Army Of Clones (Veronica Nightshade Version)

"Army Of Clones" is the debut single from dance diva Veronica Nightshade, and is a cover of the Ben Johnston #1 hit single. The song was released on September 27th, 2010, alongside the album, and it charted at #5 in its first week. It was later released in Australia as Veronica's second single, where it became another top 10 hit following the top 5 success of Australian lead single "Not Broken".

Background
Veronica performed "Army Of Clones" on a Ben Johnston-themed week during her run on URAPS Idol. The song was a highlight of the night, and was praised by the judges as her best performance of the competition. Veronica was eliminated the following week. Nevertheless, Veronica was offered the opportunity to record a studio version of her cover for the IDOL: Encore compilation, produced by an unknown producer. Veronica intended to release the cover as a single in order to support the release, readying an EP which was to feature "Army Of Clones" as the core track. The song was remixed by Chris Cox for release. When Veronica scrapped plans for her EP in favour of a full-length album, "Army Of Clones" was kept on as a stand-alone single. In Australia, Veronica instead released "Not Broken" as her debut single, as her Australian label believed that "Army Of Clones" would not be as readily received since the original artist is not as well-known in the Australian marketplace. The "30 Days Of Night" album version of "Army Of Clones" was the Cox-produced version including new vocals from Ben Johnston.

Reception
Veronica's "Army Of Clones" EP was extremely well-received, with many expressing the desire for a full-length album instead of an EP. After performing at Genevere Johnson's album launch gala alongside her fellow Idol alumni, Veronica expressed her own desires to record an album, and changed her plans for an EP in favour of an album. The single was still well-received after this point, even after being announced as a stand-alone. The single was expected to chart in the top 5 upon release, facing strong competition from the likes of Esmeralda Dimuzio, Brett Clarkson and Midnight. Midweeks did not look promising for Veronica, with only two releases projected to debut in the top 5 at that time. By week's end, the single pulled through and achieved a #5 debut. On the airplay chart, it suffered initially; it is believed that the tag of 'Idol castoff' was hindering the single's progression on radio, but while Veronica was promoting "Not Broken", the song re-entered the airplay chart and had a respectable chart run.

Promo CD

 * 1) Army Of Clones ("Encore" Album Version)
 * 2) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Single Mix)

CD1

 * 1) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Single Mix)
 * 2) Die Another Day (Madonna Cover)
 * 3) Army Of Clones ("Encore" Album Version)

CD2

 * 1) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Album Mix) (ft. Ben Johnston)
 * 2) Army Of Clones (Sal Dano Peak Hour Radio Mix)
 * 3) Army Of Clones (Barry Harris Club Interpretation)

Digital EP

 * 1) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Single Mix)
 * 2) Die Another Day (Madonna Cover)
 * 3) Army Of Clones (Sal Dano Peak Hour Club Mix)
 * 4) Army Of Clones (Skrillex Club Mix)
 * 5) Die Another Day (Brother Brown Club Mix)
 * 6) Die Another Day (Richard Vission Vocal Mix)

Vinyl Club Pack

 * 1) Army Of Clones (Sal Dano Peak Hour Club Mix)
 * 2) Army Of Clones (Sal Dano After Hours Dub)
 * 3) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Extended Club Mix)
 * 4) Army Of Clones (Barry Harris Club Interpretation)
 * 5) Army Of Clones (Barry Harris Dub Interpretation)
 * 6) Army Of Clones (Chris Cox Military Dub)

Music Video
The video opens to a shot of a limousine rolling up out the front of a hotel. We see a pair of high-heeled feet emerge from the vehicle, followed by the legs they’re attached to. The music starts and we see performance shots of Veronica in a room with assorted furnishings. We’re shown the mystery woman entering the lavish hallway of the hotel, with two other females falling in step behind her; as she walks, we’re treated to a title card. The title fades away and we pan up to show that the woman is Veronica, and she is flanked by two clones. We see more performance shots of Veronica in the other room, as both she and the Veronica in the hallway begin singing the song. A man is checking into the hotel. Veronica or one of the clones appears to be watching him as he does so. The Veronica in the room continues to perform the song while the Veronica in the hotel and her clones follow the man who just checked in. Before they can reach him however, he gets into the elevator and it closes on him, before Veronica and the clones can reach him. More performance shots of Veronica in the other room are shown.

Veronica and her clones get into another elevator; we see them inside the elevator performing a bit of simple choreographed clothing adjustments as Veronica sings the song. They eventually reach their chosen floor, and the doors open we see Veronica stepping out of the elevator with her clones, looking quite menacing. More performance shots of Veronica in the other room. The man from before is startled when Veronica and her clones burst into his room. They grab him and begin to tie him to the bed. We see another gloved hand trailing the wallpaper outside the room; another of Veronica’s clones is coming to visit. The clone joins the others in the man’s room, removing her leather jacket as she approaches him. The clone takes a riding crop from one of the other clones and climbs on top of the guy. Outside in the hallway, yet another Veronica clone turns up. She looks both ways before heading for the man’s room, only to find it empty – the other clones have already taken him away. We see this set of clones leading the man down another nearly identical hallway.

We’re taken to a new scene now; first we see a close-up shot of a light bulb on its own. Then we see the clones bringing the man into what appears to be some sort of interrogation room. His arms are bound in front of his chest, and one of the clones manhandles him into the chair. We now realise that the room Veronica’s performance shots were in, is this interrogation room and that this Veronica has been waiting for the army of clones to bring the man to her all along. Veronica steps around the chain hanging by the chair to address the man, who looks up at her from where he sits, clones behind him keeping him in place. Veronica is seen singing the lyrics to the man, who seems unmoved by the words. Another clone moves up behind him; we can tell because we see her boots crossing the floor to where his chair is. From where she’s standing, Veronica can see the clone approaching. Knowing that her words have had no effect on the man, she signals the clone with a look to make her move. Having gotten the go-ahead, the clone proceeds to pummel the man in the head with her fists. Veronica and her army of clones then haul the man out of the chair and take him away; the last we thing we see is the empty interrogation room with the light bulb swinging back and forth.

Chart Performance
The single debuted on the singles chart at #5, initially underperforming and risking an entry lower than the predicted top 5. The song stabilised sales-wise in its second week, earning a further 54,207 copies despite slipping to #7 on the chart. The single lasted six weeks on chart and was certified silver. It originally spent only one week on the airplay chart, with Veronica's Idol reject status suspected to be hindering the song's performance. However, when Veronica began promoting her UK follow-up "Not Broken", the song re-entered the airplay chart and peaked at #25. The single charted for 6 weeks on the downloads chart, peaking at #4. It has sold 67,616 downloads.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 154,450
 * Week 1: #5 - 47,532
 * Week 2: #7 - 54,207
 * Week 3: #13 - 25,441
 * Week 4: #22 - 14,990
 * Week 5: #34 - 4,896
 * Week 6: #30 - 7,384