"Empathy" (교감, "Gyogam") is a pair of collaboration singles between South Korean musicians Jung Yong-hwa of CNBLUE and Sunwoo Jung-a. Consisting of the songs "Hello" (입김, "Ipgim"; lit. "Breath") and "Fireworks" (불꽃놀이, "Bulkkonnori"), they were released on January 15, 2016, under FNC Entertainment and MagicStrawberry Sound, respectively. After the two independently wrote incomplete lyrics to separate songs with each other in mind, Jung reached out to Sunwoo for a collaboration. Deemed as "fate", Sunwoo accepted and the two agreed upon a "double collaboration".

An acoustic ballad and dance-pop number, respectively, "Hello" and "Fireworks" both revolve around the theme of love. The songs received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the vocal performance by Jung and Sunwoo. "Hello" peaked at number 45 on the Gaon Digital Chart; "Fireworks" failed to rank on that chart, but peaked at number 86 on the Download Chart.

Background and recording

Jung revealed his desire to work with Sunwoo shortly after releasing of his first solo album One Fine Day (2015). Collaborating only with men for the album, he expressed his desire to work with female musicians. He felt that the two could collaborate on a song in the tempo of allegretto. Initially, Sunwoo believed that Jung was just a "vocalist of an idol band". After listening to his album, she became aware of his abilities as a singer-songwriter.

"Singles" is a compilation album released by the Sheffield band The Long Blondes on October 8, 2008 via Angular Records. The 12-track album collates all of the songs from the band's singles prior to their signing to Rough Trade Records in April 2006, released by various independent record labels. The compilation was released on the same day that the band broke up, with the album's inlay breaking the news of their decision to split.

"Singles" was named the 25th best album of 2008 by Artrocker magazine.

Background

The compilation features the previously unreleased song "Peterborough" and an alternate version of "Separated By Motorways". This version of "Separated By Motorways" differs from the single release, with the group opting to include Alan Smyth's demo version instead. The compilation also features rare information, pictures and early interviews with the band.

"New Idols" and "Long Blonde" were originally released by Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation on bubblegum pink vinyl as a double A-side. The latter was also featured on a split 7" with The Boyfriends on Filthy Little Angels (which also featured "Autonomy Boy"). These were followed by two singles on Angular Records; "Giddy Stratospheres" (backed by "Polly" and "Darts") and "Appropriation (By Any Other Name)" (backed by "My Heart Is Out of Bounds" and "Lust in the Movies"). "Giddy Stratospheres" was also released in the US on 12" by What's Your Rupture?, featuring the three tracks included on the UK version, plus '"Autonomy Boy". The band's final release before signing to Rough Trade was "Separated By Motorways", which came out on Paul Epworth's Good & Evil Records backed by "Big Infatuation".

Singles: Flirt Up Your Life is a video game developed by Rotobee and published by German company Deep Silver in 2003.

It is very similar to The Sims in that the player is responsible for characters who have to be taken care of, such as by ordering them to eat, sleep, go to work, etc.

The game is available for sale via download from the company's website, with payment required to continue playing after the one-hour time limit expires.

The CD-ROM version sold in the USA censors any nudity throughout the game.

Comparison to earlier games

Singles was largely panned by critics for being a rip-off of The Sims and the way it offered little challenge, with the player required to simply follow a routine of making the characters progress from making small talk through to professing love then running off to bed together via the simple interaction menus. The 'needs' are also considered fairly inconsequential, with the characters never starving to death even when their 'hunger' need has dropped to zero.

Singles is a two CD compilation of New Order's 1981–2005 singles, released on 3 October 2005. Unlike the CD version of earlier singles compilation Substance, the B-sides are not included. While Substance aimed to showcase New Order's 12" singles, Singles instead features mostly 7" versions, some of these being quite rare as well as differing from album versions.

Of special note are several early singles that have never appeared on CD in their original form: "Ceremony", "Everything's Gone Green" and "Temptation". Additionally, "Confusion" appears in an edit of the song's "Rough mix" created exclusively for this compilation. One song, "Turn" was released on this album in a new edited form, despite never being a single. Released at the very height of the loudness war prevalent in the record industry, this release is notorious amongst New Order aficionados for its high volume and heavy compression levels.

Track listing