OMI GOOD CHEER
OMI certainly has a lot to cheer about. His single, Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn remix), is certified four-time platinum in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry.
A platinum designation is given when a song’s sales reach the 600,000 mark.
The singer said he was unaware of the latest milestone but was elated at the acknowledgement.
“Wow. Wow. I am very honoured and very proud of the entire team behind the whole thing, and the people who have been there from the get go. It’s a wonderful feeling. It brings to mind the phrase ‘quality over quantity’. Cheerleader was a smash [hit], as many people all over the world would have shared their view of it and given their support to it. It’s a good feeling and we’re still celebrating the fruits of that,” he told the Jamaica Observer on the weekend.
“This has solidified the foundation for so many other great things to happen, as it already did. But it continues to add cement to that foundation. This is really a great way to enter that new year. It is going to open a lot of doors to so many other things,” he continued.
Cheerleader was produced by Clifton “Specialist” Dillon and recorded at Oufah Recording Studio in Kingston in 2012. Two years later, German Dj/producer Felix Jaehn remixed the single, which was re-released by Ultra Music. Its four-time platinum certification was awarded in August.
In May, Cheerleader has amassed more one billion views on Spotify — a first for any Jamaican artiste — and is the most searched for song on Shazam.
Cheerleader, which topped the charts in 23 countries including the United Kingdom and United States, has been certified multi-platinum in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and New Zealand. It has been certified diamond in France and Germany.
“There was a certain magic behind the creation of Cheerleader and whenever you have something that comes from a true and genuine place, it has so much substance — that’s the magic behind it. So it doesn’t matter how you try to replicate it, any replica of it will always be the diluted version... It still remains my biggest hit ever,” said OMI.
With the coronavirus pandemic crippling the entertainment industry, OMI admitted he needed to connect with fans more on social media.
“I’m going to confess, I’m not a very active person on social media. If we’re going to talk about an artiste of my accomplishments, I know I should have a lot more followers. I have to assume a lot of the blame for that because I don’t do a lot of social media. I think that is something I want to improve upon moving into next year because whether it’s my thing or not, it is the new age of how things are done. I think I really need to move with the times,” he said.
And for his fans, he said he has a lot in store for 2021.
“I’m hoping it’ll be a better year, in terms of the COVID-19 restrictions that we have now and the constraints that we have on the world and certain things, will be freed up. We have recorded so many things prior to the pandemic with Ultra, so we more than enough albums lined up and we’re still here putting in the work. So come 2021, things are going to happen,” he said.
“I’m a fan of my fans. I really appreciate the love and support they’ll given me throughout the years. I will not let them down. The entire OMI army, they can look forward to great things coming in 2021 —I will represent,” he added.
Jaehn also produced OMI’S 2018 song, Masterpiece.
OMI’S debut album Me 4 U was released in 2015 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of more than 500,000 copies.