BY KEVIN JACKSON—
Observer writer—
OMI—
Since its release in 2015, Cheerleader , the chart-topping single by singer OMI, has racked up more than one billion streams on Spotify , the first for a Jamaican recording artiste.
The song, 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.
“One billion streams! That means we got it right the first time. This is a major achievement for any artiste to hit such a milestone and I am truly grateful to join the billion-stream club, if there is such a thing! I am happy to celebrate this with my team,” OMI told the Jamaica Observer.
According to the singer, Spotify notificated his team via e-mail with an accompanying video.
Cheerleader was produced by Clifton “Specialist” Dillon and recorded at Oufah Recording Studio in Kingston in 2012. Three years later, German DJ/producer Felix Jaehn remixed the single, which was re-released by Ultra Music.
The remix took off globally, but OMI never thought about the song being an international hit when he first recorded it.
“I don’t really think about those things. When I am creating I am just focused on writing great music for my fans. However, I have learned that when you plant a seed, it’s the work and timing during the process of planting the seed that always guarantees a fruitful reward, so I am not shy to put in the effort. Again I am grateful,” he said.
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 (RIAA) for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
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