How Bizarre (song)

"How Bizarre"
Single by OMC
from the album How Bizarre
Released December 15, 1995
Format
Recorded 1995
Genre Pop-rap
Length 3:43 (Album Version)
Label Huh! Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Alan Jansson
OMC singles chronology
"We R the OMC"
(1994)		 "How Bizarre"
(1995)		 "Right On"
(1996)

"We R the OMC"
(1994)		 "How Bizarre"
(1995)		 "Right On"
(1996)
Music video
"How Bizarre" on YouTube

"How Bizarre" is a single written and recorded by New Zealand musical group OMC. It was released in December 1995 as the lead single from the group's debut album of the same name, and went on to top the charts in at least six countries. Outside New Zealand, OMC are generally considered a one-hit wonder; they had a further few successful singles in New Zealand, including "Land of Plenty".[1] The song featured in 1998 movies Palmetto and Disney's The Parent Trap.

Critical reception

The song won the award for "Single of the Year" at the 1996 New Zealand Music Awards.[2] It was also featured on Nature's Best 2, as the 34th greatest New Zealand song of all time as voted for by members of the Australasian Performing Rights Association in 2001. In 2002, the song was named as the 71st greatest one-hit wonder of all time on a VH1 countdown hosted by William Shatner.

Music & Media wrote about the song: "Polynesian pop with a twist. Pauly Fuemana has a gravelly, deep voice and a major rap attitude. The Spanish guitar, trumpet and the sweet female background vocals create a radiofriendly mood. This single from the forthcoming album Time Is Money smashed New Zealand and Austrialian sales figures; OMC's quirky catchiness should kick up some dust in Europe too."[3]

Music video

A music video was released to help promote the single. The video has the lead singer, Pauly Fuemana, driving a 1968 Chevrolet Impala. It also pictures him dancing, rapping, throwing around money and breathing fire.[4] It was a second version, directed by Lee Baker, and released very late in 1995 just as "How Bizarre" went to number one in NZ.[5] Shot on a soundstage in Ponsonby and at Ellerslie Racecourse for a budget of $7,000 from NZ On Air,[5] it was shown on US networks about 15,000 times in 1997 and 1998. Besides Pauly, it features backing vocalist Sina Saipaia,[6] and a Filipino man named Hill who stood in for Brother Pele.[7]

Chart performance

"How Bizarre" topped the singles charts in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Canada and Ireland. It also topped the airplay chart in South Africa. Because of rules in place at the time, the song was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it topped the Mainstream Top 40 for a week, then called the Pop Singles. It was also Number One on Rick Dees Top 40 and Casey Kasem's American Top 40. It also peaked at number 4 on the Airplay chart.[8] The single was number one for two weeks in Austria, three weeks in Ireland,[2] three weeks in New Zealand[2] and five weeks in Australia.[2] On 9 February 2010, the song re-entered the New Zealand charts at number 40 after Fuemana's death.

Charts and certifications

Release history

Country Release date
New Zealand 15 December 1995
Europe 8 July 1996
United States 25 February 1997[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Top 10 one-hit-wonders". Stuff. Fairfax. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "How Bizarre's Pauly Fuemana dies". ONE News. TVNZ. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media (1996-07-27, page 9). Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ OMC - How Bizarre on YouTube
  5. 1 2 Gallagher, Robyn (November 25, 2011). "OMC "How Bizarre"". 5000 Ways to Love You. WordPress. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ "A brief biography..." Alan Jansson. 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ "How Bizarre Music Video – 1996". NZ On Screen. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  8. ↑ Easton, Paul (1 February 2010). "Pauly Fuemana mourned". The Dominion Post. Stuff.co.nz.
  9. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – OMC – How Bizarre". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – OMC – How Bizarre" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – OMC – How Bizarre" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – OMC – How Bizarre" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – OMC – How Bizarre" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – OMC Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – OMC" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – OMC – How Bizarre" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Charts.nz – OMC – How Bizarre". Top 40 Singles.
  20. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – OMC – How Bizarre". VG-lista.
  21. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". officialcharts.com. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – OMC – How Bizarre". Singles Top 100.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – OMC – How Bizarre". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. ↑ "OMC: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  25. ↑ "OMC - Char history Billboard". Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  26. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1996". RPM. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  28. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1996". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  29. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1997". RPM. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  30. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Promo Only: Mainstream Radio [1997-02] February 1997". Retrieved November 9, 2015.
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