Morris David Cat
Morris David Cat (born David Catholowinski, August 10, 1985) is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Orlando, Florida. His father is from Polish descent, and his mother from dutch descent. After graduating from Central High School in 2004, he began pursuing his music career. His management convinced him to swap his given names, then shorten it, hence Morris D Cat (it was an attempt to make his name into a pun). Morris is his middle name, and also his mother's maiden name. He was nicknamed "Cat" in school because his last name was hard to pronounce and the name stuck.
Morris' career got off to a rocky start. He released his debut single "Some Guys" in September of 2004, but the single failed to chart due to mismanagement with the single (the single was canceled but never removed from the schedule).
Not one to give up, he managed to impress the heads at BaaMusic and was signed to a 2 album deal in November 2004. At the end of that month his 2nd single "You Can't Change My Mind" was released. The single did better and debuted at #18 on the chart. The song however spent over 3 months in the top 40 and sold over 100,000 copies. In November of 2004, he was rumored to have hooked up with flopstar singer Jewel.
In March 2005, he released his 3rd single Hyperdrive. The song was considered the strongest of his three singles and the song debuted at #7 on the singles chart, giving Morris his first top 10 hit. The single went on to reach silver status giving Morris his best selling single as well.
The Cat's Out of the Bag[edit | edit source]
Preparations for his first album began called The Cat's Out of the Bag. The album features several songs written by Morris as well as a couple of covers. One imfamous cover was his rendition of Shania Twain's Honey I'm Home which made a negative reference towards the CBS network. He also did a cover of Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me which became part of his 4th single along with original song Final Dance. The single reached #8 on the chart.
Morris' debut album was released in April 2005 debuting at #12 on the chart, but eventually peaked at #8. The album reached triple platinum status in the U.K.
In May 2005, Morris made his first collaboration appearing on a B-side of Izzy's single Can't Stop Won't Stop. The song was called Sometimes, Never, Always and Izzy's single reached #4 on the chart.
Morris' 5th single was released in August. The ballad Anymore became an instant favorite. The song gave Morris his biggest hit to date reaching #5 on the singles chart and became his first top 5 hit. The single however faded quickly, and only sold just over 90,000 copies. The single featured the B-side Let it Rain which was used as part of Russ Hooch's anti-violence campaign. Morris donated profits from the single to Russ' campaign.
The single brought a scare to Morris when Phyllis from It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings ate his bodyguard AJ. The two had conflict for days, but all was forgiven after Fat Lady threw up AJ whole and alive. The two eventually patched their differences and AJ later became best friends with porn star Mary Carey.
For the final single of the album, Morris let the fans decide and the ultimate winner was the song Touch Massage. Morris later said it was his least favorite song on the album and wished he had never recorded it. The single was released on Halloween in 2005. Fitting the holiday release, he teamed up with Phyllis from It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings doing a cover of Monster Mash as the B-Side. The single didn't fare too well only reaching #15 on the chart.
FIX![edit | edit source]
In December of 2005, Morris planned to team up with dance singer Allyseenah on a cover of True Blue for MadonnaMania. The plans fell through, but the two decided they should do their own single together. At the end of the year the two recorded the songs Fix and All That Matters. The promotion had both of them all over the place, and a more personal touch came from Allyseenah when she hand drew the single's covers.
In February, Morris was asked to perform at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. He sang an original song called The Flame which later appeared as a B-Side on his single I'm Not the One.
The single for Fix/All That Matters was released on February 5, 2006. The critics said this should've gotten both of them another top 10 hit, but nobody expected what was to happen.
The 11th URAPS Awards took place on February 11th. After the ceremony had ended, many came to the chart website to see it was down. After some downtime, the site came back up with a brand new design and the charts were updated. Fans and critics alike were stunned to realize that chart favorites Lucreacia and Jack Stevens had not been at the top of the charts, but debuted at #2. The #1 song of the week was Morris and Allyseenah. After scoring a DNC a year and a half earlier, Morris had reached #1 on the charts.
The chart result drew mixed emotions, but none were more blunt than flopstar Tania Nelson. Her comments drew criticism everywhere and ultimately Morris' friend Fat Lady came to Morris' defense and pleased the world by eating Nelson.
Fix/All That Matters became the biggest single of Morris' and Allyseenah's careers to date selling over 281,000 copies, spending 4 months in the top 40 and achieving platinum status. (Morris would best the sales with Romeo is Dead.
In The Mood[edit | edit source]
Morris' 2nd album and new single were rush released after the success of Fix. The 2nd single from the album I'm Not the One became overshadowed by Fix's success and debuted at a lowly #16. The single however managed to climb up to #8.
In March 2006, Morris' 2nd album In the Mood was released. The album featured a collaboration with latin singer Isadora, a cover of Marc Anthony and Tina Arena's I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You. The album also had covers from Republica and Our Lady Peace and included fan favorite "Message From a Dove.". The album debuted at #6 on the chart and went double platinum.
Imposter, Kidnapping and Basketball[edit | edit source]
Troubled brewed for Morris as he was working on promotion for the 3rd single Shut Up and Listen. He had committed himself to hosting a charity basketball game filled with other URAPS celebrities, but his actions off the court began to take notice. He began acting strangely at special events. The events escalated when the National Enquirer printed photos of Morris shooting up drugs with some of his friends. In April 2005, Morris was arrested for reckless driving and possession of cocaine. Morris claimed his innocence, but the media had already convicted him.
Morris seemed to have been doing better when it came time for the basketball game, but his late arrival had fans concerned. He finally showed up in a strange trance and co-player Ben Johnston discovered that Morris was not really Morris.
The man then revealed that he was indeed not Morris and had been responsible for the strange behavior Morris had. He then revealed a cage at the top of the arena with a bomb strapped to it. It was revealed he kidnapped Morris the evening before and set the plan to kill Morris, many celebrities, and many spectators. However, Phyllis from It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings (who played by force) grew restless and ate the phony Morris. To save the day she then ate the bomb, which exploded in her fireproof stomach. Morris was lowered down, but he fell out of the cage crashing to the ground and breaking his leg. Morris sat out the games and for some of the promotion for Shut Up and Listen.
Despite Morris' absence from some of the promo, the single still managed to make the top 10.
After Morris healed from his injury, he then decided to seek out another challenge. He joined the first ever URAPS Tango Challenge. He was partnered with newcomers Lemon Cosmos, who had previously scored a top 5 hit. They came up with the single Sourpuss which was an unofficial way to combine both of their names. The song included a summer-theme video and promotion, and the single debuted at #8. It became Morris' 7th top 10 hit and 3rd single to hit #8.
Morris celebrated his 21st birthday at the Fountainbleu in Miami Beach, but headlines arose when guests saw a half-dressed Christine Tyler exiting from Morris' hotel room.
In September 2006, Morris became only the 13th solo male artist in the history of URAPS to sell over 1,000,000 singles.
In November 2006, Morris planned to release the 4th single from In the Mood, but the single was scrapped and this era ended after only 3 singles.
David[edit | edit source]
In 2007 Morris decided to comeback with a fresh start by using his whole name (but his first and middle name still reversed). Morris' 3rd album is titled David to commemorate the name chamge, and the first single Who and What I Am was released in February 07. The single was widely expected to chart in the top 5, but instead settled for #6, but its longevity helped sail the single to silver status.
During this time, Morris started dating Meli Kleindienst. A second single, Where The Clouds May Go was planned for early May, but despite all the obstacles, Morris managed to triumph. The single proved to be his biggest solo hit to date, reaching #3, and breaking the curse that befell both him and Allyseenah after their duet reached #1, eventually approaching gold and became the longest running single on the chart in its 10th chart week. The follow-up single, Place In This World/Angels, has been announced for a July 30th release date, a double A-side of 2 covers of 90's hits; one from the David album, the other from Alias Records' upcoming compilation Alias Records' Reasons Why The 90's... Rocked!. It made the top 10, as did the final single from that era, One Way Or Another, which was featured on a re-release of the album in time for Christmas.
Second Chance[edit | edit source]
Morris took 2008 off from his career to help raise his children while his wife Meli had remained in the spotlight. In 2009, it was Meli's turn to raise the children, and in turn, Morris decided to revive his music career. Around this time, Romo had given him a helping hand, writing his comeback single, Blind Date. Combined with a new image, Morris has already shown strong promise for a comeback. The new single was released June 29th, 2009 on Elite; it proved to be a success, charting at #5 and giving Morris his fourth top 5 hit. The song also became Morris' first platinum single since FIX!
The 4th album Second Chance was released and debuted at #3. The album went on to spend 67 weeks in the top 40, at the time tied the record for longest run in the top 40, on the strength of future singles such as the top 3 hits "King of a Sandcastle/Butterflies" and "Long Way Down".
The single Regurgitator became another top 5 hit, and featured a three-dimensional video that world premiered at a sold out show in London. "Second Chance" became Morris' only album to date to spawn 5 top 5 singles.
Romeo is Dead[edit | edit source]
In January 2011, Morris announced the release of his 5th album Romeo is Dead would be released that May. He world premiered the first single Androgynous Bitch during the 10th Anniversary Chart show. The album depicted a push away from the usual pop/rock/songwriter type songs that he was more known for, and dove deep into his personal life and touched on subjects he never reached.
Androgynous Bitch received overly positive reviews, praising the singer on the risky approach for a singer who was known for being more straight-laced. The music video featured Morris dancing and making out with dancers, but their genders were never revealed. The single was released on May 5th landing at #6, but eventually peaked at #2 and reaching gold status.
Romeo is Dead 'album' was released the following week and debuted at #1, giving the singer his first #1 album.
The title track became the second single, and focused more on the darker path of the album. A dark-rock song featured 2 music videos, one serious, one light. The song reached #3 on the charts and has become Morris' highest selling single to date (as of June, 2012).
Accomplishments[edit | edit source]
In September 2006, Morris became only the 13th solo male artist in the history of URAPS to sell over 1,000,000 singles.
In October 2009, Morris' all-time single sales reached 2 million. to date, only 16 male solo acts have reached this point.
In October 2010, Morris became the 8th solo male act to reach 3 million in single sales.
In December 2011, Morris' all-time sales reached 4 million singles.
Morris is the 5th highest selling male act of all time. (as of June, 2012)
Morris is the 17th highest selling act overall. (as of June 2012)
Morris' album Second Chance tied the record for longest run in the top 40 at 68 weeks. The record was since broken by Sandi York.
Morris has peaked in every position in the top 10. His only #4 peak was a feature on Flaming SteffY's single Show Me Ur Skin
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
In October 2007, Morris married then girlfriend Meli Kleindienst. She was 6 months pregnant with triplets at the time, who were born 2 girls and a boy in December. After 2 and a half years of marriage Meli filed for divorce in March 2010, and the divorce was finalized in January 2011. The two were part of a difficult custody battle, but after Morris' on stage accident in June 2011, the pair reconciled, agreed to joint custody and remain friends.
Discography[edit | edit source]
Albums[edit | edit source]
- Mdcbag.jpg
The Cat's Out Of The Bag
#9 April 2005 - Morrisitm.jpg
In The Mood
#6 March 2006 - David.png
David
#3 March 2007 - Morrissccover-1-.jpg
Second Chance
#3 July 2009
Singles[edit | edit source]
- 2004 You Can't Change My Mind #18
- 2005 Hyperdrive #7
- 2005 Because You Loved Me/Final Dance #8
- 2005 Anymore #5
- 2005 Touch Massage #15
- 2006 FIX!/All That Matters (with Allyseenah) #1
- 2006 I'm Not The One #8
- 2006 Shut Up And Listen #10
- 2006 Sourpuss (with Lemon Cosmos) #8
- 2007 Who And What I Am #6
- 2007 Where The Clouds May Go #3
- 2007 Place In This World/Angels #10
- 2007 One Way or Another #9
- 2009 Blind Date #5
- 2009 King of a Sandcastle/Butterflies #3
- 2010 Regurgitator #5
- 2010 Long Way Down #3
- 2010 Carnival Town #5
- 2011 Androgynous Bitch #2
- 2011 Romeo Is Dead #3
- 2011 Put Your Paws Up!! #1
- 2012 [{The Love Song]] #9
- 2012 Ground Zero (feat. Victor Strong TBD