Ground Zero

"Ground Zero" is the fifth single from the album "Romeo Is Dead" by singer Morris David Cat. It was written by and features guest vocals by Victor Strong, known for being part of electro-rock group Phoenix Rising. "Ground Zero" is considered a part 2 to Morris' previous single "Long Way Down", which was also written by Victor, and was a platinum-selling top 3 hit for Morris in 2010. The single was released on July 16th, 2012, the same week Victor released the lead single from his debut solo album. "Ground Zero" is not considered a single from Victor's album, as the version featured on Victor's album is a solo version. After his previous single charted at #9, Morris enjoyed a return to the top of the charts when "Ground Zero" debuted at #1.

Background
Morris sought out writers to contribute material to his studio album "Romeo Is Dead" in 2011. Victor responded by writing "Ground Zero" as a follow-on to "Long Way Down" which he co-wrote for Morris' previous studio album "Second Chance". The song had been discussed as a potential single early on in Morris' album era, but plans went awry after issues in Morris' personal life coupled with Victor re-evaluating the best method of launching his solo album. With Morris unwilling to change the single, and Victor being unwilling to lead his album with a collaboration, the compromise was made that Victor would only receive a featured credit on the single, leaving Victor free to lead his album with the solo single "Mask". A re-recorded solo remix of "Ground Zero" is included on Victor's album "Great Expectations", with the duet version being left on "Romeo Is Dead", which is why the single is not counted to Victor's album.

Reception
Initial reception to the single was luke-warm to positive, with some needing to warm back up to Morris following his personal issues. The reaction to the song itself was generally favourable, and there was speculation that the single will be a return to form for Morris. The song made waves on radio and on the digital charts, steadily climbing up the airplay top 40 having debuted from pre-impact spins alone, and eventually reaching a high peak. The single also went on to top the iTunes chart prior to the single's physical release. In a tight result, Morris prevailed when the song was released, and it debuted at #1, with Victor's solo single "Mask" right behind at #2. The single was popular enough to hit a high peak on the airplay chart, and enjoyed an extended chart run to be certified platinum.

Promo CD

 * 1) Ground Zero (Radio Mix)

CD

 * 1) Ground Zero (Radio Mix)
 * 2) I Learned From The Best
 * 3) The Power Of One
 * 4) Immortality

Digital EP

 * 1) Ground Zero (Radio Mix)
 * 2) Ground Zero (I-Soul Remix)
 * 3) Ground Zero (Rebirth Of A Remix)
 * 4) The Flame

Music Video
The video opens with a news flash from a TV news station.

LIVE: This is a Channel 4 News Special Report!

Anchor: Good afternoon, we continue to follow a breaking story where a building has collapsed outside of Boston. Channel 4 is live on the scene, now Trisha, can you tell us more about what is going on at ground zero?

Trisha: Tom, we are not sure how the building collapsed, but we are getting word than an unidentified man is still inside the rubble, and rescue efforts are looking more gloom as each hour passes by... ok I am getting some developing news from ground zero, if you want to bring the camera over here, maybe we can get a better view of what is going on...

As she continues to the report, the camera zooms closer and closer to the rubble. There is a crack where the camera seems to shoot right through, and a dark tunnel appears. The tunnel leads to an open area where we see Morris. Attire: Black sweater, black pants, black boots. The music begins as he places his hand over his ear. We see Victor Strong playing the first chords of the song on piano. Victor’s attire: Black dress shirt, jeans, black shoes. His mouth is moving, however his words are inaudible. On the other scene, Morris is holding a communication device to his ear as he is nodding his head. He takes off down a corridor as the first verse begins. Victor has left the piano and is now sitting in a chair staring at several TV monitors. He is watching Morris move throughout the building. He touches the screens to get a better view of where MDC is as he communicates orders.

During the first chorus, we see Morris cracking some codes in the warehouse as Victor communicates them to him. A trap doors opens as Morris enters. As the door closes behind him, a set of legs in jeans & boots appear walking towards Morris was standing. On the other side, Victor is grinning at the computer screen. The second verse shows more of Victor watching Morris’ movements throughout the warehouse. It is undecipherable if Victor is siding with Morris, or if he has an additional spy following him. Morris climbs to the next floor, and when not in sight, the mystery person appears, and something is dropped near his feet. He slowly follows him.

During the second chorus, Morris has unlocked the final door and is heading in. Victor uses his screen to dismantle an alarm as several red lasers disappear from the room. He sees several priceless jewels, appearing that Victor had sent him to steal them for him. Morris looks confused as he walks towards a medium-sized pearl. He picks it up and turns around to see a shadowy figure. On the other end, Victor is pleased, until he notices something is not right. The shadow man appears closer to Morris, and it revealed to be played by none other than James Moss. He points to the wall where a bomb has been set. Victor sees this on the screen as his jaw hits the floor. James pulls out a smoke bomb, slams it to the ground and disappears. Morris & Victor’s shocked faces flash as Morris jumps, the camera switches to outside, as the music stops, where we see the building collapse to the ground. The shot heads back to Trisha, who is reporting from ground zero.

“Rescue efforts are looking more gloom as each hour passes by... ok I am getting some developing news from ground zero, if you want to bring the camera over here, maybe we can get a better view of what is going on...”

The camera focuses on the rubble which begins to move. We hear the crowd mumbling in the background. We hear the bridge play softly in the background. The music returns to full volume as we see Morris lift himself out of the rubble. He is dirty, but appears unharmed. In a slow motion sequence, we see him walking away from the rubble as he sings the final chorus. He appears unaware of what is going on around him. During the final chorus he is joined behind him by a marching band, with fireworks going off in the background as he continues walking down the street. Onlookers are taking pictures, and are amazed that he survived the explosion. As he is walking, he goes into his pocket and pulls out the pearl. He throws it behind him aimlessly. We see the pearl land in a set of hands. As the camera pulls out we see Victor standing in the crowd with a confused look, but not really reacting He's unscathed, but content. He slowly looks down toward his hands, and slowly back up. We see the back of Morris and the marching band with other onlookers joining behind as the scene fades to black.

Chart Performance
"Ground Zero" was getting strong predictions from critics after the relative failure of "The Love Song" to achieve a high peak on the charts; early indicators of the song's success came from its early impact on the airplay chart based on pre-impact spins prior to its adds date, and from the song hitting the top 10 on the iTunes chart before the single had been officially released. The song hit #1 on the iTunes chart on the week the physical single was released, which proved a good sign for the song; with increased airplay over Victor's single, Morris began to pull ahead and get his fanbase back on side. The single hit #1 upon release, a triumph for Morris to return to the top after his previous single only reached #9. "Ground Zero" peaked at #3 on the airplay chart, becoming a major airplay hit for both involved artists. It reached platinum certification before exiting the chart.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 254,629
 * Week 1: #1 - 85,965
 * Week 2: #6 - 53,111
 * Week 3: #11 - 29,376
 * Week 4: #16 - 16,767
 * Week 5: #21 - 12,889
 * Week 6: #18 - 14,002
 * Week 7: #22 - 12,695
 * Week 8: #22 - 12,442
 * Week 9: #34 - 7,384
 * Week 10: #30 - 9,998