Hide The Body

"Hide The Body" is the debut single by singer-songerwriter Eoin O'Neill, and the lead single from his debut self-titled album "Eoin". Released simultaneously in Ireland and the UK, the single was a major hit on all counts - airplay, digital and sales. Eoin was the first artist from the second season of The Uraps Factor to release any material. In the UK, the single spent twelve weeks on chart to eventually be certified platinum with over 300k in sales.

Background
"Hide The Body" was recorded not long after Eoin's exit from The Uraps Factor; his deal with Blacklight Records was signed within weeks of his elimination, and he immediately began work on the album. Due to time constraints, Eoin had limited time to record the album, so he worked primarily with producer Matt Serletic. While a number of Eoin's old demos were re-recorded and professionally produced, "Hide The Body" was one of a batch of new songs Eoin wrote for the project. The song features a heavy pop/rock sound, with uptempo drum rhythms and electric guitar riffs, as well as Eoin's signature vocal style. Lyrically, the song is, as described by Eoin, "dark and twisted yet fun". The song tells the story of cheating hearts, betrayal and murder. Eoin was inspired by the work of dark pop singer Midnight, in the writing of his song.

Reception
Eoin and Blacklight were not expecting a strongly receptive welcome of the single, given that Eoin was a low-ranked finalist from The Uraps Factor, but the song's radio-friendly production and devil-may-care attitude garnered heavy attention from the public and from critics, who took to the song as a solid debut. Eoin was paid the highest honour by his idol Midnight, who expressed her love for the song by performing a live rendition transforming the song into an even darker piano ballad. Eoin then recorded his own take on Midnight's live version which drew high praise from Midnight. "Hide The Body" was extremely well-received in Ireland, with national pride and hype fueling massive airplay and record sales. The strength of the song also fueled hype in the UK where it was also a major hit on all three main charts - sales, airplay and digital downloads.

Tracklisting

 * CD
 * 1) "Hide The Body"
 * 2) "Hide The Body" (Midnight Candlelight Version)
 * 3) "Dirty Girl"
 * 4) "Hide The Body" (Instrumental)


 * iTunes 1-Track Single
 * 1) "Hide The Body"


 * Digital EP
 * 1) "Hide The Body"
 * 2) "Hide The Body" (Midnight Candlelight Version)
 * 3) "Dirty Girl"
 * 4) "Hide The Body" (Jack Shaft Radio Edit)
 * 5) "Hide The Body" (Sanna & Pitron Club Mix)

Music Video
The video opens in a park; the camera trails across the grass until we see clumps of dirt and dug-up grass, leading to a shovel, and then the dirt-covered body of an unconscious Eoin. He wakes up as the music begins, looking around in confusion at this location. He rubs dirt-ridden hands across his face as he tries to recollect how he got here and what he's doing. When the first verse begins we flash back to Eoin in his car, in a dark alley. He is sitting in the backseat with a girl, in the middle of a make-out session. He stares out of the back window toward the camera with a bad-boy smirk as he sings the first verse. As he does so, the girl is kissing his neck and pushing his jacket off his shoulders. With the end of the verse, she pulls him down on top of her out of sight.

During the first chorus, the couple are distracted by a ringing phone. The caller ID shows her boyfriend's name when Eoin picks it up. He throws it outside the window, and we see it smash against the brick alley wall. He climbs into the front seat and starts the car, singing the chorus to the camera as he drives. The girl is sitting in the passenger seat beside him, trying to distract him as he drives. During the second verse, we cut back to Eoin in the park. He's picked up the shovel and has begun digging at a large dirt mound. He sings the second verse as he shovels dirt and moves it to one side, not remembering what he buried there and wanting to dig up whatever it was. He keeps looking around nervously, hoping nobody is around to see what he's up to because he knows it looks shady.

We flash back again during the next chorus; he and his girl stumble into his apartment kissing each other and tearing at each other's clothes, until they're interrupted by Eoin's girlfriend who is shocked and upset to see him cheating. We don't get to really see what happens, but next thing we know for certain, Eoin is stuffing her body into the trunk of his car. The lovers' next stop is the boyfriend's house, where Eoin shoots him and stuffs him in the trunk of his car next to the other body. They drive out to the desert, where Eoin uses a shovel to dig a grave in the sand, and with his lover's help the two bodies are dumped in there and re-covered with sand.

Remembering that this isn't where he buried anyone, Eoin digs faster until he hits something; shifting dirt aside reveals the body of his lover, also dead. In a spark of remembrance, he realises that after burying the other two bodies, they had an argument and Eoin hit her over the head with the shovel, killing her too. He drives to the park where he buries her. As the song winds to a close, Eoin hears sirens in the distance. He hurried re-buries the body, rushes off to his car and puts the shovel away, driving off before the police can find him. Eoin is startled by the sounds of laughter, and is frightened to see all three victims sitting in his backseat. Unsettled, Eoin doesn't see the oncoming tree, and the video cuts to black right before impact, the last thing we see is Eoin's horrified expression.

Chart Performance
Initially, Blacklight was only aiming to position Eoin with a top 10 entry, but as promotion rolled on and Eoin received more high-profile attention (Midnight's endorsement of the song in particular) chart analysts bumped up their estimation of his chart potential, especially against musical veterans Aurora Reed and Aimee Lyons. The single charted at #3 in the UK upon release, with sales of 72,208 copies. The single enjoyed two weeks in the top 5, and an additional two weeks in the top 10. The song plummeted 27 places on the chart following the release of follow-up single "Perfect Mistake", but remained on chart long enough to eventually reach platinum certification for sales over 300,000 copies.

The song was released early to digital services to capitalise on the song's radio premiere, and building hype kept it steady on the digital chart, but after Midnight's cover performance and Eoin's recording of her version, the song rocketed up the digital chart to peak at #1 with 37,908 digital copies sold in its third week on the digital chart. In the week of release the song was still riding high on the digital chart, selling a mere few hundred copies less than its previous week. On the UK airplay chart, the song climbed steadily, picking up momentum until it reached #1, where it held on for two weeks before peaking.

In his native Ireland, the song was a massive #1 smash hit spending three consecutive weeks atop the chart upon release. It took over the Irish airplay chart just as quickly, matching its performance on UK radio.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 302,833
 * Week 1: #3 - 72,208
 * Week 2: #4 - 65,046
 * Week 3: #8 - 44,910
 * Week 4: #10 - 28,314
 * Week 5: #12 - 24,441
 * Week 6: #12 - 24,592
 * Week 7: #39 - 4,982
 * Week 8: #22 - 11,354
 * Week 9: #27 - 7,482
 * Week 10: #31 - 5,985
 * Week 11: #31 - 7,902
 * Week 12: #38 - 5,617