The Analyst

"The Analyst" is the debut single of pianist/singer Arianna DiCorso, recorded for the URAPS Idol 12 cast album and later included on her debut album "Take A Picture, It'll Last Longer". "The Analyst" was first recorded by Delta Goodrem, and was covered by Arianna early on during her time on the show. It was released as a single on November 7th, 2011, as the second single from the URAPS Idol album and the first from her own album, and it was a major chart success landing Arianna in the top 2 in her first time on the charts.

Background
"The Analyst" first appeared on "Mistaken Identity", the 2004 sophomore album by Australian singer and pianist Delta Goodrem. Arianna chose to perform the song in the second week of URAPS Idol 12, where the top 11 sang songs by Australian artists. Arianna had chosen the song because it was experimental for a pop song, and because it allowed her to utilise her piano skills. After being eliminated in third place in the semi-finals, Arianna returned in the following week's grand final, where she performed the song again. Arianna recorded a studio version of the song to be included on that season's cast album, "The Dirtiest Hits", which she worked on with an in-house producer. Arianna chose to release the song as her debut single as an introduction to the charts before releasing her own material in 2012; her record label Blacklight Records helped fund the video and promote the single while Arianna worked on her album. "The Analyst" was later included on the main tracklisting for the album, and was made the lead single from the album as a result. Arianna allowed the commission of a number of remixes of the song, something she stated she would not often do. She would later have single "I Bite" remixed as a conscious attempt to cross over to the club market.

Due to the single being an Idol release, Arianna recorded a number of covers as b-side material. These included songs she performed while on the show, including "Femme Fatale" by Elice Claire, "Piccadilly Circus" by Romo and "The Light Goes Out" by Savana. A fourth cover, "Made Of Stone" originally by Evanescence, was recorded for Arianna's debut album but was removed from the tracklisting in favour of another Evanescence cover appearing on the album instead. Arianna chose to include her version of "Made Of Stone" on the single as a result.

Reception
Arianna's decision to release "The Analyst" was met favourably, as she had been popular on URAPS Idol due to placing third. Her campaign was relatively relaxed due to the industry being in an unstable time, but the approach was successful in generating fan interest in the release. Airplay was unexpectedly high for the song, which managed to climb very high on the airplay charts, which helped fuel the song's digital sales. The buzz generated from the single helped it debut high on the chart with strong opening sales. This is considered an incredibly successful release for an Idol-related single; and noteworthy for having outcharted Regina Harper's winners' single, albeit by one position.

Promo CD

 * 1) The Analyst (Album Version)
 * 2) The Analyst (Radio Mix)

CD1

 * 1) The Analyst
 * 2) Femme Fatale

CD2

 * 1) The Analyst
 * 2) Piccadilly Circus
 * 3) The Analyst (The Luge Remix)

Digital EP

 * 1) The Analyst
 * 2) The Light Goes Out
 * 3) Made Of Stone
 * 4) The Analyst (Soulchild Remix)
 * 5) The Analyst (M.A.S.H Master Mix)

Music Video
The video begins showing an apartment room; there is water running down the walls and pooling on the floor. Arianna walks into frame and approaches a piano by the wall; she begins playing the intro to the song as we see several shots of soapy water flowing down the walls and over everything. Arianna turns around and looks at the flooding room as she begins to sing the first verse of the song. Alternating shots of Arianna sitting at the piano and playing are woven into the action. We continue to see shots of Arianna at her piano playing and singing; meanwhile the soapy water continues to fall around her. We see various objects around the room getting wet as water falls from the ceiling, such as a few of Arianna’s books, a jug and a suitcase. Arianna can do nothing about this, she just wanders around the room sloshing through the water that’s already above her ankles. She sits down on the bed and looks up at the light, which is getting filled with the soapy water.

The camera pans up through the ceiling into the room above. We see more soapy water all over the floor, and it is this that is seeping through into the apartment room below (we can’t see the cracks in the floor because there’s so much foam). Arianna is lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling as the water continues to flood the room. We can see it rising closer to where Arianna is laying. Up above we see that the room the water is coming from is a bathroom, and a second Arianna is in the tub singing the song as she spills water everywhere. We get to see more of Arianna in the tub, either not realizing or not caring how much water she’s sloshing over the sides as she continues to sing toward the camera. We see the water level rising even further below; Arianna is lying with her head down the other end of the bed, and has her hair pulled down beside her so that it’s not in the water. We get to see some of Arianna’s writing, but the ink is all running because of the water running down from the ceiling.

We see close-up shots of water running all over Arianna’s piano, mixed in with more shots of her sitting at it and playing while she sings the song. Arianna is also seen lying back on the bed, with the camera showing a full view of the apartment room being flooded, even out into the next room as indicated by the open door. The other Arianna is still casually taking her bath, and the Arianna below curls up into a ball as she watches the water level rise even higher toward her. Eventually the water is just too high for Arianna to evade, so she just lies back on the bed as the water level begins to cover her. By now it’s also reaching the electrical appliances around the room. First, the TV next to Arianna blows once the water hits its circuits, and next is a lamp right beside Arianna’s bed. Arianna is submerged in the water after that, and the video ends when the light in the room explodes, once it’s caught enough water for its circuits to get wet. Arianna’s fate is unknown.

Chart Performance
Being her debut single, and an Idol-related release, Arianna had not yet earned the status with critics to command attention on the charts; she had to work for her own chart potential, but after catching on well with radio and with the digital crowd, Arianna was tipped to be big, which she was - debuting at #2. The song also peaked in the top 2 on airplay, a surprise success which followed on from its chart success. The song also hit the top 5 on the digital chart, warming her up for the consecutive #1 digital hits that were to follow.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 224,718
 * Week 1: #2 - 92,015
 * Week 2: #8 - 43,630
 * Week 3: #11 - 27,813
 * Week 4: #17 - 18,456
 * Week 5: #31 - 9,334
 * Week 6: #20 - 17,152
 * Week 7: #37 - 7,562
 * Week 8: #39 - 8,756