Contagion

"Contagion" is a single by trance-rock singer Violetta DiNozzo, the final single taken from the album. It was the third US and European single and fifth UK single. It was released in the US and Europe after the poor performance of "Don't Play Those Games" in the UK. It was tacked onto a re-issue of "Don't Play Those Games" in the UK as Violetta was finished with promoting new singles from the album and Fusion needed a good incentive to persuade buyers to purchase the re-issued single.

Background
"Contagion" was written in 2011, one of the later songs prepared for the album. It was based around and contains a lyrical sample from the song "Contagious" by UK-born Australian singer Amy Pearson. Violetta originally chose the song to be the third single from "Divide & Conquer" after it became an instant hit with fans, but after the decision was made to instead change pace and slow things down for the third UK single, plans to release "Contagion" were dropped. The song was released as the third single in Europe after "10,000 Butterflies" was a success, and as the third single in the US after "Don't Play Those Games" was cancelled as a single due to lack of interest. In the UK it was added onto a re-issue of "Don't Play Those Games" instead of receiving a full release. This was done to boost sales for "Games" as a single, since its sales were poor and Violetta was not intending to promote any further releases from the album in the UK.

Reception
"Contagion" was met with strong reaction when it was first revealed, leading Violetta to handpick it as the third UK single, and the reaction was just as strong when it was given single attention later on. The song was more openly-received in the US than "Don't Play Those Games", catching on with sales. Airplay was moderate, but a high sales peak helped it achieve a relatively high US peak. In Europe, the single was not as favourably received as its predecessor, "10,000 Butterflies", because it was deemed 'a little too aggressive'. In the UK, the song helped take the re-issue of "Don't Play Those Games" back into the upper region of the chart.

UK CD

 * 1) Don't Play Those Games (ft. Audiodrama)
 * 2) Contagion
 * 3) Don't Play Those Games (Checkmate Remix)
 * 4) Contagion (Hybrid's Toxic Chemical Mix)

UK Digital EP

 * 1) Don't Play Those Games (ft. Audiodrama)
 * 2) Contagion
 * 3) Don't Play Those Games (Vinylpushers Club Mix)
 * 4) Don't Play Those Games (Bassjackers Vocal Mix)
 * 5) Contagion (BT's Amber Alert)
 * 6) Contagion (The Brothers Grimm Remix)

US Digital EP

 * 1) Contagion
 * 2) Contagion (Hybrid's Toxic Chemical Mix)
 * 3) Contagion (BT's Amber Alert)
 * 4) Contagion (The Brothers Grimm Remix)
 * 5) Contagion (The Weeknd & Illangelo Mix)

Music Video
The video opens with a dark background with blue projections on a black wall. Violetta is seen in silhouettes against the blue light moving her arms and her body, making shapes as we see her mouth moving to the first verse. We see other shots of Violetta in a cage, to show that she’s feeling confined (as per the lyrics). She puts her hand on the lock of the cage and glares out at the guy keeping her trapped; we don’t see his face, he is out of focus. When the first chorus hits, we see a different performance scene, with Violetta in a brightly lit but empty sound stage. She stands and sings into her microphone as the camera shows her from different angles. Back in the cage setting, Violetta manages to swipe the key to the lock from her captor’s pocket when he gets too close while taunting her, and she releases herself to escape before he can stop her.

With her captor taking chase, Violetta rushes down several flights of stairs in a large manor in an attempt to outrun him. She stops for a second to see how far away from him she is, and once she hits the ground floor she dashes out into the main hall. She takes a brief look around before heading for the front door. For the performance scene, we’re back to the blue lights from before, but this time Violetta is clearly lit instead of being a silhouette. Having escaped from the house, Violetta ventures out into the garden. She sits down upon a garden seat and sings toward the camera. A ghostly image of her former captor appears beside her, and she turns and waves her hand through him, making the image disappear like smoke. The performance shots go back to the white sound stage, but this time the lights aren’t turned on bright and there are people all over the place putting Violetta through hair and make-up while a band is being set up.

The performance shots continue with the white lights coming back on, and Violetta rocking out with her backing band during the second chorus. They stand around and look stoic as the track drops down into the middle section; while in the storyline setting, other girls from around the manor begin to sense Violetta’s escape, and each gets up and leaves behind their own prisons, all of them ready to escape their own captors. The last performance shots show the blue lights, but this time the background is a starry sky. Stars shoot past Violetta toward the camera as she powers through the final chorus. Back in the storyline, all of the girls that were trapped in the manor team up with Violetta, and together they chase all of the men out of the house, because they’re free and they won’t be infected by the men who hold them down anymore. Violetta smiles as she goes back inside and shuts the front doors, now that the women have reclaimed the manor.

Chart Performance
In the UK, "Contagion" charted and peaked at #16 when it was released as part of a re-issue of "Don't Play Those Games". Since it did not get its own release it did not chart on the digital or airplay charts, nor did it count as a separate entity on the chart. In the US the single was not a major airplay hit, but gained enough interest for a high sales peak which allowed it to chart at #16 on the Hot 100, and achieve a platinum certification for sales over a million. In Europe the single failed because it was too aggressive after "10,000 Butterflies", performing similar to "Monsters".