Veni Vidi Vixi

Veni Vidi Vixi is a greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Elice Claire. The album was originally planned to be released in June 2013, but due to Elice's pregnancy the release had to be scrapped. According to Elice, the album is a celebration to her fifth anniversary of her first release Broken Bridge in April 2008. The album includes two new tracks for the US/UK region, and a different new track for Francophone regions. Both UK and US includes the new tracks "À l'infini" and "Zero Gravity." The French edition of the album contains French versions for the singles: "A Love to Remember," "Forever's Not for Always," "Mon destin douce (C'est une belle vie)," plus French versions of "À l'infini" and "Zero Gravity" as well as a new song, "Paris, l'amour et moi (Ooh la la)".

Background
On 29 December 2013, French media website MeltyBuzz announced the release of Elice's fifth album. According to MeltyBuzz Elice's team had exclusively revealed to them that the singer would be releasing her fourth studio album (fifth overall), and that the album would follow the same music style presented on Carpe Diem. The following day, Elice's official website was updated with an introductory video featuring the singer announcing her fifth album. On the 45 second clip Elice explained that she was excited to show fans the new songs she was working on. According to Elice the album was a gift to her fans. In that same day, the album appeared on the official UK release schedule with a release date for January 20, 2013. The title of the album, Veni Vidi Vixi is taken from the Latin sentence phrase which reportedly extends from Julius Caesar's oral declaration respecting his campaign in Britain. Caesar's phrase "Veni, vidi, vici" stands for "I came, I saw, I conquered." Instead of using that same exact phrase, Elice decided that for this collections album it would be appropriate if removed "vici" and replaced with "vixi" ("I lived"). When asked by fans on her official website why she named her album that, Elice blogged "I felt that it was appropriate to title the album that because I truly came, saw and lived a dream of mine" The album's cover and track listing was revealed on January 3, 2013 on the singer's official website. On that same day, the album was made available for pre-order. Although it was originally planned to have two editions, a standard and a deluxe edition with a DVD, Elixir Entertainment decided to keep the release simple. The "ECV" logo first premiered on Elice's 2013 world tour poster reappeared on the album cover. When asked about what ECV stood for, Elice explained, "ECV stands for two things, my full maiden name 'Elice Claire Vitz' but most importantly it stands for 'Elice Claire 5'. The "V" makes five for my fifth anniversary, and also for the fifth album." The first song to be premiered was the track "Paris, l'amour et moi (Oh la la)" which is only featured on the French edition of the album. The song was premiered by NRJ national radio station on January 5, 2013. The song was well received by critics who praised Elice's ability to display her old roots, but at the same time keeping her alternative rock sound. Although not officially released as a single, the song was added to French radio stations. The album became the first physical release in France, and also the first release available world wide through iTunes.

Promotion
Although unable to travel to the UK and United States to promote the album, Elice pre-recorded interviews and documentaries for tv. The singer also shot 3 music videos in 2013. On January 3, 2013, Elice's Piers Morgan: Life Stories aired on ITV channel in the UK. The interview was shot in May 2013, with original air date scheduled for June. The original air date was scrapped under Elice's request and premiered 7 months after its first original date. Meanwhile, on the same night French TV station France 2 aired an exclusive documentary on the lives of Elice and her husband Isaac Bellamy. The documentary, titled "Isaac et Elice: l'histoire" was well received in France. The documentary features appearances by Elice, Isaac, the couple's parents and some friends. On January 5, 2013, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) premiered an intimate and reveling interview with Elice for Oprah's Next Chapter. Winfrey visited the Bellamy's in their home in Paris France in October 2013 to shoot the episode. The episode drew 0.75 million viewers on its premiere. On January 20, E! will premiere Elice's 2013 ECV documentary in the US. In the same week, the documentary will be broadcast world wide. The documentary follows Elice from January to June 2013 as she prepares her album and her tour, while managing her fashion career. After receiving various e-mails from fans asking about a release of a single from the album, Elixir Entertainment released a statement on Elice's official website explaining that in the UK, the song "À l'infini" would be released as a single on February 3, 2014. In the US, the song was made available on iTunes on January 13, 2014. In France, the track "Paris, l'amour et moi (Ooh la la)" was choose as the first single. The song was released on iTunes January 12, 2014, the same day the music video was premiered on France's competition TV show The Voice. On January 19, 2014, Elice did a live chat with her fans on Google Hangout. The singer answered questions sent via twitter, youtube and live from the stream. On the same day, the singer also recorded an exclusive interview with American reporter Cynthia McFadden. The interview with McFadden aired on ABC's Nightline on January 23, 2014. To further promote the album in France, Elice did an album signing at Paris's Champs-Elysées Fnac store. A total of 100 guaranteeing access to the signing was made available at the singer's website. On February 5, 2014, Elice officially announced a residency show at the Opéra Royal de Versailles (Palace of Versaille). The show will consist of 20 shows and will last for five weeks. Tickets for the show went on sale February 10, 2014. On February 23, it was announced that the show was sold out.

Critical reception
Veni Vidi Vixi received score of 81/100 at Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim" from music critics. AllMusic writer Caroline Renee commented that Veni Vidi Vixi "proves that Elice truly 'came, saw and lived' a successful career and will go on the books". Quinton Wright from Digital Spy noted the "genuine emotion" behind the two new tracks adding that "Elice is one of those artists that will continue to shine and inspire artists alike for generations to come." He further complimented Bellamy's songwriting for her songs. Ellen Jenkins from Entertainment Weekly noted the musical diversity on the record, "[S]he went from dance pop to country to r&b pop and now ending with alternative rock, baroque pop, and with each shift in sound she kept her fanbase and added new fans." He also added that "Zero Gravity" is without a doubt the best song Elice has ever written. Nick Butler from Sputnikmusic positively received Bellamy's new recordings saying "Elice the pop diva is gone, and now we also bid farewell to this newly alternative legend. It's a sad time in music for us fans. In the bright side she left her mark in this industry, something we so rarely see." Alan Woodhouse from NME gave a favorable review for the compilation, outlining Elice's musical evolution and praising her bold choices in music and lyrics. Woodhouse did complain about the lack of new songs and wished the French track "Paris, l'amour et moi (Ooh la la)" was included in the compilation, he added "The French only track is basically the definition of Elice, it's a blend of the old and new Elice. It's a shame they decided not include the song in the UK version of the album." Rodney Sheffield from Rolling Stone noted that "Veni Vidi Vixi timeline set up is a perfect way for people to identify Elice's musical changes." He further praised "À l'infini" calling the song "a bittersweet piece." and also praised Elice for not adding a tearjerker goodbye song like every other artist do when they decide to call it day. Maria Bruni from The Telegraph gave a generally favorable review, by first praising the two new tracks and by reviewing the singles collection and calling some of the songs "a little generic."

Commercial performance
Veni Vidi Vixi was a commercial success in the three main territories released. In the United Kingdom, It entered at number one on the official albums chart, selling 156,366 copies in its first week. The album became the fastest seller of January and year-to-date. In France, Elice scored her first ever number one. The album is also the first album by her to make it into the France's Top 100 best seller. In its opening week, the album sold 47,803 copies in France. Meanwhile in the United States, Elice also scored her first ever number one, selling 86,542 copies in the first week. In its 17th week, the album received its Diamond certification for exceeding 1,000,000 copies sold.