Imagine”: Dawg, that's one of the best vocals I've ever heard on this show.

David Cook, 25, from Blue Springs, MO was the smartest rocker finalist in my opinion. He can almost sing most songs and make it his own song. I cannot say that he is unique since he copied some versions to his performances. From his previous performances, my favorite was Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.”

Here are some of the judges’ comments to David Cook’s performances:

Simon Cowell on “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”: I thought it was your best performance to date.
Paula Abdul on “Baba O’Riley”: I'm humbled to sit here and watch your soul.
Randy Jackson on “Music Of The Night”: Dude, that was an amazing vocal performance.
Simon Cowell on “Always Be My Baby”: It was like coming out of karaoke hell into a breath of fresh air.
Paula Abdul on “Always Be My Baby”: That song could be in a movie soundtrack right now.
Randy Jackson on “Always Be My Baby”: That was the most brilliant performance yet.

I just hope my bet David Archuleta would win American Idol. America, please vote for him!

Picture courtesy of American Idol

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Visit To Paranaque

My father was confined again last Saturday due to hard breathing. According to my sister, my father was trying to quit smoking. He was successful on many occasions but when he feels better, he smokes again. No wonder he was having hard time breathing. Since I already planned to visit my family in Paranaque in preparation of my Singapore life, I went last Sunday to drop some of my clothes and to visit my father in the hospital.

I arrived in our house in Paranaque around 6 P.M. Before that, I dropped Shopwise to buy some fruits for my dad and some chips for my sister. My sister by the way cooked dinner for me, which I really appreciated. After resting, I waited for her to change clothes while I was having my early dinner. At our living room, I was surprised that she now has a College graduation picture placed near my graduation picture. I was laughing hard coz she really looked different with the make up on and her chunky cheeks and braces. I’m so proud of my sister. She’ll be taking the Nursing board exams this June. I hope you could include her in your prayers.

We reached the Olivarez Hospital less than five minutes and was in my dad’s room immediately. Unfortunately my other sister and her husband already left the hospital. I also took that chance to tell my parents that I am leaving Singapore this June 6th. They were surprised with my news and were even joyous with the first impression that I’m going back home. I’ll be back next week to drop the second batch of my things and will be returning home June 3rd and will just wait for my departure.


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Top 7 Songs In Manila – May 16, 2008

From Countdown Top 7 of Monster Radio RX 93.1

1. Break The Ice by Britney Spears
2. Bye Bye by Mariah Carey
3. Take A Bow by Rihanna
4. Pocketful Of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield
5. Love in this Club by Usher ft Young Jeezy
6. Better in Time by Leona Lewis
7. Pitong Araw by Hale

The Wannabees
8. Say It Again by Marie Digby
9. 4 Minutes by Madonna ft Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
10. No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
11. Smother Me by The Used
12. When You Look Me in the Eyes by Jonas Brothers
13. Evidence by Urbandub
14. Maskara by Rivermaya
15. Finally by Fergie
16. Sleepless by Until June
17. Damn Regret by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
18. Teenage Love Affair by Alicia Keys
19. Betamax by Sandwich
20. Go Girl by Pitbull ft Trina and Young Boss

For greetings, song request and votes, send your messages to 29761931. Countdown Top 7 can be heard every Fridays, 6:30 P.M. at summer’s hottest, Monster Radio RX 93.1.

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Smart Bro Prepaid Experience

After having troubles in buying the new Smart Bro prepaid, I finally was able to use it and surf the internet anywhere. It has been a week since I have used this product. So far it has surpassed my expectations based on speed. The Smart Bro prepaid package by the way contains the Smart Bro modem, two USB cords and a manual.

Before, I usually use the internet by going to Robinson’s Galleria and take advantage (abuse) of the mall’s free WIFi service. I also sometimes connect using my GPRS mobile phone. That was really horrible in terms of speed. I cannot even open my Yahoo and Chikka Messenger.

With the release of Smart Bro prepaid, it gave me more freedom with my Internet and blogging experience because of its broadband speed. The only problem that I experienced was sometimes I usually get disconnected since the Smart Bro modem depends on the 3G signal. So far, so good. I even find it faster than our internet connection in the office and in Robinson’s Galleria. I just hope they would charge on a minute basis and not on a 30 minutes basis. They should also lower the charging since it is cheaper to rent the internet on Internet cafés.

Before buying the Smart Bro prepaid check first if your Operating System is 32-bit. To check, go to My Computer, right-click then Properties. Smart Bro Prepaid will not work on 64-bit Operating Systems by the way. Happy surfing!

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Book Sale

Titles and Author

Map Of The World by Jane Hamilton – 40
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey – 70
The Good Earth –by Pearl S. Buck – 150
Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui – 200
Primary Colors by Anonymous – 150
Elements of Etiquette by Craig Clairborne – 200
Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes – 40
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison – 70
White Oleander by Janet Fitch – 100
Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck – 100
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio – 140
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink – 200

John Grisham
A Time To Kill by John Grisham – 100
The Partner by John Grisham - 100
The Testament by John Grisham - 100
The Chamber by John Grisham - 50
The Firm by John Grisham – 80
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham – 80

Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom – 175
For One More Day by Mitch Albom – 175

Jessica Zafra
Twisted 1 by Jessica Zafra – 125
Twisted 2: Spawn of Twisted by Jessica Zafra - 125
Twisted 3: Planet of Twisted by Jessica Zafra - 125
Twisted 4: The Twisted Menace by Jessica Zafra - 125
Twisted V by Jessica Zafra - 125
Manananaggal Terrorizes Manila & Other Stories by Jessica Zafra - 125

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Teenage Love Affair Music Video

This is my current favorite song "Teenage Love Affair" from Alicia Keys. I just can't get enough of this song. Alicia Keys is flaming hot in this music video. She’s getting prettier in her music videos. Too bad, I can’t watch her concert here in the Philippines this year.




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May 12-16, 2008 Peso-Forex Forex

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Useful Articles

I have encountered this helpful website wherein they have very useful articles about shared web hosting and so many more. The site is still new but their archive shows many articles that can help newbies about many topics such as web hosting, domain, add-ons, ecommerce, operating system, security issues and other computer techie stuffs.

They also have tutorials section wherein you can learn about packed domain, add-on domains, Apache handlers, Frontpage, Disk Usage, domain redirection, sub domains, backup, webalizer and so much more. Better click the Tutorial link of the site to see all the helpful tutorials. For sure you’ll find the things you want to learn.

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Boracay Tan No More

After our short visit to “Munting Talon”, we went back to our cottage then cooked “sinigang na bangus.” We even dipped on the beach when we arrived. That caused my Borcay tan into a not so good tan. Anyway, while we were cooking “sinigang na bangus”, our other colleague was assigned in grilling the stuffed bangus. Just in time for lunch, we were able to feast on our own cooked meal. We even ate on banana leaves which made the experience more fun. Sadly, we weren’t able to take pictures of our first lunch in Quezon.

After lunch and our short rest, we went to our next destination “Balagbag Falls.” We took a tricyle on our way to the falls. On some parts of our ride, we were required to walk since the tricycle was having problems in carrying us all. Would you believe that we were all eight passengers in the tricycle? Two on the drivers back, five people on the inside and one on top of the tricycle. Isn’t that fun?

Balagbag Falls by the way has an entrance fee of ten pesos. From its entrance, you just have to walk a few steps then you will be amazed with the beauty of the falls. We were all beaming when we reached the falls. Of course we didn’t miss the chance to take more pictures. I really enjoyed the massage of the falls on my body. It really cured my back pain and I felt really good. After our pictures on the top falls, I was convinced to jump the falls. It was even on video. Too bad, I still don’t have a copy of it. The only difficult part of my jump was my balls got crushed. I did not know that I should keep my legs together and I should cover my crotch.

On our way back to our cottage, we were able to take some pictures on this wonderful view on the sea. We reached the cottage feeling tired and very exhausted. My other colleagues prepared for our dinner while some of us went to take a short nap. Our friends woke us up when they were already done cooking. They cooked fried calamares, “lumpiang toge” (which I cooked by the way) and fried liempo. That was really yummy. After dinner, my friends prepared the tequila shots while I patiently waited for the bon fire. Sadly, there was no bon fire so I went to bed after two shots of tequila.

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Pics From The Airplane

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Quezon Trip

My vacation trips continued last Friday with my officemates to Real, Quezon. After office, we had our dinner at SM MegaMall then we went to a certain terminal in Manila going to Quezon. We almost occupied the van since we were eight people. It was a long trip to Quezon, that’s all I can say. When the other passengers requested to stop to the nearest gasoline station, we were able to take pictures and used the comfort room. The next stop was already in Quezon were we had “arozcaldo complete.” Complete meaning arozcaldo with chicken, egg and chicharon. That arozcaldo only costs 25 pesos, cheap right?

According to our officemate, we should be in their place within 30 minutes but it took us more than 30 minutes. Damn van driver! When we reached the resort, we waited for the housekeeper then went in to the cottage. My officemates even had the energy to take pictures and drink beer even it was almost 2 A.M. when we arrived there. I went to sleep at once with my bath towel as my blanket.

Saturday morning, I woke up some my friends already gone to the wet market to buy some food. I had sliced bread and sandwich spread for breakfast. Afterwards, I helped in preparing our lunch, “sinigang na bangus.” I was assigned in cutting the vegetables like a real chef. Hahaha! When they returned, they have a pancit luglog for us, which I wasn’t able to eat. We went straight to Munting Talon before lunch with our digital cameras. Before we climbed the mountain, we even had coconut fresh from the tree. Of course, picture taking once more!

The way to Munting Talon was cemented but on the way uphill was already rocky and muddy. I was wearing my white flip-flops with me so I had a hard time in climbing the mountain. Most of us slipped. Thank God there were wooden sticks that we can hold on to. When we reached the little falls, I was a little disappointed. Not only the falls only has a small space but also it is rocky. We only spent a small amount of time there then went back to our cottage.

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Earn More In Blogging

After almost two years of blogging, I have been more expressive with the way I write and I have been exposed with more and more topics. Of course, I still enjoy ranting about my neighbors and the people around me. Anyway, blogging has also evolved from just journal writing to a money-making industry. There are so many ways now to earn while blogging, from paid advertisements, writing reviews and even answering surveys. Of course, joining blog contest sponsored by bloggers themselves is another way. Have you joined my recent blog contest?

SocialSpark, a new social marketing site has been launched recently. It is from the same makers of PayPerPost. The only difference with these social marketing sites is that SocialSpark based the blogger’s opportunities on Real Rank and not on Page Ranks. This can somewhat help those bloggers that were affected from Page Rank drops. The SocialSpark website is also well-organized. If you were a newbie like me, you wouldn’t have a hard time to browse the site. What I like with SocialSpark is that they have the facility to add Friends like in Multiply and Friendster. You could of course drop your shout outs to them as well. Aside from the nice layout and easy access to the site, I have noticed that they offer a competitive price for each review.

If you are a pro-blogger, you should definitely check this out. Happy blogging!

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Judy Ann Santos, TV Commercial Queen

This month a lot of new TV commercials flashed our TV screens. I also noticed that Judy Ann Santos conquered the advertising scene with her many TV commercials. Here so far are her TV commercials: Maggie Magic Sarap, Datu Puti Vinegar, Pantene Shampoo, Fitrum, Pride Detergent, Angel Condensada, a certain Splash product and Lactacyd feminine wash. One TV commercial that really stand out was her newest Pantene Shampoo commercial. Would you believe that she is hailed as one of the most beautiful woman in the Philippines? Judy Ann Santos and Claudine Barretto replaced Angel Aquino and Dawn Zulueta in the Pantene commercial. Is this most beautiful ad campaign just for promotion or people really voted? With her huge transformation, she really deserved this title.

Back to the Pantene shampoo commercial, Judy Ann Santos and the other three girls were bronzed the entire commercial. I think it was too much though for Judy Ann Santos and Claudine Barretto. What surprised me the most was Judy Ann’s pronunciation of “beautiful” or should I pronounce it as “beautipul.” Listen to it carefully and you will be amazed.

Picture courtesy of http://www.beautybentobox.com

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Hot Album And Singles Charts - May 16

The Billboard Hot 100 (Singles Chart)
1. Take A Bow, Rihanna (53)
2. Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis (1)
3. Lollipop, Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major (2)
4. No Air, Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown (3)
5. Love In This Club, Usher Featuring Young Jeezy (4)
6. Sexy Can I, Ray J & Yung Berg (5)
7. 4 Minutes, Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake (6)
8. Touch My Body, Mariah Carey (7)
9. Pocketful Of Sunshine, Natasha Bedingfield (8)
10. Damaged, Danity Kane (11)

The Billboard 200 (Album Charts)
1. Home Before Dark, Neil Diamond (HOT SHOT)
2. 35 Biggest Hits, Toby Keith (NEW)
3. Hard Candy, Madonna (1)
4. On My Way Here, Clay Aiken (NEW)
5. E=MC2, Mariah Carey (2)
6. Spirit, Leona Lewis (3)
7. Gavin DeGraw, Gavin DeGraw (NEW)
8. Awake Live, Josh Groban (LIVE) (NEW)
9. Greatest Hits // Every Mile A Memory 2003-2008, Dierks Bentley (NEW)
10. Complices, Luis Miguel (NEW)

Source: Billboard.com

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Take A Bow

By Rihanna

Oh, How about a round of applause, Yeah
A standing ovation
Oooooo, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

You look so dumb right now
Standing outside my house
Trying to apologize
You’re so ugly when you cry
Please, just cut it out

[Chorus]
Don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow

Grab your clothes and get gone (get gone)
You better hurry up
Before the sprinklers come on (come on)
Talkin’ bout'
Girl, I love you, you’re the one
This just looks like a re-run
Please, what else is on (on)

[Chorus]
And don't tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow

[Bridge]
Oh, And the award for
The best lie goes to you (goes to you)
For making me believe (that you)
That you could be faithful to me
Let's hear your speech, Out

How about a round of applause
A standing ovation

But you put on quite a show
Really had me going
Now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
But it’s over now

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American Idol Top 3 Performance Night

I was really excited to watch the American Idol top 3 performance. I’m glad I was on time to watch it. The first round of the competition, the finalists performed songs from the judge’s choice. David Archuleta started the show followed by Syesha Mercado and David Cook. According to Simon Cowell, the David Cook won the first round but I think David Archuleta did better. Syesha Mercado surprisingly greatly improved and she was stunning. She looked like a star.

On the second round, the top 3 finalists got to sing their song choice. David Archuleta sang Chris Brown’s “With You.” It was refreshing since we are used to David Archuleta singing ballads. Even he missed a line it was still great. Syesha Mercado’s performance of “Fever” started okay but it melted on the ending. The judges were right when they said that it was a bad song choice. David Cook performed a song from Switchfoot. Obviously it’s a rock song. It was okay for me. I still prefer the original version. On the third round, it was the producer’ song choice. David Archuleta aced singing a ballad song. It was an okay performance for Syesha Mercado with her dance song. I must admit it was a fun performance. And finally David Cook was just okay with his alternative rock performance. With the top 3 performance, it is a definite top two for David Archuleta and David Cook. Syesha Mercado could make it to the top two on a different season though.

One thing that I noticed on last night’s performance was Paula Abdul’s different side on being a judge. As if it is not her that I am watching. She’s more straightforward and frank. I’m not sure if the audience ever booed her on different seasons, but she experienced it last night. What’s with her last night?

The American Idol finale is just a week away and it really hurts me that I will only be able to watch it on delayed primetime telecast on Star World. Will I be able to block American Idol results on the finale day? From previous American Idol seasons, either I will see it online or someone will announce it. Good luck to me.

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American Idol Top 3 Finalists

Surprisingly, I haven’t blogged about American Idol for the last two weeks. My busy schedule might have something to do with it. Anyway, I’ll just do the recap for the last two weeks. Brooke White on the last week of April finally went home, finally. Her forgetting of lyrics and crappy performance was in fact the reason why America did not vote for her.

Here are the song choices for the Top 5 Neil Diamond performance:

David Cook - "I'm Alive" & "All I Really Need is You"
Syesha Mercado - "Hello Again" & "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime"
Brooke White - "I'm a Believer" & "I Am, I Said"
Jason Castro - "Forever in Blue Jeans" & "Summer Morn"
David Archuleta - "Sweet Caroline" & "America"

Another boo boo performer Jason Castro last week received the lowest number of votes. Just like Brooke White he also forgot the lyrics. These finalists should be prepared most of the time. I know it’s hard to be in front of many people but it’s their career that is in stake. There should be no excuses.

Here are the song choices for the Top 4 performance:

David Cook - "Hungry Like the Wolf" - Duran Duran & "Baba O'Riley" - The Who
Syesha Mercado - "Proud Mary" - Tina Turner & "A Change Is Gonna Come" - Sam Cooke
Jason Castro - "I Shot the Sheriff" - Bob Marley & "Mr. Tambourine Man" - Bob Dylan
David Archuleta - "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King & "Love Me Tender" - Elvis Presley

Top 3 finalists David Archuleta, David Cook and Syesha Mercado will later perform three songs. One song from picked by them, one song picked by the American Idol judges and one song picked by the producers. What songs do you want the top 3 finalists to perform? I want David Archuleta to sing again “Imagine”, David Cook’s “Always Be My Baby” and Syesha Mercado’s “Proud Mary.”

Who will be the final two American Idol finalists? I have a feeling that it will be a battle of the two David’s. It will be bizarre if Syesha Mercado will be in the final two. Who is my bet to be the American Idol winner? A definite David Archuleta!

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Top 7 Songs In Manila – May 9, 2008

From Countdown Top 7 of Monster Radio RX 93.1

1. Bye Bye by Mariah Carey
2. Break The Ice by Britney Spears
3. Take A Bow by Rihanna
4. Better in Time by Leona Lewis
5. Say It Again by Marie Digby
6. Pitong Araw by Hale
7. Sleeplessby- Until June

The Wannabees
8. Pocketful Of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield
9. Leavin’ by Jesse McCartney
10. Smother Me by The Used
11. Go Girl by Pitbull ft Trina
12. Love In This Club by Usher ft Young Jeezy
13. Teenage Love Affair by Alicia Keys
14. 4 Minutes by Madonna ft Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
15. No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
16. Damn Regret by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
17. On the Side Of Me by Corrinne May
18. American Boy by Estelle ft Kanye West
19. When You Look Me In The Eyes by Jonas Brothers
20. Evidence by Urbandub

For greetings, song request and votes, send your messages to 29761931. Countdown Top 7 can be heard every Fridays, 6:30 P.M. at summer’s hottest, Monster Radio RX 93.1.

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