10,000 Butterflies

"10,000 Butterflies" is a single by trance-rock singer Violetta DiNozzo, co-written with Halle York of DAMNED. It was released as the third single from her album "Divide & Conquer" in the UK and the second in Europe following the disappointing performance of previous single "Monsters". The song was a surprise success for Violetta, becoming her third career #1 ahead of favourite Syd Wolfe.

Background
Halle York wrote the song in 2010, and put the demo up for sale. Violetta bought the song from her, and kept the demo aside until she started work on the album. Violetta partially re-wrote the song and tightened its structure for the album version, and translated the song into a chilled pop-trance style. It was not originally intended to be the third single from the album, with "Contagion" planned instead after it became a fan-favourite. Violetta decided she needed to slow things down however, after two heavy singles (three counting promo single "Louder Than Words"). It was decided that "10,000 Butterflies" would be a better fit for the European market than "Running Undaunted" after "Monsters" failed to garner attention, and "10,000 Butterflies" was subsequently released as the second European single. Violetta brought in James Frost to co-star in the song's music video, and much attention was gained over the two stars appearing nude in the video.

Reception
Many saw the song as "beautiful" and "relaxing" upon its reveal, and it gained its own support base. Critics praised the song for its laidback and emotional feel, and for the strength of Violetta's vocals, especially since it made use of her whistle register. The song was met incredibly well upon announcement as a single, and the change of pace from previous singles was welcomed. A more relaxed promotional effort won over buyers, taking the song all the way to #1, becoming Violetta's third career chart-topper. The single was supported with strong airplay, and was the third of three consecutive #1 digital hits.

Promo CD

 * 10,000 Butterflies (Album Version)
 * 10,000 Butterflies (Chrysalis Remix Edit)

CD1

 * 10,000 Butterflies
 * 1) Nectar
 * 10,000 Butterflies (Cocoon Remix Edit)

CD2

 * 10,000 Butterflies
 * 10,000 Butterflies (Chrysalis Extended Remix)
 * 10,000 Butterflies (Cocoon Club Remix)
 * 1) Running Undaunted (DVP’s Chilled Out Mix)

Digital EP

 * 10,000 Butterflies
 * 1) Nectar
 * 10,000 Butterflies (Paul Oakenfold Perfecto Remix)
 * 10,000 Butterflies (David Jost Twin Remix)
 * 1) Nectar (DVP’s Spaced Out Mix)

Music Video
The video opens with a serene shot of the sea as an instrumental intro to ’10,000 Butterflies’ plays. We see a pair of hands holding a lit candle, and then we get our first look at Violetta in a long flowing dress, looking out through a window at the sea that we were looking at before. As she begins to sing the scene changes to show an expanse of green forest. It pans over a meadow which has two people sitting in it. Zooming in, we see that this is Violetta and James Frost. He is holding her, and he leans in to kiss her but she blushes and turns her head away. We’re treated to a third scene when Violetta reaches the first chorus; with the lights just so that they’re almost silhouettes, Violetta and James are seen in a ballroom together dancing. Their movements are tentative yet intimate. Again we see the Violetta with the candle from the start of the video; she looks down at the candle as she sings toward the camera and slowly paces through a blue hallway, lit only by the candle she’s holding in her hands.

Violetta walks into a room filled with candles just like the one she is carrying; she wanders through a cleared path in the candles and kneels down, placing the candle in her hands on the floor to sit with the others. She stays here on her knees and looks over the sea of candles as she sings. We’re taken back to the meadow scene where Violetta and James are kissing. James pulls Violetta close and lays back, pulling her down on top of him. In the room with the candles, we see Violetta slowly standing up as she sings. She does not look at the camera as begins to walk around the room; we see shots of her dress trailing behind her as she moves over to a large window overlooking the forest and the sea. Back in the ballroom scene, Violetta and James are still dancing – but by this time they’ve gotten more used to each other and are dancing even more closely than they were before.

We’re taken back to the blue room; Violetta wanders closer to the window and a mysterious wind causes all of the candles to snuff out almost at once. Violetta peers out the window and stares at the sunrise bathing the room in a orange-red morning glow. The Violetta and James from the meadow scene have migrated to new locations; where we see them being intimate under a waterfall and later in a bedroom. We also see the next morning with James watching over Violetta while she sleeps. Back in the ballroom scene, Violetta and James have gotten comfortable enough with each other that they move very easily together, pulling off tricky dance moves in time with each other as the song reaches its final climax. The Violetta from the blue room is now standing outside, watching the sun rise as the sea breeze runs through her hair. She has a huge smile on her face as she stops singing, and the camera backs away from her as the video fades to black.

Chart Performance
"10,000 Butterflies" was poised to be another major hit for Violetta, following the successes of previous singles "Monsters" and "Running Undaunted". It wasn't expected to be #1 however, due to chart competition from "Try Sleeping With The Enemy" by Syd Wolfe, who was seen as the favourite to achieve a chart-topper. It was a surprise then that Violetta overtook Syd to achieve her third career #1, after "I Didn't Mean It" and "Monsters". "10,000 Butterflies" became the biggest seller of the era, despite a lower peak sales week than "Monsters". After the airplay success of "Running Undaunted", Violetta achieved another major airplay hit with "10,000 Butterflies", although it did not hit #1 it became the second-highest peaking single of the era. The single also charted at #1 on the digital chart, the third of three consecutive digital chart-toppers and the final digital hit of the era. The song was not released in America, but became a top 10 hit across Europe.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 291,491
 * Week 1: #1 - 108,292
 * Week 2: #6 - 72,459
 * Week 3: #9 - 45,009
 * Week 4: #17 - 19,361
 * Week 5: #26 - 15,423
 * Week 6: #21 - 17,216
 * Week 7: #26 - 13,916