End Credits

"End Credits" is a collaborative single by Irish singer Nicola and American singer Elice Bellamy. The song is featured on Nicola's debut studio album, Girl Interrupted. It was released physically on August 4, 2014. It is the follow-up to O'Neill's single, "Killing Me Slow," and also the final single by Bellamy, following her best-seller "À l'infini." The song charted at #2 in the UK Singles Chart, selling over 82,000 copies in its first week. The single spent a total of 28 weeks on the charts, and was certified Platinum.

Background
The track was initially written for Bellamy's greatest hits album Veni Vidi Vixi, but the singer opted not to include the track on the album. The song was then given to Nicola, who asked Elice if she could keep the singer's vocals on the track and make it a duet. In 2014, Bellamy decided to re-record her vocals for a new version of the track for O'Neill's album. O'Neill however decided to include the raw version and the new version in her debut solo album Girl Interrupted. The raw version of "End Credits" is described as an alternative-folk piano ballad, whereas the album version of the track is an electro-ballad. When recording the track in 2013, Bellamy said she did just one take and was satisfied with the end product. The singer said the song was meant to have "flaws and feel raw in order to capture the song's true emotion." O'Neill stated that "End Credits" was one of her favorite tracks on the album and hoped to release it as a single. When O'Neill approached Bellamy about a possibility to release it as a single, Bellamy was reluctant to accept it. On July 1, 2014, during her interview on France's Canal+ Le Grand Journal, Bellamy said "She [Nicola] approached me a while back about releasing our duet as a single and I declined it (...) I was afraid people would get the wrong idea about me retiring from music, but then I realized that people will always formulate ideas about me in or out of the [music] business, so I called her back and I told her she had my blessing to release the single." On June 20, 2014, O'Neill announced the release of "End Credits" on 6Music, "To be honest, it nearly didn't happen. Initially there was issues over the fact that technically Elice has said she has retired from music, but because she is the BEST PERSON EVER she has given me permission to release the duet."

Critical reception
Upon the release of Girl Interrupted. the song received universal acclaim from various critics and celebrities with many critics complimenting on O'Neill and Bellamy's vocals. Dill Higgins of About.com rated "End Credits" four and half out of five stars. Higgins praised O'Neill's breathy vocals, the instrumentation and beauty of the lyrics. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard was positive on the song, comparing both the main and raw versions of the track and calling both versions a true "masterpiece." Darica Herrera of Rolling Stone praised the song, describing it as a "tear-jerker ballad." Popjustice also liked the song saying "'End Credits' is definitely a highlight in the album, and we hope that both girls release it a single." David Carlson of Digital Spy was impressed with the raw version of the track. He called the version "emotional in every level." Luke Turner of NME was also keen on the raw version of the track, citing it's "Elice at her best" and praising O'Neill for her capability to adapt to various genres.

Music video
Both versions of the track received a music video. The "raw version"'s music video was shot in Paris. Nicola was seen shooting the video in Paris on the week of July 1, 2014. The raw version of the video receive its world Premiere on VEVO on July 24, 2014.

Raw version
The video starts with Nicola opening the balcony doors of a hotel. The sun shining down and catching on the camera lens. At the same time, the camera pans to the back of a female sitting down at a dressing table.

The first verse begins and we see Nicola sitting down at a mirror brushing her hair and looking into the mirror. As she finishes at the table, she stares back at a picture of her and the male from the preview video. She gently strokes the picture before walking out the door. In the other scene, the blonde female is sitting at the dressing table. She reaches out for a scarf and holds it close to her. We see a gentle tear going down her cheek as she holds it even closer to her, smelling it and being reminded of her own lover.

The chorus begins, and we see both Nicola and Elice in two different situations as they walk around different settings in Paris. Nicola walks around central Paris as she passes couples on the street holding hands and walking with their arms around each other kissing. Elice is seen walking around a large grand room staring at the paintings which depict paintings of various scenes from movies such as Gone With The Wind, Titanic and Casablanca as she holds onto the scarf.

The second verse begins and we now see Elice walking further up a staircase with the pictures around her moving within their frames. The pictures show Elice with a male in happier times as she nears the top of the staircase. We also see Nicola sitting at a café. Sitting across from her is the male from the picture frame, but with a white and golden almost angel like aura surrounding him. She smiles back at him whilst holding onto the ring on her wedding finger.

The camera focuses back on Elice for longer as she reaches the top of the round staircase. As she sings her lyrics and holds onto the railings on the staircase, we see a hand wrap around hers and Elice looks down at the hands and sings the lyrics with even more emotion. The camera pans back to Nicola as she walks down the Parisian streets with this angel like male following her from behind, almost looking out for her.

The repeating chorus begins as we see Nicola now down by the river Seine as she walks by the riverside with the angel like figure beside her. They are laughing and joking as she sings the lyrics to him and staring lovingly into his eyes. We also see Elice walking around another grand room which looks as though it had previously hosted a Ball. She begins dancing slowly with the male from before around the room (who is now wearing the scarf), resting her head on his shoulders as they dance across the ballroom. Both couples share a kiss at the very end of the chorus.

As the final three lines of the chorus begins, we see both women in two different scenes. Nicola is now standing on the Pont d'Iéna bridge as she grabs her wedding ring and throws it into the river, whilst Elice is seen on the top of the hotel building letting go of the male scarf she had held onto. The camera fades out from both scenes and the e video closes with the two women greeting each other with hugs and kisses as they enter a café together.

Track listing

 * Promotional disc
 * 1) "End Credits" (Album Version)
 * 2) "End Credits" (Raw Version)


 * CD single
 * 1) "End Credits" (Album Version)
 * 2) "End Credits" (Raw Version)
 * 3) "Love Is a Game" [Nicola b-side]
 * 4) "End Credits" (Bearcubs Remix)


 * Digital EP
 * 1) "End Credits" (Raw Version)
 * 2) "End Credits" (Album Version)
 * 3) "Love Is a Game" [Nicola b-side]
 * 4) "End Credits" (Disclosure Remix)


 * Digital remixes EP
 * 1) "End Credits" (Disclosure Remix)
 * 2) "End Credits" (Bearcubs Remix)
 * 3) "End Credits" (Deetron Remix)
 * 4) "End Credits" (Shadow Child Dub Remix)
 * 5) "End Credits" (Lindstrom Remix)