Running Undaunted

"Running Undaunted" is a song by trance-rock singer Violetta DiNozzo, written for her by Ben Johnston and Elice Claire, and released as the second single from her album "Divide & Conquer". The song was also the second American single from the album, and the biggest US hit from the album. In the UK it peaked at #2, in a close call against Candi and her single "PUSHIT".

Background
After Ben Johnston and Elice Claire began co-writing some material together, Violetta put a request in for them to pen a song for her third album. "Running Undaunted" was the result; Ben produced the demo with Elice on vocals, and Violetta herself recorded a version of this demo using the original demo production. The demo was in a pop-rock style, so Violetta worked with the rest of the Darling Violetta Project to translate it into her trance-rock style. Violetta planned it as the second single from the album before "Monsters" was released, and made plans to have it released as soon after "Monsters" as possible, in order to strike while the iron was hot. Unfortunately, there was a massive industry upheaval right around the time of the single's release, which threatened its commercial potential, but ultimately the single fared as hoped.

Reception
It was the hand of Elice Claire and Ben Johnston in the writing of "Running Undaunted" that drew a lot of the praise and approval of the song, and it was Violetta's performance and style of the song that made up the rest of its good reception. The song had a much more pop-friendly appeal compared to "Monsters" which helped the song gain traction on radio both in the UK and the US, and help its sales in both territories. "Running Undaunted" was passed over in Europe after "Monsters" failed to catch on. After a major upheaval in the music industry it appeared that the single would be in jeopardy, but it prevailed, turning into another big hit for Violetta in the end. It was the second of three consecutive #1 digital hits for Violetta.

Promo CD

 * 1) Running Undaunted (Radio Edit)
 * 2) Running Undaunted (Album Version)
 * 3) Running Undaunted (Sander Kleinenberg Radio Edit)

CD1

 * 1) Running Undaunted (Radio Edit)
 * 2) Monsters (Dexcell Remix)
 * 3) Running Undaunted (Instrumental)

CD2

 * 1) Running Undaunted (Radio Edit)
 * 2) Louder Than Words (Kemicalecks Remix)
 * 3) Running Undaunted (Tommie Sunshine 5AM Edit)
 * 4) Running Undaunted (Music Video)

Digital EP

 * 1) Running Undaunted (Album Version)
 * 2) The Change
 * 3) Running Undaunted (Original Demo)
 * 4) Running Undaunted (Sander Kleinenberg Anthem Mix)
 * 5) Running Undaunted (Michael Cassette Remix)
 * 6) Running Undaunted (Jontron Vocal Mix)

Music Video
The video opens to show a lively park scene, set in the past. The mood of the scene is dissonant to the darker tone of the intro music as it begins; we see Violetta with blonde hair strolling through the park holding onto the arm of a well-dressed man. She is gazing adoringly at him as they stroll, and she is so swept up in the moment of being with him that she does not realize his wandering eye. Cutting to the present, we see a machine with the words ‘this time’ lit up. The camera is filled with static and blurred images as a black-haired Violetta is seen disoriented and stumbling around a New York underground train station.

Back in the past, we see a new scene of Violetta walking through the streets at night, alone. She is thinking about earlier that evening when the man from the previous scene proposed to her. In the modern day, dark Violetta starts to run as she recalls the same memories. We cut to the church, on light Violetta’s wedding day. We see her in her white dress getting ready, with bridesmaids all around her fixing little details on her make-up, adjusting her dress and making sure she looks perfect to walk down the aisle. Intercut throughout all of this is dark Violetta escaping from the underground; the camera is still blurred and out of focus as it tracks her movements.

In the past, the final adjustments to light Violetta’s wedding dress are being made. Violetta takes the time to admire herself in the mirror, smiling because she likes how she looks as a bride. Feeling ready to begin the wedding, Violetta takes hold of the bouquet of roses and begins her journey down the aisle. Once again, this is interspersed with shots from dark Violetta; we see aerial shots of New York, as well as dark Violetta running the night-time streets. The camera is still blurry at first but the image begins to clear up. By the time dark Violetta reaches the Brooklyn Bridge, the image is of crystal clarity.

Dark Violetta stops running to take in the view of the bridge. Then as she remembers her time as light Violetta at her wedding, she starts to run again, picking up the pace as she goes. She recalls standing in front of her fiancé, and all of the wedding guests, ready and willing to become his wife. They say their wedding vows, he pulls out the wedding ring. She hesitates when he moves to put it on her finger; she looks out into the crowd and sees a girl blowing a kiss toward the groom, and she sees the groom smile back. At this point light Violetta rejects the ring as dark Violetta jumps off the bridge.

Light Violetta leaves her fiancé standing at the altar, now knowing that he’s not faithful to her. She charges down the aisle, tossing the bouquet aside and shoving away anyone who tries to halt her progress to the chapel door. She slams the doors and rushes through, down the stairs and toward the woods below. Dark Violetta is recalling this as she falls, but she does not get hurt when she lands; instead she lands in a crouch. In slow motion, she lifts her head up from her crouched position, the wind blowing her hair across her face.

Dark Violetta gets up off the ground where she landed and starts walking again. The camera follows her from behind, and again the image gets blasted with static. When the static clears, we can see a man walking toward dark Violetta from around a nearby corner. Light Violetta is meanwhile running blindly through the forest, her only thought to get away from the chapel and her humiliation there. As she runs, her dress gets torn up by the wilderness as it snags on bushes and twigs. Eventually, she stops to cry – and right when she does this, it begins to rain down heavily on her where she stands.

Light Violetta lets the rain fall upon her, and drops to her knees in the mud, not caring that her dress is ruined and her life as she knew it is now over. She lays there in the muck, which is then seemingly absorbed into her clothes and her skin. Light Violetta then morphs into the dark Violetta we’ve been seeing in the modern day shots. That same dark Violetta is now approaching the ocean; the darkness of night has lifted and in the morning light she walks into the water. Behind her, several men also walk into the water, and they keep walking until the water is above their heads. The video then goes static and cuts to black.

Chart Performance
Controversy in the music industry threatened the success of "Running Undaunted" upon release, however it still turned into a big hit for Violetta, missing out in a photo finish chart battle to chart at #2 behind Candi. The song did not hold up as well initially, but did stabilise and become another gold hit for Violetta. It hit #1 on the digital chart, the second of three consecutive digital chart-toppers. "Running Undaunted" was a massive airplay hit, climbing all the way to become Violetta's second airplay chart-topper. In America, the song hit the top 10 on the Hot 100 and on the airplay chart, becoming the biggest hit of the era for Violetta in the US.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 239,205
 * Week 1: #2 - 97,110
 * Week 2: #5 - 46,917
 * Week 3: #9 - 27,991
 * Week 4: #17 - 17,687
 * Week 5: #25 - 14,475
 * Week 6: #27 - 11,382
 * Week 7: #36 - 4,715
 * Week 8: #26 - 13,384
 * Week 9: #29 - 5,544