Omi (singer)

Jamaican singer

Omi

Omi in 2012

Background information
Birth name| Omar Samuel Pasley
Born|  (1986-09-03) 3 September 1986 (age 38)
Clarendon, Jamaica
Genres|

* Reggae
* pop
* reggae fusion

Occupation| Singer
Years active| 2011–present
Labels|

* Ultra
* Columbia
* Sony
* Universal

Musical artist

Omar Samuel Pasley (born 3 September 1986),[1] better known by his stage name Omi (/ˈoʊmiː/ OH-mee; stylised in all caps),[2] is a Jamaican singer. He is best known for his 2012 single "Cheerleader", the remixed version of which was a worldwide hit. He is currently signed to Ultra Music, a part of Sony Music,[3] and released his debut album Me 4 U in 2015.

## Career

[edit]

### Beginnings

[edit]

Omar Samuel Pasley was born in the parish of Clarendon. He established in Kingston, after being discovered by the dancehall impresario Clifton Dillon (known as Specialist) and signed to Oufah, an independent Jamaican label.[4] His first recorded single was "Standing On All Threes" released with a music video. OMI had composed his future hit song "Cheerleader" in 2008. He eventually recorded it and performed and released in 2012. It was released in Jamaica along with a low-budget, high-concept video shot in Oregon during OMI's first trip to the United States, becoming a modest hit in Jamaica and also popular in Hawaii and in Dubai. Never releasing an album, OMI had various local hits in Jamaica like "Take It Easy", "Fireworks" (accompanied by a music video) and "Color of My Lips", the latter featuring Busy Signal, a well-known Jamaican dancehall, ska, and reggae artist.

### 2014–present: Me 4 U

[edit]

In 2014, "Cheerleader" got a second life when Patrick Moxey, the president of Ultra Music, a dance label partly owned by Sony Music heard the song and liked it offering to remix the song and relaunch it as a dance track. In early 2014, Ultra Music commissioned two remixes for the song, one by Ricky Blaze and the other by Felix Jaehn, a 20-year-old German producer. Eventually, Ultra Music opted for the airy tropical house version of "Cheerleader" as remixed by Jaehn. The remix initially became a huge hit in Sweden, eventually certified 5 times platinum. Soon the song spread through other European charts, notably France, Italy and Germany. It topped the charts in several European countries and in Australia. In the United Kingdom, OMI made history on 24 May 2015, when "Cheerleader" topped the UK Singles Chart for a fourth week in a row, marking the longest consecutive period any Jamaican artist has held that position on the chart.[5] In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2015;[6] it later made the top spot of the Hot 100 after 12 weeks in the chart. Claiming the top spot, OMI has achieved recognition worldwide.[7] On 27 August 2015, he released the single "Hula Hoop". He released his debut studio album Me 4 U on 16 October 2015. The album includes the singles "Cheerleader", "Hula Hoop", "Stir It", and "Drop in the Ocean".

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio album

[edit]

Title  | Details  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications

|
|
|

AUS
[8] | CAN
[9] | DEN
[10] | FRA
[11] | SWE
[12] | SWI
[13] | US
[14]
Me 4 U |

* Release date: 16 October 2015
* Format: CD, digital download
* Label: Ultra, Columbia, Sony

| 37 | 18 | 25 | 62 | 9 | 89 | 51  |

* IFPI DEN: Gold[15]
* MC: Platinum[16]
* RIAA: Gold[17]

### Remix album

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

Me 4 U: The Remixes |

* Release date: 4 March 2016
* Format: CD, digital download
* Label: Ultra, Columbia, Sony

### Singles

[edit]

#### As lead artist

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications  | Album

|
|
|
|

AUS
[8] | CAN
[18] | DEN
[10] | FRA
[11] | GER
[19] | NL
[20] | SWE
[12] | SWI
[13] | UK
[21] | US
[22]
"Cheerleader"
(Felix Jaehn remix) | 2014  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1  |

* ARIA: 6× Platinum[23]
* BPI: 5× Platinum[24]
* BVMI: 4× Platinum[25]
* GLF: 7× Platinum[26]
* IFPI DEN: 4× Platinum[27]
* MC: Diamond[16]
* RIAA: 3× Platinum[17]
* SNEP: Diamond[28]

| Me 4 U
"Hula Hoop"  | 2015  | 8 | 19 | 8 | 67 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 37 | 75 | —[A] |

* ARIA: Platinum[23]
* BPI: Silver[24]
* BVMI: Gold[25]
* GLF: 2× Platinum[26]
* IFPI DEN: Platinum[30]
* MC: 2× Platinum[16]

"Drop in the Ocean"
(featuring AronChupa) | 2016  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Masterpiece"
(with Felix Jaehn)[31] | 2018  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |  | Formula
"As Long as I'm with You"
(featuring CMC$) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Better for Ya"[32] | 2019  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"I Want You"  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Bring My Baby Back"  | 2020  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Roller Coaster"  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Party Like It's Your Birthday"
(with Studio Killers) | 2021  | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"Hello Hater"
(featuring Bori) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —  |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Notes

1. ^ "Hula Hoop" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 16 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[29]

#### As featured artist

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications  | Album

|
|
|
|

[21] | IRE
[33] | ITA
| SCO | SWI
[13]
"I Found a Girl"
(The Vamps featuring Omi) | 2016  | 30 | 98 | — | 11 | —  |

* BPI: Silver[24]

| Wake Up
"Seasons"
(Shaggy featuring Omi) | 2017  | — | — | — | — | —  |  | Non-album single
"Never"
(Marcus & Martinus featuring Omi) | — | — | — | — | —  |  | Moments
"Jambo"
(Takagi & Ketra featuring Giusy Ferreri and Omi) | 2019  | — | — | 1 | — | 11  |

* FIMI: 4× Platinum[34]
* IFPI SWI: Platinum[35]

| Non-album single
"I'm on My Way"
(Bob Sinclar featuring Omi) | 2020  | — | — | — | — | —  |  | TBA
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Association  | Category  | Work  | Result

|
|
|
|

2015  | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Song  | "Cheerleader"  | Nominated
MOBO Awards | Best Reggae Act  | Himself  | Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards | Song of Summer | "Cheerleader"  | Nominated
NRJ Music Award | International Song of the Year  | Nominated
International Breakthrough of the Year  | Himself  | Nominated
2016  | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Crossover Artist of the Year  | Himself  | Nominated
2016  | Radio Disney Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Cheerleader"  | Nominated
Best Song That Makes You Smile | "Cheerleader"  | Nominated
2016  | Billboard Music Awards | Top New Artist | Himself  | Nominated
Top Selling Song | "Cheerleader"  | Nominated

## See also

[edit]

* List of artists who reached number one in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Interview: Omi Says He is Not a Dancehall Artist, "I am a Musician, Singer-Songwriter"". 30 July 2023.
2. ^ "How Do You Pronounce OMI?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
3. ^ "Omi's remix hits platinum". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
4. ^ Joe Coscarelli (17 July 2015). "MI Soars With 'Cheerleader' Remix and Aims to Keep Riding High". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
5. ^ "OMI Makes UK History". Jamaica Observer. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 – May 9, 2015". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
7. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 – June 6, 2015". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
8. ^ a b "Discography Omi". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
9. ^ "Omi – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
10. ^ a b "Discography Omi". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
11. ^ a b "Discographie Omi". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
12. ^ a b "Discography Omi". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
13. ^ a b c "Discographie Omi". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
14. ^ "Omi – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
15. ^ "Danish album certifications – Omi – Me 4 U". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
16. ^ a b c "Canadian certifications – Omi". Music Canada. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
17. ^ a b "American certifications – Omi". Recording Industry Association of America.
18. ^ "Omi – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
19. ^ "Discographie Omi". German Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
20. ^ "Discografie Omi". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
21. ^ a b "OMI > UK Charts". Officialcharts.com/. Official Charts Company.
22. ^ "Omi Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
23. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
24. ^ a b c "British certifications – Omi". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 October 2024. Type Omi in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
25. ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Omi)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
26. ^ a b "Sverigetopplistan – Omi" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
27. ^ "Danish certifications – Omi – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)". IFPI Danmark.
28. ^ "French single certifications – Omi – Cheerleader" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
29. ^ "Omi Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
30. ^ "Danish single certifications – Omi – Hula Hoop". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
31. ^ "Masterpiece – Single by Omi & Felix Jaehn on iTunes". iTunes Store (AU). 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
32. ^ Better for Ya – Single by Omi on Apple Music
33. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography The Vamps". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
34. ^ "Italian certifications – Jambo" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Jambo" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Tutte le sezioni" under "Sezione".
35. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Jambo')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Omi

Studio albums|

Me 4 U

Singles|

* "Cheerleader"
* "Hula Hoop"

Featured singles|

* "Jambo"

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

*[TBA]: To be announced
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