LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, bringing an official finish to the labor strife that shook the entertainment industry for most of 2023.

The approval of the three-year contract from the members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced Tuesday night by union leaders was no certainty, with some prominent members voicing dissent on the deal their negotiators bargained for.

The 78% yes result in voting that began Nov. 13 and ended Tuesday was a far cry from the near-unanimous approval and widespread enthusiasm members of the writers guild gave to the deal that ended their strike in September.

But the outcome is a major relief for SAG-AFTRA leaders and an entertainment industry that is attempting to return to normal after months of labor strife. And it brings a final, official end to Hollywood labor’s most tumultuous year in half a century, with two historic strikes that shook the industry.

Just over 38% of members cast votes, SAG-AFTRA said. All 145,000 members could vote on the deal, not just the approximately 60,000 TV and movie actors who went on strike and work under the contract.

“I’m very happy with the result,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director and chief negotiator, told The Associated Press Tuesday night. “I think having almost an 80% ‘yes’ vote with almost a 40% turnout for our members, that’s really unprecedented for any kind of contract where it’s not just a unanimous chorus of yeses.”

Some members agreed.

“More yes votes than I expected and very happy to see because despite loud voices of complaint on social media, it shows the membership is still strong and united,” actor “Can’t Hardly Wait” actor Ethan Embry posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Back to work.”

A rejection of the agreement would have meant a return to the bargaining table and, with that, the possibility of the actors going back on strike if leaders called for it.

The union had freed actors to return to work, declaring the strike over as soon as the tentative deal was struck Nov. 8 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in union negotiations. Two days later, it was approved by the guild’s board with an 86% vote.

“The AMPTP member companies congratulate SAG-AFTRA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents historic gains and protections for performers,” the AMPTP said in a statement Tuesday night. “With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force.”

Control over the use of artificial intelligence was the most hard-fought issue in the long, methodical negotiations, and became the main driver of dissent during the voting.

“The reality is there are members who’ve spoken out a lot over the last three weeks about their concerns, primarily about artificial intelligence. I’m very, very mindful of them, and I consider their concerns legitimate,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “I also firmly believe that the approach we took to it and what we achieved in this negotiation were the best possible way to address AI at this time with these companies and in this industry.”

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told The Associated Press shortly after the resolution was reached that making sure AI reproductions of actors could only be used with their informed consent and compensation was a “deal breaker” in the talks.

But they did not fight hard enough for some prominent members, including actors Justine Bateman and Matthew Modine, who cited the issue as a reason to vote “no,” and stoked fears many voters would follow their lead.

“I cannot endorse a contract that compromises the independence and financial futures of the performers,” Modine, who ran against Drescher for union president in 2021 and was also among the board members to reject the deal, said in a statement. “It is purposefully vague and demands union members to release their autonomy…. Consent is surrender.”

But many other prominent actors voiced strong support for the agreement, including Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain and Colman Domingo, who is getting major Oscars buzz this year for his performance in “ Rustin.”

“I believe that we have an incredible deal, I believe it’s thoughtful and it’s about moving the needle forward,” Domingo told the AP last week. “I’m very happy with it. I voted yes.”

Crabtree-Ireland emphasized that members were happy with the deal’s financial gains.

“If we set aside the AI issue, it would have been ratified by 99% of members probably,” he said.

The contract calls for a 7% general pay increase with further hikes coming in the second and third years of the deal.

The deal also includes a hard-won provision that temporarily derailed talks: the creation of a fund to pay performers for future viewings of their work on streaming services, in addition to traditional residuals paid for the showing of movies or series.

The provision is an attempt to bring payment systems in line with an industry now dominated by streaming, a reality that is almost certain to fuel more labor fights — and possibly more strikes — in the coming years.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ten of the best songs of the year, as determined by Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman, in no particular order. Dive in.

“On My Mama,” Victoria Monét

Buckle up for some positive affirmations! The 10-time Grammy-nominated Victoria Monét, once best known as a hit-maker for Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and Chloe x Halle, is getting her flowers these days as a soloist — and passing them right along to the mothers listening. Her blockbuster single “On My Mama” is a loving tribute to her mom and her daughter, with Monét’s buttery voice and bright brass production carrying throughout. It may very well be the best R&B track of the year — with one of the best samples, utilizing Chalie Boy’s 2009 banger “I Look Good.” It takes a real talent to borrow from such a recognizable sound. Monét doesn’t just manage to do that — she makes it her own.

“Monaco,” Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny’s 2023 album, “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” is a reclamation of his past sound, the hard-hitting rap that preceded his mainstream superstardom. Perhaps it’s an exercise in getting back to the basics while unraveling the complications of fame, the source material for most of the album’s lyrics. At any rate, the combination makes for a more restrained, pointed listen: a true success on the stellar “Monaco,” a Latin trap song with a need for speed that wouldn’t feel too far removed on his debut album, 2018’s “X 100PRE.” Benito’s smooth, somber baritone carries the track, as does the rush sound of a Formula One car that bleeds into baroque production.

“Flowers,” Miley Cyrus

There’s a thin line between courageous and corny when it comes to uplifting pop records. Far too often, an empowering song with an ascendant chorus loses all tension and hits the ear like a too-sweet dessert. But on Miley Cyrus’ Grammy-nominated “Flowers,” her first No. 1 hit in a decade, the pop superstar makes magic happen. It’s a summery, retro-pop single teeming with optimism born out of divorce. “No remorse, no regret / I forget every word you said,” she sings — the musical equivalent of someone saying, “I’m bored with this conversation” — before launching into a self-help mantra. Then, she finds an emotional solution and musical resolve in her chorus: “I can love me better than you can.”

“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” PinkPantheress and Ice Spice

It is the song of the summer — heck, the year — and it came out in January. The dream team of Bronx rapper Ice Spice and hyperpop-punk hero PinkPantheress made “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” an examination of modern dating with an undeniable hook. It is so space-y as to take flight; a lackadaisical remix for the current moment. Plus, the pronunciation of “Liar” like “Leo” in the song’s chorus is “It’s Gonna Be May”-level creativity. What’s not to love?

“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves

Country artist Zach Bryan knows a thing or two about writing the loneliness of heartbreak into song with cutting specificity. It is one of the reasons his 2022 major label debut “American Heartbreak” was named one of AP’s top albums of last year. And it is part of the reason why his 2023 single and first No. 1 track, “I Remember Everything,” is one of our favorites of this year. It’s confessional, rich, balladic songwriting amplified by his full-hearted voice — those open, resonating notes — and the sweetness of Musgraves’ tone.

“Crave,” Paramore

Long gone are the burnt orange pop-punk days of Paramore’s youth. The Tennessee rock band flirts with animated post-punk these days, experimenting with asymmetrical synth production that mirrors internal anxieties and the external forces that augment them. “Crave” is the latter reflecting on the former: a propulsive, matured band dancing around a prickly guitar riff. But at its core, like in all great Paramore tracks, is frontwoman Hayley Williams stretching her vast vocal range, belting out frustrations and excising misguided desires.

“Rush,” Troye Sivan

The opening track and lead single from Australian pop powerhouse Troye Sivan’s third full-length album, “Something to Give Each Other,” is all falsetto, locker room chants, and utopic homoeroticism: “I feel the rush / Addicted to your touch,” a group of men harmonize on the perfect pop of his lead single, “Rush.” Bravado is instituted only to drive home a sort of sweaty sexuality, all fun and light atop house and EDM beats. Sivan offered AP a kind of mantra for the song in an interview earlier this year: “Things are good. Life is fun. Sex is great.”

“Dumbest Girl Alive,” 100 gecs

What came first: the chicken or the egg, 100 gecs or the Internet genre of hyperpop? It doesn’t matter. The duo of Laura Les and Dylan Brady are not in the market for sense; rather, their musical art is fueled by pixelated chaos. In the case of “Dumbest Girl Alive,” a choice cut from their sophomore LP “10,000 gecs,” the only thing that matters is the nu-metal bass lick and distorted vocals that deliver unintelligible lines like “Put emojis on my grave / I’m the dumbest girl alive.” It’s 2023’s best song that sounds like getting sucked into a computer simulation, fun and dumb in equal measure.

“OMG,” NewJeans

In 2023, girl groups dominated the K-pop conversation. At the fore is NewJeans, with their Y2K-nostalgic sound that pulls from the turn of the millennium’s R&B and pop music. “OMG” was the catalyst for their fame, with its addictive trap rhythm, propelled by U.K. garage-inspired production, tasteful cowbells (you read that correctly) and a sticky staccato synth that lays a strong foundation, brought to the next level by the quintet’s ebullient harmonies. Oh my, oh my god, indeed.

“Tantor,” Danny Brown

Danny Brown’s absurdist approach to contemporary rap has made him one to watch for years, and “Tantor,” the teetering lead single from his long-awaited sixth studio album “Quaranta,” is proof. The Alchemist-produced track is, in moments, prog-rock avant-rap, a retro-futuristic hip-hop filtered through, like, “Robocop.” If cyborgs aren’t your thing, look away — but then you’d be missing one of the most welcomingly clangorous and charming tracks of 2023.