OMC (band): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|New Zealand music group}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=November 2012}}

| name = OMC

| background = group_or_band

| alias = Otara Millionaires Club

| origin = [[Ōtara]], [[Auckland]], New Zealand

| genre = {{hlist|[[Pop-rap]]|[[acoustic rock]]|[[Latin music (genre)|Latin]]}}

| years_active = 1992–2010

| label = Huh! Records, [[PolyGram]], [[Mercury Records]]

| past_members = [[Phil Fuemana]] († 2005) <br/>[[Pauly Fuemana]] († 2010)<br/>Alan Jansson<br/>Herman Loto († 2023)<br/>

'''OMC''', or '''Otara Millionaires Club''', were a New Zealand music group, then duo, with vocalist [[Pauly Fuemana]] later becoming the sole member.<ref name="SimG">{{cite book |last1=Grigg |first1=Simon |title=How Bizarre: Pauly Fuemana and the Song That Stormed the World |date=2015 |publisher=Awa Press}}</ref> OMC was best known for the 1995 hit "[[How Bizarre (song)|How Bizarre]]", named one of the greatest New Zealander songs of all time by the [[Australasian Performing Right Association]]. The full name of the band is a [[tongue-in-cheek]] reference to [[Ōtara]]'s status as one of the poorest suburbs of [[Auckland]].

In 1994, after the split of the Otara Millionaires Club, Pauly approached Jansson and the two formed a musical partnership, with Fuemana the public face and Jansson as producer and co-writer.<ref name="SimG"></ref> Pauly suggested that they shorten the band's name to just the initials, and thereafter, Fuemana and Jansson were OMC.<ref name="SimG"></ref> Pauly performed as OMC, serving as the frontman and playing several instruments during performances. However, the music was created by Pauly and Alan Jansson, with Jansson co-writing all of the tracks and handling most of the arrangement and all production duties in the studio.<ref name="nzcharts" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=OMC - AudioCulture|url=https://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/omc|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.audioculture.co.nz|language=en}}</ref><ref name="SimG"></ref>

[[File:OMC Logo-omc.jpg|thumb|261x261px|Logo used on "How Bizarre" single release]]

In the United States, "How Bizarre" spent 32 weeks on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'''s [[Mainstream Top 40]] chart, peaking at [[List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 1997 (U.S.)|number one in August 1997]] due to the large amount of radio play it received. This made OMC the first New Zealand artist to reach the number one spot on a ''Billboard'' chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Pop songs - week of August 16, 1997|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1997-08-16/pop-songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=16 April 2012}}</ref> The song never charted on the regular [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] as it was not released as a commercially available singlein the US, which was a chart-eligibility requirement at the time. It also became a BMI-certified "million airplay" song two years in a row.

In 1996, OMC's debut album, also entitled ''[[How Bizarre (album)|How Bizarre]]'', was released.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> The album sold in the United States in excess of half a million copies, and charted worldwide. Between 1995 and 2000, world-wide OMC sales are estimated at between three and four million records.

"How Bizarre" was followed by the singles "Land of Plenty" which reached the top 5 in the New Zealand charts; "Right On" which achieved platinum-status in New Zealand; and "On The Run" which was a minor international hit in the [[Netherlands]] and the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. By 1998, Fuemana and Jansson had a falling out over [[royalties]], which ended up in court. It was resolved in arbitration with Fuemana paying a sum to Jansson and Jansson handing over all claim to the name and ongoing artist royalties.<ref name="SimG"></ref>

[[Phil Fuemana|Phil]] died in 2005 of a heart attack.<ref name=herald-obit>{{cite news|title=Hip-hop stars farewell mentor|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10113666|publisher=NZ Herald|accessdate=22 November 2012|date=5 March 2005}}</ref>

! width="35"| [[Billboard 200|US]]<br><ref>{{cite magazine|title=OMC|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/omc/chart-history/tlp/|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

*"How Bizarre": {{cite web|title=OMC IN AUSTRALIAN CHARTS|url=http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=OMC|website=Australian-charts.com|publisher=Hung Medien|access-date=10 September 2015}}

*"Right On": {{cite Ryan|page=208}}</ref>

! [[Billboard Hot 100 Airplay|US<br>Radio]]<br><ref>{{cite magazine|title=OMC Chart History|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/omc/chart-history|magazine=Billboard|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

| align="left"| "Love L.A."

| colspan="14" style="font-size:8pt" |『—』denotes releases that did not chart.

==Awards==

===New Zealand Music Awards===

The [[New Zealand Music Awards]] are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in [[music in New Zealand|New Zealand music]] and have been presented annually since 1965.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| rowspan="4" | 1996 || OMC || Most Promising Group || {{won}} || rowspan="10" | <ref>{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusicawards.nz/award-history/|title=Aotearoa Music Awards|website=aotearoamusicawards.nz|access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>

|-

| Paul Fuemana (OMC) || Most Promising Male|| {{won}}

|-

| "How Bizarre" || Single of the Year || {{won}}

|-

| Alan Jansson for "How Bizarre" (OMC) || Engineer of the Year|| {{won}}

|-

| rowspan="5" | 1997 || ''How Bizarre'' || Album of the Year || {{nom}}

|-

| Rick Huntington & Alan Jansson for ''How Bizarre'' by OMC || Album Cover of the Year || {{nom}}

|-

| Rick Huntington & Alan Jansson for ''How Bizarre'' by OMC || Engineer of the Year || {{nom}}

|-

| Alan Jansson for ''How Bizarre'' by OMC || Producer of the Year || {{nom}}

|-

| OMC || International Achievement || {{won}}

|-

| 1998 || OMC || International Achievement || {{won}}

|-

{{end}}

==External links==

*{{Discogs artist}}

[[Category:Hip hop duos]]

[[Category:Rock music duos]]

[[Category:New Zealand pop rock groups]]