OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, were a New Zealand music group, then duo, with vocalist Pauly Fuemana later becoming the sole member. OMC was best known for the 1996 hit "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.
Career
Origin (1992–1995)
The Otara Millionaires Club was formed in 1992 by Phil Fuemana, who had played in the bands Houseparty and Fuemana. Fuemana and his younger brother Pauly Fuemana recorded two tracks as the new band for producer Alan Jansson's Urban Pacifica collection Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation.
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. Sina toured with the band in 1995, and appeared in the song's video.
The same year, "How Bizarre" went to number one in Australia for five weeks, sold over 150,000 singles, and was certified as a platinum single. Later in the year the single went to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and number one in countries across Europe and much of the rest of the world.
In the United States, "How Bizarre" spent 32 weeks on Billboards Mainstream Top 40 chart, peaking at 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. The song never charted on the regular Billboard Hot 100 as it was not released as a commercially available single in 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.
OMC's third single, "On the Run", reached number 56 on the UK in 1997.
On 31 January 2010, Pauly Fuemana died at North Shore Hospital in Auckland after suffering for several years from a chronic degenerative disease, progressive demyelinating polyneuropathy, an auto-immune disorder similar to the nerve disease multiple sclerosis. He was 40 years old, and was survived by his wife and six children. In February 2010, "How Bizarre" briefly reentered the charts in New Zealand following news of Pauly Fuemana's death.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications.
! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details
! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Certifications<br><small>(sales threshold)</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| NZ<br>
! width="35"| CAN
! width="35"| SWI<br>
! width="35"| US<br>
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | How Bizarre
| align="left" |
- Released: 27 September 1996
- Label: huh!
- Catalogue: HUH6
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 5
| 44
| 35
| 40
|
- RMNZ: Gold
- MC: Platinum
- RIAA: Gold
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and originating album.
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Year
! colspan="10"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications<br><small>(sales threshold)</small>
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! NZ<br>
! AUT<br>
! BEL<br>(Fl)<br>
! GER<br>
! NED<br>
! SWE<br>
! SWI<br>
! US<br>Radio<br>
|-
! scope="row"| "We R the OMC"<br/>
| 1994
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
| Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation
|-
! scope="row"| "How Bizarre"
| 1995
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 14
| 2
| 11
| 4
| 4
| 5
| 4
|
- RMNZ: 3× Platinum
- ARIA: Platinum
- BPI: Platinum
- BVMI: Gold
| rowspan="5"| How Bizarre
|-
! scope="row"| "Right On"
| 1996
| 11
| 88
| —
| —
| 83
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
- RMNZ: Gold
|-
! scope="row"| "On the Run"
| rowspan="3"| 1997
| 30
| —
| —
| 57
| 82
| 98
| —
| —
| 56
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Land of Plenty"
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "Love L.A."
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| "4 All of Us"
| 2007
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|
|-
| colspan="14" style="font-size:small"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of music videos, showing year released and directors.
! scope="col" style="width:50%;"| Title
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col" style="width:50%;"| Director
|-
! scope="row"| "How Bizarre"
| 1995
| Lee Baker
|-
! scope="row"| "Right On"
| 1996
| Rob Mclaughlin
|-
! scope="row"| "On the Run"
| rowspan="3"| 1997
| Mark Hartley
|-
! scope="row"| "Land of Plenty"
| Kerry Brown
|-
! scope="row"| "Love L.A."
| Evan Bernard
|-
! scope="row"| "4 All of Us"
| 2007
|
|}
Awards
New Zealand Music Awards
The New Zealand Music Awards are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965.
!
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1996 || OMC || Most Promising Group || || rowspan="10" |
|-
| Paul Fuemana (OMC) || Most Promising Male||
|-
| "How Bizarre" || Single of the Year ||
|-
| Alan Jansson for "How Bizarre" (OMC) || Engineer of the Year||
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1997 || How Bizarre || Album of the Year ||
|-
| Rick Huntington & Alan Jansson for How Bizarre by OMC || Album Cover of the Year ||
|-
| Rick Huntington & Alan Jansson for How Bizarre by OMC || Engineer of the Year ||
|-
| Alan Jansson for How Bizarre by OMC || Producer of the Year ||
|-
| OMC || International Achievement ||
|-
| 1998 || OMC || International Achievement ||
|-