One Hit Wondering – OMC

One Hit Wondering is a series of columns where I listen to the album of a one hit wonder, and find three songs, other than the hit, that people should hear. 

OMC, short for Otara Millionaires Club, gave us one of the biggest hits of the ‘90s with “How Bizarre.”

Hailing from New Zealand, Otara Millionaires Club was founded by brothers Phil and Pauly Fuemana in 1992, with the band’s full name being a tongue-in-cheek reference to their hometown of Otara, which was one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland.

The duo recorded two songs for producer Alan Jansson’s Proud: An Urban Pacific Streetsoul Compilation, which was released in 1994, but that was the extent of the brothers’ musical partnership before going their separate ways as artists.

At that point, Pauly approached Jansson about working together, and the new Otara Millionaires Club was born, with Fuemana as the face of the group, and Jansson as producer and co-writer. There was one other change, as well – Pauly suggested they shorten the band’s name to the initials OMC.

In December of 1995 OMC released “How Bizarre,” featuring guest vocalist Sina Saipaia. The song became an immediate hit in their native New Zealand, as well as in Australia, The UK, and Europe. It finally made its way to America in 1997, where it peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart.

Because of a weird quirk regarding the Billboard Hot 100, which at the time required a single to be available to buy in order for a song to chart, “How Bizarre,” which was never released as a single, was never on the Billboard Hot 100 despite being one of the biggest songs of the 1997. This exact story would repeat itself in 1998 with Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.”

OMC’s one and only album, How Bizarre, was released in 1996 in New Zealand, and in 1997 in the U.S.

Shortly after rocketing to fame, the band went on hiatus due to disputes with their U.S. record label, and in 1998 there was a lawsuit involving Jansson and Fuemana over royalties owed to Jansson. The latter was settled in arbitration, but at that point Fuemana decided he’d rather be a family man, focusing on his wife, and six children.

In a tragic series of events, Pauly’s brother, Phil, would pass away from a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 41, and Pauly would succumb to an extremely rare neurological disorder – chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy – in 2010, one week before his 41st birthday.

A legend in New Zealand, “How Bizarre” will forever be Pauly’s legacy in America, but are you wondering what else OMC had to offer?

Here are three songs from How Bizarre, other than the title track, that you should check out.

“Right On”

 

“Right On” should’ve been the follow up to “How Bizarre.” It’s a light, summery, nostalgic pop song, and it’s the only other song on the album that features Sina Saipaia, whose chorus is pure sunshine.

The video was also a total joy. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be on that bus, or part of that social gathering?

Had it been released in the States, “Right On” would probably be a staple of summertime playlists to this day.

“Breaking My Heart”

 

Lyrically, “Breaking My Heart” is a blues song about a guy who’s down on his luck, and even when he finally gets back on his feet, Fuemana has some tough love advice for him about the nature of people.

Musically, “Breaking My Heart” begins with what sounds an awful lot like the drums from Naughty By Nature’s “Uptown Anthem,” but then a twangy guitar comes in, followed by a horn. It’s a unique musical mix that somehow works, and that you probably aren’t going to find anywhere else.

While Fuemana’s singing voice wasn’t perfect, the chorus will absolutely get stuck in your head.

“She Loves Italian”

 

This song is so weird, I can’t help but love it. With distorted vocals, an electric guitar, and an electro-dance-rock vibe, it doesn’t sound like anything else on the album.

“She Loves Italian” easily could’ve been the soundtrack for the type of dance club you’d see in a ‘90s television crime drama, or film.

Side Note – After hearing this song you won’t be able to hear someone order Italian food again without thinking of this chorus, or in my case, blurting it out.

Until next time, here’s to discovering more great music from one hit wonders!