No Second Chances / Chica Boom

"No Second Chances / Chica Boom" is the debut solo single by Phoenix Rising bassist/producer James Moss, and is also the debut single of The Bad Chicas as a band separate from their sister Ximena. The single was released on April 4th, 2011, as part of that year's Tango Challenge. The collaborators were the runners-up for 2011, charting at #3 behind Brett Clarkson and Kenya, and Candi who earned a second week at #1. The single did not hold up well, only making silver after opening high and free-falling down the chart.

Background
James had previously been against the idea of breaking out as a solo star, but with Phoenix Rising on a hiatus in the first half of 2011, James had time on his hands. He entered the 2011 Tango Challenge, where he was paired up with the Bad Chicas. The Bad Chicas had previously been the supporting band for their sister Ximena, and the group was known as Ximena & The Bad Chicas, but wanting to be taken seriously as musicians the girls left their sister to form a punk band. Upon being paired with each other, the collaborators agreed that James Moss & The Bad Chicas would be a suitable name for their partnership, having a similar feel to their previous outfit. The collaborators worked together on two electro-punk songs, a merging of their individual styles. James had no intentions on a full solo album at this time, but the Bad Chicas were intending to include it on their own studio album, which James was meant to produce. However, the Bad Chicas never completed their album, and the songs eventually were included on the re-released "Ultimate Edition" of Phoenix Rising's sophomore album "Vermillion & Ash". Neither song was included on "Jameson Dominic" when it was released in 2012, although James remixed his solo b-side "Taste Of Poison" for inclusion.

Reception
Industry buzz was high in response to James' and the Bad Chicas' collaboration, with many wondering how the partnership was going to far with both artists stepping out of their respective groups to work together. Many were impressed with the result when "No Second Chances" and "Chica Boom" finally premiered. The reaction was strong enough that both songs received high levels of airplay and each sold well digitally before the single hit high on the main chart. The best-received part of the single was the music video - a 10-minute short film incorporating both songs, with heavy themes of revolution. It was met with controversy over nudity, incestuous content and violence.

Promo CD

 * 1) No Second Chances
 * 2) Chica Boom

CD1

 * 1) No Second Chances
 * 2) Kill Me Every Time
 * 3) Taste Of Poison

CD2

 * 1) Chica Boom
 * 2) Cherry Bomb
 * 3) Honey

Digital EP

 * 1) No Second Chances / Chica Boom (Video Mix)
 * 2) No Second Chances (Dante Vs. James Moss End Of The Second Chance Mix)
 * 3) No Second Chances (Venus' Stargazer Dub)
 * 4) No Second Chances (Phoenix Rising's One Shot Anthem Mix)
 * 5) Chica Boom (Paulo's Oversexxxed Bossa Nova Mix)
 * 6) Chica Boom (Paolo's It's Chico Time Mix)
 * 7) Chica Boom (Flaming Voom Voom Dub Mix)

Music Video
The video begins with the instrumental intro for ‘No Second Chances’ looping in the background as we see James’ silhouette. He is in a prison cell, cropping and shaving thick facial hair. We see him fixing up his unruly hair, getting changed into an illicitly-obtained prison guard’s uniform and walking straight out of the prison in plain sight of the guards, who don’t seem to recognize him – but the other prisoners certainly do, and they say nothing as he makes his jailbreak. We follow him all the way to the front door, where we see him on security cameras exiting the building. There is an off-camera costume change; the next time we see James, he is posing as a parking valet at an airport. A wealthy man gives him a hundred dollar bill to take care of his car, and James drives off in it, smiling at the camera.

The intro for ‘Chica Boom’ creeps in over the top of ‘No Second Chances’ as the scene changes to show Xia strapped to a chair. She breaks the straps and leaps out of the chair, ripping an IV drip from her arm and picking up the stand. She smashes a shelf-full of green bottles, and continues to smash away at them as she is attacked with a stun gun. She collapses into her attacker’s arms and the screen cuts to black, a title card fading in announcing the video. A voiceover from Xia begins as the title card fades back out to a black screen, and the music stops.

XIA: ''Most people believe that the catalyst that sparks a revolution is rebellion. This is untrue – it begins with incarceration, for why else would one need a rebellion if they aren’t held in captivity? Now, the time has come for the X revolution. This is only the beginning.''

The music slams back in, and we hear the first verse of ‘No Second Chances’. James is in a new outfit now, singing to the camera as he walks along a back-alley. In the background, we can hear police sirens in the distance. Presumably, they’ve figured out by now that James has skipped out on prison and are now on a manhunt to re-capture him. At one point along the alleyway, James comes across a backpack he stashed away. A cop car comes dangerously close to his position, so he changes his jacket and puts on a cap, making a dash for it. James gets to the end of the bridge, then there is a brief instrumental interlude as James has a voiceover.

JAMES: ''It only takes one to stage a rebellion. It takes many to turn that rebellion into a revolution. If I was going to spark that revolution into motion, I couldn’t do it alone. I knew what I had to do, and getting caught was not an option.''

During this interlude with James’ voiceover, he is seen at a clothing store buying a suit and shirt. He changes into this new disguise off-screen, and when the voiceover finishes we hear the first chorus of ‘No Second Chances’. The video version features only James’ vocals on this chorus. During the chorus, we see him infiltrating an unknown facility, avoiding security as he jumps barriers and rushes looking for a certain room. When he gets to wherever he’s looking for, the room is empty. We see the smashed bottles on the floor and realise that this is where Xia was kept. Out of nowhere, James gets a phone call telling him of a meeting place. During the next instrumental segment, we see James arriving at his rendezvous point. It turns out to be a swimming pool, and for a moment he does not understand why he is there until he see Xia swimming toward him from the other end of the pool, naked. James disrobes and dives in, joining her. We see them moving closer together.

JAMES: ''How’d you escape? Last I heard they had you tied to a chair and pumping you full of drugs.''

XIA: ''Those straps are flimsy. Come to think of it, so are their tasers. Do you know how easy it was for me to trick the security into thinking they had me under control?''

The music of ‘Chica Boom’ creeps in over the top of ‘No Second Chances’ as we are taken to a new scene; we see a woman in an elegant dress walking down the hallway of an expensive five-star hotel. We’re not sure where exactly in the hotel she is going, but we find out that it is Xena when she is stopped by a concierge who informs her that James and Xia have escaped from their respective holding facilities.

XENA: Find them!

‘Chica Boom’ takes dominance in the music now, as we get our first look at Xiomara in the video. She is in a black outfit, all wet in front of a green background as she sings the first verse of ‘Chica Boom’. She stares directly at the camera as she strips off her jacket and slides down toward the floor. She grabs onto a chain and hangs onto it as she lies back. Without an instrumental break (just on-screen action) we see Xena showing up to tell Xiomara that James and Xia have escaped. The next scene we are shown is Xena and Xiomara undercover, in matching pink corsets to interrogate a man who is presumed to know something about James and Xia’s activities. Xena attempts to get him to talk at gunpoint, while Xiomara attempts to seduce the information out of him. None of their tactics are successful. ‘Chica Boom’ reaches the end of its first chorus (again, the video version features just Xiomara’s vocals during this scene). At the end of the chorus, there is another instrumental piece as the music segues from ‘Chica Boom’ back into ‘No Second Chances’. Xiomara is the next to have a voiceover during this instrumental. On-screen, the scene is changing to a function hall, where there is an up-scale ball happening.

XIOMARA: ''Life is a dance. It moves you, and you have no choice but to move with it. There must always be give and take – especially when you’re in the middle of trying to stop a revolution. To stop a revolution, you have to end the rebellion – and to do that, you have to remove the rebellious element. This is exactly what I was doing when I came here.''

We see James talking to a blonde woman at the ball we’ve been taken to; they finish their drinks, put them aside and head to the dance floor. They perform a tango while James sings the second verse of ‘No Second Chances’. The woman takes over Xiomara’s part when it gets to the pre-chorus – it is still Xiomara’s voice, but we aren’t sure what is going on until we see them finish their dance and she leaves. She retreats to a room with a vanity; she sits in front of it in and removes prosthetics off her face, revealing herself to actually be Xiomara. She removes the blonde wig and changes into a black dress with gold ornamentation. This is intercut with James by himself at the ball, as they sing the chorus of ‘No Second Chances’ together. Another instrumental piece plays as we segue from ‘No Second Chances’ back to ‘Chica Boom’. Again, we have another voiceover – this time from Xena, so the voiceover – plus the transition – are brief.

XENA: ''Always have a plan, they say. So we did – find the rogue element. Learn their own plans. Use any disguise necessary.''

We now see Xena scoping out Xia in an exotic burlesque club. Why Xia is there, we don’t know – but posing as the dancer gives Xena a view of the whole club, the perfect place to try and spot her target. Xena emerges from behind opening curtains, showing herself in only a bikini with a large snake wrapped around her as she dances. The music playing in the club just happens to be ‘Chica Boom’, so Xena moves to Xiomara’s voice singing the second verse of the song. In the video version Xiomara replaces James on the second pre-chorus; during this part, Xena ditches the snake and dances across tables, trying to get a better view around the club. Xia, as it turns out, is not in the club at all – but storming a warehouse right next door, firing at some unidentified men from the drivers’ seat window. Having heard the gunshots, the club turns to chaos, but even without seeing what’s going on, Xena knows exactly who is responsible. The action plays out over the chorus of ‘Chica Boom’, with both James and Xiomara singing.

The music flips back over to ‘No Second Chances’ for the bridge of that song; we see James infiltrating a bank vault by pretending to be an employee, while elsewhere Xia is trying to make her escape from Xena’s goons who have been hounding her since she left the warehouse district. We see James entering the secure area of the bank with a stolen keycard, and while no-one is watching he inputs the security codes to the locked doors leading to the vault. Upon arriving he begins loading a suitcase filled with money – however much he needs for what he and Xia are planning. Meanwhile, Xia is thrown from the roof of the car she’s been riding on, and she manages to shoot one of the goons who were after her. The music flips back once again to ‘Chica Boom’, this time for the bridge of that song. We see Xiomara singing in a new setting; with a shirt undone revealing her bra underneath, surrounded by models in nothing but lingerie, writhing around her. This is all intercut with James waiting for Xia in the parking lot where she was fighting Xena’s goons. We see Xia walking down a corridor with another woman preparing to meet with James, who was not expecting the third party and does not trust her. The bridge ends, and we’re treated to another voiceover from James during an instrumental drop.

JAMES: ''The thing with revolution, is that you must always be prepared for anything. The more pieces you add to the puzzle, the harder it is to keep ahead of all possible outcomes. Chaos and revolution are not one and the same.''

The music goes nuts for a few moments; with both ‘No Second Chances’ and ‘Chica Boom’ fighting for dominance. Sounds clash and distort, chopped up snippets of vocals loop against each other and on-screen during the aural pandemonium we witness Xiomara and Xia locking lips. When the music finally settles, it is playing a remix produced by James, putting the final choruses of ‘No Second Chances’ and ‘Chica Boom’ together over the one track. In the context of the video’s plot, the kiss we’ve just seen appears to be some kind of ‘kiss of death’. While meeting up with James in the parking lot, Xia comes across Xiomara, and they draw their guns on each other. Xiomara fires, and appears to hit Xia with it. James doesn’t even have time to react; he can only watch. The final choruses of each song have been sung, and we now get an instrumental outro to this remixed mash-up of the two songs. On-screen, we see that Xia was wearing a bullet-proof vest and is unharmed; she only faked being hurt in order to distract Xiomara while James attacked her and knocked her out. With Xiomara unconscious, James and Xia load her into a car and take her away. The next scene we see is of them on a boat, dumping Xiomara into the sea. Presumably, Xena got similar treatment because next time we see them, they are in different outfits washed up on a river bank with no way to contact civilization. They realise that the revolution they were trying to prevent has caught up with them. During this whole sequence, we have one extended voiceover, with lines by each of the four.

XIA: ''When you appear defeated, then you need to show that you are still fighting to win. Revolutions are not won by quitting. Remember this, even if you must learn it the hard way.''

XIOMARA: ''Revolution is a state of anarchy; control is minimal at best and non-existent at worst. Sometimes it is simply better to just let the change come.''

JAMES: ''Nobody knows what the final outcome will be – all anyone can do is to play their part and hope that the stars will align and make the impossible seem possible. And when the impossible is a revolution?''

XENA: ''Then it is just the beginning. The beginning of the end.''

A ‘to be continued...?’ sign pops up, hinting at the possibility of a follow-up.

Chart Performance
Many believed that James and the Bad Chicas were dark horse contenders to win the challenge, although competition from Brett Clarkson and Kenya was also strong. At the very least, a top 3 showing was predicted for James and the Chicas, and upon release they made the top 3, debuting at #3 and becoming runners-up to the Tango Challenge. Brett and Kenya won the challenge by debuting at #2; surprising everyone was Candi holding onto #1 for a second week with her debut single "That's Hot". "No Second Chances / Chica Boom" opened with 73,427 copies sold. Overall chart performance was incredibly weak; it departed from the top 10 in its second week and spent only 5 weeks on chart with final sales of 137,713 copies. The two songs performed well digitally; 'Chica Boom' even topped the digital chart. Between the two songs, 115,786 digital copies were sold. Both songs received strong airplay; "No Second Chances" reached the top 10, but "Chica Boom" had increased longevity with a #13 peak. The single remained a UK-only release and did not chart in America.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 137,713
 * Week 1: #3 - 73,427
 * Week 2: #11 - 38,522
 * Week 3: #22 - 15,444
 * Week 4: #34 - 6,218
 * Week 5: #39 - 4,102