OMC (band)

OMC
General information
Genre (s)	Pop rap
founding	1992
resolution	2010
Founding members
Singing, production	Phil Fuemana
Singing, rap, instruments	Pauly Fuemana
Programming, production	Alan Jonsson
Singing, rap	Herman Lotto
Singing, rap	Paul Ave
Singing, rap	John Nansen
Last occupation
Singing, rap, instruments	Pauly Fuemana
Programming, production	Alan Jonsson
Important guest musicians
Singing, backing vocals	Sina Saipaia
Vocals, guitar	Taisha Khütze
singing	Lucy Lawless
rap	Boy C

OMC was a pop band from Otara , the former city of Manukau City , now Auckland Council , New Zealand . The acronym stood for "Otara Millionaires Club" - an ironic allusion to the fact that Otara is one of the poorest boroughs in Auckland.

The group became known for their 1996 world hit " How Bizarre ". In Australia and New Zealand it became the most successful single of all time. The band mainly consisted of Pauly Fuemana and Alan Jansson.

history

Career and previous volume (1992–1995)

The band's forerunner was originally called "Otara Millionaires Club" and had a local hit called We are the OMC .

The group was originally founded in 1992 by Pauly's older brother Phil Fuemana, who was already musically active in the soul area with the projects Fuemana and House Party and who had also made a name for himself as a producer. The line-up initially consisted of Phil Fuemana, Pauly Fuemana, MC Herman Lotto (now active as Ermehn) and Alan Jonsson as producer, as well as other members from the local R&B and hip-hop scene.

Jansson had played in several bands before and had some chart successes in New Zealand as a producer. Under his significant influence, a sampler called Proud was created in 1994 : An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation , which was supposed to reflect the musical movement of the scene that was strikingly different from the R&B and hip-hop of the rest of the world. A standout piece on the sampler was We are the OMC . The single for it was released in 1995 on the Australian label Volition.

The album was preceded by a nationwide tour, which was also expensive, with many of the artists represented. After this tour, the original group OMC broke up in mid-1995. Pauly Fuemana and Alan Jansson then continued their musical work under the initials pseudonym OMC. Pauly became the band's public face, fronting and playing multiple instruments during performances and tours. The music came from both of them, with Jansson writing all the tracks and taking over most of the arrangements and production in the studio.

How Bizarre (1995-1997)

Both wrote the piece How Bizarre together . Sina Saipaia (also known as Sister Sina) contributed the female singing voice to the recordings. Then a contract was signed with the Huh Records label.

Even without the promo video, the piece became an immediate hit in New Zealand at the end of 1995. It reached the top spot in New Zealand in early 1996 and stayed there for three weeks. Over 35,000 copies have been sold. That same year, How Bizarre went number one in Australia for five weeks, sold over 150,000 singles and was certified a platinum single. Later that year the single reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and number 1 in many countries in Europe and much of the world. In the United States, How Bizarre was featured on Billboard's mainstream Top 40 chart for 32 weeks, and in August 1997 it ranked first due to the high volume of radio plays.

This made OMC the first New Zealand artist to reach number one on a Billboard chart. However, the song was never listed on the regular Billboard Hot 100 because it was not released there as a commercially available single, which was a requirement for chart eligibility at the time. How Bizarre also became a BMI-certified “Million Airplay” song two years in a row. Another single, " Ride On ", was released in May 1996 and reached number 11 in the New Zealand charts, also with Sina Saipia as accompanist.

The other releases of the album did not achieve the international success of How Bizarre . OMC is therefore a typical one-hit wonder .

In September 1996, OMC released their debut album, also called " How Bizarre ". The album was sold over a million times in the US and hit the charts in many other countries.

After the world success (1997-2007)

OMC's third single, “ On the Run ”, reached number 56 in Great Britain in 1997, and the subsequent “ Land of Plenty” also made it into the New Zealand top ten.

In 1997 only the new single I Love LA A cover by Randy Newman from 1983 was released, with some live recordings as B-side and a maxi EP with " How Bizarre - the Remixes ". In the same year "The Uptown Project" was released , which also contains some remixes of various pieces. In Australia and New Zealand it was only released as a bonus CD for the album How Bizarre. Then it became quiet around the group.

Memberships and affiliation to the band OMC were kept extremely fuzzy to the outside world, which led to problems. A dispute over license fees broke out between Fuemana and Jansson, which in 1998 ultimately ended in legal proceedings in which Jansson was defeated. After reaching an agreement, it was agreed that Fuemana could continue to use the duo's name as a solo artist. However, this was not implemented, but only led to the temporary end of the cooperation.

In 2000, the last collaboration with the record company Huh Records was the first single “ We are the OMC ” from 1995, including remixes, which was re-released as a maxi. Between 1995 and 2000 worldwide sales are estimated at three to four million records. In 2002 her song "How Bizarre" reached number 71 in the 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders by William Shatner.

In 2005 the older brother and actual founder Phil Fuemana died of a heart attack. In addition, the first reports circulated that Pauly Fuemana had got into financial difficulties. Pauly Fuemana and Alain Jansson re-formed as OMC and released the single "4 All of Us" in March 2007, with actress Lucy Lawless as a guest singer. A few months later another new recording was released with “Please”, this time with rapper Boy C as a guest member. As there was no further success, the project was finally abandoned.

Death of Pauly Fuemana (2010)

In 2009 Pauly Fuemana's health deteriorated after suffering from a chronic nervous disease for several years. He died of pneumonia on January 31, 2010 at the age of 40 in the North Shore Hospital in Auckland.

In February 2010, "How Bizarre" briefly returned to the New Zealand charts after the news of Pauly Fuemana's death. At the APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2010 How Bizarre was performed live with founding member MC Herman Lotto (aka Ermehn) as the lead singer, as well as other artists and a gospel choir.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	NZ
1996	How bizarre	DE48 (7 weeks) DE	-	CH35 (4 weeks) CH	-	US40 gold (25 weeks)US	NZ5 gold (15 weeks)NZ	Entry into the US chart in 1997

more publishments

• 1997: The Uptown Project

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	NZ
1995	How Bizarre How Bizarre	DE2 gold (20 weeks)DE	AT1 (14 weeks) AT	CH4 (26 weeks) CH	UK5 gold (16 weeks)UK	-	NZ1 platinum (25 weeks)NZ	Chart entry in Europe only from November 1996
1996	Right On How Bizarre	DE83 (8 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	NZ11 gold (13 weeks)NZ	Chart entry in DE only in July 1997
1997	On the Run How Bizarre	DE82 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK56 (2 weeks) UK	-	NZ30 (4 weeks) NZ
	Land of Plenty How Bizarre	-	-	-	-	-	NZ4 (6 weeks) NZ

More singles and EP's

• 1995: We R the OMC
• 1997: I Love LA
• 1997: How Bizarre - the Remixes [EP]
• 2000: We R the OMC (Remixes) [EP]
• 2007: 4 All of Us (feat. Lucy Lawless)
• 2007: Please / 4 All of Us (feat. Boy C & Lucy Lawless) (only as promo)

Music videos

• 1996: How Bizarre (feat. Sister Sina) (Director: Lee Baker)
• 1997: On The Run
• 1997: Right On (feat. Sister Sina)
• 1997: Land Of Plenty (feat.Taisha Khzut) (Director: Kerry Brown)
• 2007: 4 All Of Us (feat. Lucy Lawless)

swell

1. ↑ OMC | SWR3. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (German). 
2. ↑ OMC. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Ermehn - AudioCulture. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} OMC - AudioCulture. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
5. ↑ Alan Jansson - audio culture. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
6. ^ Various - Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
7. ^ OMC - We R The OMC. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
8. ↑ OMC | NZ Artist Directory | NZ Music Commission. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Sina Saipaia. In: Discogs. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
10. ↑ 'How Bizarre's Sister Sina is finally releasing her debut album after a 19-year wait. November 25, 2017, accessed January 26, 2020 (en-NZ). 
11. ↑ OMC | NZ Artist Directory | NZ Music Commission. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
12. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} How bizarre. In: soundthis.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
13. ↑ Pop Music: Top Pop Songs Chart. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
14. ^ OMC - How Bizarre. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
15. ^ OMC - Right On. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
16. ↑ OMC - I Love LA. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
17. ↑ OMC - How Bizarre EP (The Remixes). Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
18. ^ OMC - How Bizarre. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
19. ^ Otara Millionaires Club * - We R The OMC. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
20. ↑ ^{a b} OMC Feat. Lucy Lawless - 4 All Of Us. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
21. ↑ ^{a b} OMC Feat. Lucy Lawless - Please / 4 All Of Us. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
22. ↑ How Bizarre singer Pauly Fuemana dies (English)
23. ↑ Pauly Fuemana obituary (English)
24. ↑ OMC - HOW BIZARRE (SONG). In: https://charts.nz/ . Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
25. ↑ APRA AMCOS: 2010 Silver Scroll Awards. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
26. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Singles Albums / UK Billboard 200 NZ
27. ↑ Gold / platinum databases: DE UK US NZ
28. ^ How Bizarre OMC, Music Video - 1996. In: nzonscreen.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020 (English). 
29. ^ Author Robyn: OMC “Land Of Plenty”. April 22, 2012, Retrieved January 26, 2020 (American English). 

Web links

• OMC at Allmusic (English)
• OMC at Discogs (English)