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Released Nov. 7, YEONJUN’s debut solo album NO LABELS: PART 01 is one of the most compelling K-pop releases of 2025.
When his first mixtape GGUM dropped in fall 2024, it initially felt like a slightly puzzling choice. Its electronic-tinged hip-hop sound — filled with mechanical textures, indistinct vocals, and a repetitive hook — seemed to lean more toward concept than toward showcasing YEONJUN’s strengths: vocal ability, dynamic tonal shifts, and live power that had long been overshadowed by his reputation as a dancer. Yet as reactions remained divided, the view began to shift as I watched YEONJUN continue stepping onto stages alone — including year-end award music shows — driven purely by love for performance. I began to understand why he had chosen the song and, eventually, to cheer for that choice. During the group’s subsequent tour, TOMORROW X TOGETHER members appeared in various ways during YEONJUN’s “GGUM” stage, making it clear that they were proud of the performance as well. And when YEONJUN chose the reggae rock genre track “Ghost Girl” for TXT’s fourth studio album The Name Chapter: TOGETHER released in July this year, the question naturally arose: Where would he go next? The answer arrived in the form of NO LABELS: PART 01.
The album cover — an instantly viral image capturing YEONJUN dancing shirtless in his most unfiltered form — was shot by photographer Hye.W.Kang (@hyeawonkang). Although she had previously worked with him for magazine covers and TXT group shoots, this was the first time they spent three full days together on a project. To her, YEONJUN was unmistakably an artist with strong self-assurance.
YEONJUN, “NO LABELS: PART 01”
Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
“YEONJUN knows exactly what he wants to express; he moves with a clear artistic direction in both performance and music,” Kang told Billboard Korea. “The album title NO LABELS had already been finalized, and because I naturally gravitate toward work that focuses on the person rather than any devices or concepts, I was grateful to be offered this project.” Understanding the music was also essential. “From the morning of the first day, I kept listening to his tracks so I could fully absorb the mood he wanted to convey. I listened to them over and over — quite a lot.” In both the early-released images and the album cover, YEONJUN exists not as a static figure but as a presence defined through movement. The slight distortions, shadows, and irregular poses are not “safe A-cuts,” but closer to the aesthetic of a deliberately chosen B-cut — images that capture an artist’s energy most vividly. “The shirtless shoot took place on the second day. YEONJUN felt a bit unfamiliar at first, but quickly found his rhythm. We did very minimal retouching. We all agreed that rather than crafting a smooth, refined image, we wanted to preserve his natural expressions and movements.” While design considerations likely influenced the final cover choice, YEONJUN’s own presence — and the strength of his decisions — undoubtedly played the biggest role.
The first day’s shots, using props like a bed and chairs, were featured prominently in the album’s ‘SET-UP B’ version. Kang felt that if the focus remained solely on movement, YEONJUN’s iconic face and energy might not fully come through. The result: images that balanced his power as a performer with his presence as an individual.
YEONJUN
Hye.W. Kang / Courtesy of BigHit Music
The third day of shooting took place alongside the music video schedule in Thailand. “The movement-based scenes and video shots wrapped surprisingly quickly,” Hyewon Kang recalls. “YEONJUN was already fully prepared for his performance. He wasn’t someone who ‘showed’ something in front of the camera — he was an artist who stepped in with conviction and completion already within him.”
“NO LABELS, JUST ME” — a phrase anyone could throw around rhetorically — is something YEONJUN proves thoroughly through both the music and visuals of his first solo album. Aside from the final track “Coma,” all six songs were produced entirely by producer-songwriter MISHA (@thatboymishaa), giving the album remarkable cohesion. MISHA, who previously worked with TXT’s “Upside Down Kiss,” shared via social media, “This project is a lot of firsts for me and means the world. Thank you for believing in these songs and allowing me to be completely myself as a writer and producer throughout this project.”
YEONJUN
Courtesy of BigHitMusic
The opening track “Talk to You” begins with crisp drum beats and YEONJUN’s confident attitude, pairing his rap with rhythmically controlled vocals that cut through the intense electric guitar in the chorus. Its rock energy flows naturally into the relaxed electronic sound, synth textures, and minimal rhythm of “Forever.” The third track, “Let Me Tell You (feat. Daniela of KATSEYE),” featuring KATSEYE’s Daniela, continues the synth-driven warmth and sensual tone, deepening the album’s cohesive mood. “Do It,” an old-school hip-hop number built on drums, bass, and a standout keyboard in the latter half, lets YEONJUN’s laid-back voice take the lead — before shifting into the hard-hitting hip-hop sound of the fifth track, “Nothin’ Bout Me.” With lines like ‘Define me if you can,’ ‘Say what you want, no cares,’ and the explosive ‘All that talkin’ Shut up,’ punctuated by scratching and shouting, the track delivers the album’s message most directly. The heightened energy flows seamlessly into “Coma,” whose tape-stop effects allow the intensity to slowly ease as the album nears its end — leaving behind the line, “You’re in my zone, come and follow.”
Given its cohesive sound and concept, the music video for this project was created as a six-minute omnibus combining three tracks — “Coma,” “Let Me Tell You (feat. Daniela of KATSEYE),” and “Talk to You” — under the banner of NO LABELS: PART 01. Director Song Taejong(@songtaejong) recalls, “The idea of making a 6-minute omnibus video came from the label(BigHit Music). Honestly, I was worried at first. Since videos are getting shorter these days, we added fun moments and unexpected elements throughout the 6-minute video to keep viewers attention. I always try to capture the full charm of my subjects, but during the wire scenes, I looked at the monitor and thought, ‘This might be the coolest shot I’ve ever filmed,’” he said with a laugh.
Conversations around K-pop are endless. Whether it’s “music to watch or music to listen to,” what elements it borrows from past legacies, or whether its intricate vocabulary and overbuilt imagery allow the core — the music — to truly shine. Amid constant doubt, criticism, pressure, and anxiety — YEONJUN has openly shared that he cried from fear and burden before his “GGUM” promotions, and his behind-the-scenes videos show the emotional strain of songwriting, choreography, performance, and tight deadlines — he still brought forward something entirely his own. And for that reason, YEONJUN’s latest album carries no labels and no references. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t need them. He already knows — with his whole body, through every lesson learned — exactly how he is meant to move.
Get the party started on the floor with these tracks perfect for a big group dance.
11/19/2025
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Kenshi Yonezu’s “IRIS OUT” extends its domination over the Billboard Japan Hot 100 to nine weeks, on the chart released Nov. 19.
Downloads and streams for the Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc theme declined this week, but karaoke jumped to 109% of the previous frame. It leads streaming and video views for a ninth consecutive week, and holds at No. 1 on karaoke for the sixth week in a row.
Debuting at No. 2 is timelesz’s “Steal The Show.” The title track of the group’s first single under its new lineup, released Nov. 12, sold 520,300 copies in its opening week to launch at No. 1 for sales, and enters at No. 17 for radio airplay. At No. 3, also new this week, is NMB48’s “Seishun no Deadline,” which sold 197,490 copies to bow at No. 2 for sales.
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Kenshi Yonezu and Hikaru Utada’s “JANE DOE” slips two spots to No. 4. The ending theme of the Reze Arc movie holds at No. 2 for streaming for the eighth straight week while remaining inside the top 10 for both video and downloads. At No. 5 is HANA’s “Blue Jeans,” which enters its 18th chart week with gains in video — up 105% from last week — and a slight uptick in karaoke.
Elsewhere on the Japan Hot 100, Gen Hoshino’s “Ikidomari” debuts at No. 22. The theme song for the film Hiraba no Tsuki opens at No. 1 for downloads, No. 22 for radio, No. 48 for streaming, and No. 83 for video.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Nov. 10 to 16, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
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Last fall, Kito and her good friend Blue May spent a lot on the couch at her house in L.A., binge-watching Couples Therapy and discussing the trajectories of their respective careers. Both producers had recently come out of relationships, and they decided they were ready to focus on not only working, but working on something great.
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“We were like, ‘We’ve got to make some s–t happen that we believe in so hard,’” Kito says.
Call it fate or good luck or hard work paying off, but the binge-watching sessions ended a few weeks later, when May got a call from his old friend and previous collaborator Lily Allen. She wanted to make an album, and she was coming to Los Angeles, and more specifically to May’s house in the Hollywood Hills, to do it.
May brought Kito into the project, and with that they were off the couch and in May’s home studio, making some s–t happen that they believed in so hard and that millions of people around the world would eventually believe in too.
An electronic artist and multi-genre producer from Australia who’s lived in Los Angeles since 2018, Kito has a long list of releases on labels including Diplo’s Mad Decent, Astralwerks and Sweat It Out, along with her ongoing Club Kito party at The West Hollywood Edition hotel, events to which surprise guests including Empress Of, A-Trak, Diplo, Mallrat and Tove Lo have shown up. As of October, she also has co-producing credits on eight tracks of Allen’s confessional smash West End Girl.
“I mean, it feels like a new chapter starting,” the artist born Maaike Kito Lebbing says over Zoom from her house, her cat intermittently walking in and out of frame. In addition to working on West End Girl, Kito released a grip of excellent tracks in 2025 and has also executive producer on A Girl Is a Drug, the seven-track EP from DJ/musician/choreographer Parris Goebel that’s out Thursday (Nov. 20). (Goebel is globally known to pop fans for her choreography for superstars like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Justin Bieber, recently becoming a close collaborator of Lady Gaga’s for her Mayhem videos and tour.)
“There were days when I’d be working with everyone on the Lily album, and then I’d be recording with Parris in the evening, and it’s just like, the complete opposite energy — going from just [the Lily project] to club bangers,” Kito explains.
But dipping into, and in fact helping build, the sounds and worlds of other artists has been Kito’s focus for a while. Her career started in Australia when she got into electronic music, then started collecting records and DJing parties. Upon moving to London, she “lived in a five bed share house with a bunch of creatives and got paid cash to DJ” while scoring releases on Skream’s Disfigured Dubz label and generally exploring dubstep, lo-fi and other genres of the day.
She liked this bopping around between sounds and scenes, a sensibility that would inform her later work. “I think that’s why I’m really in my element as a producer for other artists,” Kito says, “because it feels so fun to get into someone’s world and explore it. It’s like being in a different band all the time. I really like that, because I get bored doing the same thing.”
Back in London, things leveled up for her again when began sending out demos, with a beat she sent to Diplo eventually sampled on Trinidad James’ 2013 song “Female$ Welcomed.” This led to her first publishing deal (“I didn’t even know what publishing was,” she says now), with her original James-sampled track eventually used in a Victoria’s Secret campaign.
Compelled by people in her London community who were simultaneously making their own music while also producing for other artists, she moved to L.A. in 2018 to pursue this type of dual path. In SoCal she felt more “invited into rooms that maybe I wouldn’t have been invited into in London, because London is a smaller scene, and people focus on what you’ve done. Coming here people were more like, ‘Oh, you’ve got a different perspective.’”
While experimenting with production techniques, she made loads of music that she just released under her Kito project, which drew the attention of labels in L.A. and resulted in more than two dozens single and EP releases since 2018. But the goal was never to become a jet-setting DJ.
“I’m really proud of the stuff I’ve put out on my artist project, but it’s definitely been me trying stuff as a producer and loosely fitting in the large umbrella of dance music,” Kito says. “I don’t really have a crazy career as a DJ because I don’t know if people know what they’re going to get [from my work.]”
But while her sound vacillated between dancefloors anthems and more indie singer songwriter type fare, she realized she had a superpower in her ability to bridge underground music and pop: “I realized I needed to lean more into what I’m coming to the table with, which is my unique perspective and the more underground music that I’ve been always into. It was always too pop for the underground, and too underground for pop. My palette is a little bit left-of-center, but I love pop music.”
This symbiosis of tastes made Kito the perfect fit to work on left-of-center pop music. She’s got producing credits for artists including Fletcher, Jorja Smith and Empress Of, and also spent 16 days in late 2024 working with May, Allen and a crew of collaborators on West End Girl.
“Blue called me and said, ‘Lily’s coming over to do music and wants to try to do an album. Do you want to do it with us?’” Kito recalls. “I was like, ‘Obviously yes, let’s do it.’”
Kito had actually worked with Allen once before in 2019. Based on that experience and the knowledge Allen wanted to work fast, had the idea to “just rope in all our friends that we know who are great and that everyone’s really comfortable with and see how that feels.”
This social alchemy worked, as a crew including Allen, May, Kito, and a collection of songwriters, producers and instrumentalists — including Chloe Angelides, Chrome Sparks, Alessandro Buccellati, Micah Jasper, Oscar Scheller, Leroy Clampitt, Leon Vynehall, Violet Skies and Hayley Gene Penner — set up shop in the pair of recording spaces May set up in his home.
“It was really special working with Blue, because he’s so good at shutting out the noise of the music industry, and so is Lily,” says Kito. “It was like, ‘This is going to be a little bubble and a world that we’re going to create.”
Gathered with Kito and May, Allen unveiled the themes of the album, which is allegedly about her separation from actor David Harbour amid his infidelities. “She wrote all the song names down in order and told us what she wanted to do the album about,” says Kito. “I mean, she filled us in on everything. We had a big cry and spent a couple hours drinking coffee and just catching up. Then she was like, ‘Okay, let’s do the album.’ I was like, ‘Are you sure?’”
Allen was sure, with the project’s instant rapid pace being “quite unsettling for me,” says Kito, “because I’m used to doing a lot and then picking the best of it. So this was really exciting, but also terrifying. I would be calling Blue like, ‘Hang on a minute. Don’t we need more time?’ But I think he’s such a brilliant quick decision type of person and is so good at trusting his instincts that it gave me confidence to trust mine. I actually don’t think I would have thrown myself into working with Parris this year if I hadn’t come off the back of that process with Lily.” (For his part, upon the album’s release May wrote to Kito on his Instagram that “this record would literally not exist without you! … You brought so many key people into this project – alongside your own insane talent!”)
With two high-profile projects on her 2025 resume, Kito says new opportunities are being presented for her and everyone that worked on West End Girl: “We’ve all been here doing the same work, but this is what happens when one thing connects, it opens doors in a great way. I’m so happy. I’m like, ‘What’s next year gonna be like?’”
While the calendar is quite yet clear, what’s obvious is that there’ll be less binge-watching on the couch and more making s–t happen that Kito believes in, so hard.
Trending on Billboard Sabrina Carpenter and Sydney Sweeney are two of entertainment’s busiest women, and Amanda Seyfried wants to add one more gig to their plates — a role in Mamma Mia 3, specifically. “I love portraying a mom, so I would love to see Sophie with her kids,” she mused to Entertainment Tonight while […]
Trending on Billboard Cardi B has shared the first photo of her baby boy she shares with Stefon Diggs. Cardi posted the carousel of photos on Wednesday (Nov. 19), which shows the rapper cuddling her baby in a nursery, as well as in the hospital bed right after his birth. The caption notes the date […]
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Paris Jackson says she’s “increasingly concerned” that the work of Michael Jackson’s estate, including the long-anticipated biopic Michael, has been designed to “enrich and aggrandize” her late father’s executors rather than build long-term wealth for the family.
The claims are the latest in a back-and-forth between Paris and the co-executors of Michael’s estate, A&R executive John McClain and lawyer John Branca. Paris brought a petition this summer challenging the estate’s spending on outside attorneys, but a Los Angeles probate referee struck the claims on Nov. 10 — and ordered Paris to refund the estate for its troubles — after finding that the petition improperly sought liability for statements in court that are shielded under legal privilege rules.
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Paris is now trying a different tactic to air her grievances, submitting an objection to the estate’s 2021 account statements on Tuesday (Nov. 18) in probate court. The objection alleges the executors have “completely failed to competently invest cash, while at the same time deploying capital only where it had the potential to compensate them personally.”
According to Paris, McClain and Branca have let more than $464 million sit idle because they “do not share in the upside” from long-term investments. She says they’ve “instead focused on funneling as much cash as possible into entertainment-industry related projects,” for which she says the executors have received a 15% commission.
“Paris is increasingly concerned the estate has become the vehicle for John Branca to enrich and aggrandize himself, rather than serve the beneficiaries’ best interests and steadfastly preserve her father’s legacy,” reads the court filing. “Indeed, it appears that Mr. Branca used his position as an executive producer, a role he has never before performed in connection with any dramatic feature film, to cast the sole A-list actor in the production, Miles Teller, to play himself in the upcoming feature biopic Michael.”
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This isn’t the first time Paris has publicly criticized Michael, which is set for release in April 2026 after years of setbacks and delays. In a series of Instagram posts in September, she said the script had “a lot of inaccuracy” and “full-blown lies.”
The highly anticipated biopic is the latest of the estate’s endeavors to monetize Michael’s intellectual property, including catalog deals, two Cirque du Soleil shows and the Broadway production MJ: The Musical. These efforts have been remarkably lucrative; though Michael died in 2009 with more than $500 million in debt, the estate is now worth $2 billion, according to Branca and McClain, who cited those numbers in responding to Paris’ previous court petition, saying their business strategies have brought “unprecedented success” to the estate.
“The executors did not follow the typical — and most defensible — playbook used by personal representatives of an estate in such dire circumstances, i.e., sell the assets, pay off the debts, put what little was left into the trust, and take substantial statutory fees for their trouble,” wrote the executors on Sept. 15. “Instead, they waived their executors’ fees altogether and bet on their ability to turn the estate around.”
The executors said their legal spending, which Paris had challenged as overinflated, has been integral to accomplishing these goals. They also argued that attorney services are necessary to fight multiple ongoing lawsuits claiming Michael sexually abused children during his life, which the estate vehemently denies.
In a statement to Billboard on Wednesday (Nov. 19), a source close to the estate said the latest objection is “another misguided attempt by Paris Jackson’s attorneys to provide themselves some cover.”
“The fact is Paris Jackson’s lawyers lost their latest case against the estate and have been ordered to pay the estate’s attorneys’ fees,” added the source. “All the beneficiaries are well taken care of by the estate. This is a weak attempt to change the narrative of their loss.”
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Summer Walker surprised fans on Wednesday (Nov. 19) with the release of two Finally Over It deluxe editions, featuring some brand new songs and others that never found their way onto streaming services before.
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The Finally Over It (Cocktail Hour) edition arrives as an iTunes download exclusive, with the fan-favorite Sessions series receiving another installment with “Sessions 34” and a live performance of “Session 32” from the Breezy Bowl Las Vegas stop. Summer also takes fans inside the creative process for “Go Girl,” which features Latto and Doja Cat.
As for Finally Over It (The After Party), this edition is live on streaming services with tracks such as “Take Me Out This Club” and “Drown in My Love,” which were previously exclusive to vinyl. There’s also a solo version of “1-800-Heartbreak” appearing on disc three.
“Take Me Out This Club, Drown In My Love and 1-800 Heartbreak (Solo) are live on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS. Finally Over It (The AfterParty) deluxe. I heard you,” the R&B singer wrote to IG.
Finally Over It serves as the finale of Summer Walker’s decorated trilogy. The third installment arrived on Friday (Nov. 14) with a star-studded features list that includes Latto, Doja Cat, Mariah the Scientist, Chris Brown, Anderson .Paak, Bryson Tiller, SAILORR, Brent Faiyaz, 21 Savage, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Teddy Swims and Monaleo.
Earlier this week, Summer joined The Terrell Show where she explained her Anna Nicole Smith-inspired cover art, which features Walker in a white wedding gown. It’s a callback to Smith’s 1994 wedding, where she married J. Howard Marshall, a then-89-year-old billionaire.
“I love her. She’s hot. She’s sexy. She’s fun and free,” Walker gushed. “And I want that to be me … People come up with s—t for creative direction, but I really want to get into that. I got to find my old billionaire!”
Stream Finally Over It (The Afterparty) below.
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The rest of the world spent the past decade getting acquainted with Ariana Grande‘s innumerable talents, but I Love LA actor Josh Hutcherson was tapped in with the Wicked star’s golden pipes during her Victorious days.
During a stop at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on (Nov. 18), Hutcherson recounted befriending Grande during their teen years, and her steadfast commitment to pursuing a singing career.
“When I was 15-17, I was friends with a bunch of the cast of Victorious,” he explained to Fallon. “I met Ariana multiple times in that day and age. She, one day, told me, ‘I’m a really good singer.’ I was like, ‘I believe you.’ Then she was like, ‘No, I can do the Mariah Carey, like, whistle sing.’ I was like, ‘Really?’ [And she said], ‘Yeah, watch!’ It was like a whole dolphin-voice-sounding thing. I was like, ‘You’re really good!’ She’s like, ‘I’m gonna be a singer too.’ Cut to [present-day] Ariana Grande … she was right!”
Grande starred as Cat Valentine for all four seasons of Victorious from 2010 to 2013. The following year, she reprised her role in Sam & Cat, a spinoff that lasted just one season and aired in the interim between her debut and sophomore studio albums. Of course, Grande quickly transitioned into a pop career that’s earned her nine Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, six Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, and two Grammy wins. Last year, Billboard crowned her the No. 9 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, and, this year, she was named the No. 12 Top Songwriter of the 21st Century on the Hot 100.
Grande’s famous pipes have also resulted in two official collaborations with Carey: 2020’s “Oh Santa!” remix (with Jennifer Hudson) and 2024’s “Yes, And?” remix. At September’s MTV Video Music Awards, Grande delivered a heartfelt speech while presenting Carey with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — before winning three Moonpeople of her own that very night.
Last year, Grande made her grand, formal return to the silver screen in Wicked, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for best actress in a supporting role. The “We Can’t Be Friends” singer will reprise her role in Wicked: For Good, which hits theaters on Friday (Nov. 21), and is expected to follow in the box office-conquering, award-winning footsteps of its prequel.
Watch Josh Hutcherson reminisce on befriending Ariana Grande below.
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Beto Montenegro explains how the Caribbean mindset has shaped Rawayana’s eighth album.
Beto Montenegro: I think it’s about enjoying it, I don’t know. That speech was written that morning, so no, no, no, you don’t plan that much either. I feel very happy. I think it’s one of those songs, one of those special ones, right? That raise and do things, right? And influence in society and generate interesting debates. And today it’s recognized at the Latin Grammys. We didn’t expect it much. So, yes, like here processing the surprise, you know? How nice.
Interviewer: How would you say, now that we were talking, what was Rawayana’s process?
I think Rawayana’s process has been a … it’s been a very, very, very beautiful and very worked-on process, right? And of short steps, right? And of resistance, a lot of resistance, right? It wasn’t so much about speed.
Today I feel a little bit exposed, because there are many things that, from the beginning, were public, right? I haven’t been an artist who curated a lot and released things carefully, but rather things came out, and everything we’ve done was always exposed to a group of people that each time got bigger. So, yes, it’s been a process quite transparent with respect to the public, you know? You can see all our mistakes and all the successes and everything — everything is on the web, right?
From the beginning until today, everything feels … I feel very solid in some way because we’ve completed all the processes to get to where we are now, right? From the beginning, the slang, right? It’s there. And then there’s kind of been a tendency toward that for a while now, and circumstantially we were already there, like, very much communicating in that way.
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