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Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in Paris in 1993 by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement. They garnered critical acclaim and commercial success in the years following, combining elements of house music with funk, techno, disco, hip hop, indie rock and pop. Daft Punk's second album, Discovery (2001), had further success, supported by hit singles "One More Time", "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". It became the basis for an animated film, Interstella 5555, supervised by a Japanese animator Leiji Matsumoto. Daft Punk's third album, Human After All (2005), received mixed reviews, though the singles "Robot Rock" and "Technologic" achieved success in the United Kingdom. The duo directed their first film, Electroma, an avant-garde science fiction film, in 2006. They toured throughout 2006 and 2007 and released the live album Alive 2007, which won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album; the tour is credited for popularising dance music in North America. Daft Punk composed the score for the 2010 film Tron: Legacy. In 2013, Daft Punk left Virgin for Columbia Records and released their fourth and final album, Random Access Memories, to acclaim; the lead single, "Get Lucky", reached the top 10 in the charts of 27 countries. Random Access Memories won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Get Lucky". In 2016, Daft Punk gained their only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Starboy", a collaboration with the Weeknd. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked them the 12th greatest musical duo of all time. They announced their split in 2021. The news led to a surge in Daft Punk sales, with digital album purchases rising by 2,650 percent. Their friend and collaborator Todd Edwards clarified that Bangalter and Homem-Christo remain active separately. On 22 February 2022, one year after their disbandment, Daft Punk announced the digital release of a 25th anniversary edition of Homework alongside vinyl reissues of Homework and Alive 1997. They also streamed a video of their performance at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles from their 1997 Daftendirektour. The footage in the one-time-only broadcast was previously unreleased in its entirety, featuring the duo without costumes.
Need for Speed (NFS) is a racing video game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Ghost Games. The series centers around illicit street racing and in general tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed, in 1994. The most recent game, Need for Speed Heat, was released on November 8, 2019. The series has been overseen and had games developed by multiple notable teams over the years including EA Black Box and Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout.[1] The franchise has been critically well received and is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, selling over 150 million copies of games.[2] Due to its strong sales, the franchise has expanded into other forms of media including a film adaptation and licensed Hot Wheels toys.[3]
