How Bizarre (song)
Encyclopedia
"How Bizarre" is the debut single of New Zealand
musical group OMC
from their debut album of the same name. It was released as a single in New Zealand in 1995 and internationally in 1996.
In the United States
, the song was only released to radio and not as a retail single, and was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100
. However, it charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
chart and was a hit, in that regard in 1997. The song was also featured in the movie Palmetto
.
driving around in a '68 Chevy Impala, in spite of the fact that the song lyrics mention a "Chevy '69". It also pictures him dancing, singing and throwing around money, in "gangster persona".
. It was also featured on Nature's Best 2
, as the 34th greatest New Zealand song of all time as voted by members of the Australasian Performing Rights Association in 2001.
In 2002, "How Bizarre" was named as the 71st greatest one-hit wonder
of all time on a VH1
countdown hosted by William Shatner
.
Most recently, in 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
ranked the song at #66 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "There's lots of weird things in this wild world of ours," and that the song being on the list is "not bizarre in the least."
n and U.S. airplay charts and was #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The single was a chart hit in many countries and spent multiple weeks at number one in several countries, reaching the top for two weeks in Austria
, three weeks in Ireland
, three weeks in New Zealand
and five weeks in Australia
. On 9 February 2010, the song re-entered the New Zealand charts at number 40 after Fuemana's death.
Rotorua
announcer Dene Young in 1996. The radio station went off-air later that year. The song was later released to other radio stations around New Zealand and was included on Stables Label Volume 3 (an album released by ZM
) in 2003.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--g2dmYDUEs There was also "I Bit His Ear" a parody song about the Mike Tyson
, Evander Holyfield
ear biting incident.
A cover of this song was performed by a Montreal
band called The Diskettes.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
musical group OMC
OMC (band)
OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, was a music group from Auckland, New Zealand best known for their 1996 hit "How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealand songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association...
from their debut album of the same name. It was released as a single in New Zealand in 1995 and internationally in 1996.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the song was only released to radio and not as a retail single, and was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. However, it charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
chart and was a hit, in that regard in 1997. The song was also featured in the movie Palmetto
Palmetto (film)
Palmetto is a 1998 neo-noir film directed by Volker Schlöndorff with a screenplay by E. Max Frye. It is based on the novel Just Another Sucker by James Hadley Chase.-Plot summary:...
.
Music video
A music video was released to help promote the single. As mentioned in the song, it has the lead singer Pauly FuemanaPauly Fuemana
Pauly Lawrence Fuemana was a New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician. Fuemana was the lead singer of the music duo, OMC , which was best known internationally for the 1995 hit, "How Bizarre"...
driving around in a '68 Chevy Impala, in spite of the fact that the song lyrics mention a "Chevy '69". It also pictures him dancing, singing and throwing around money, in "gangster persona".
Critical reception
The song won the award for "Single of the Year" at the 1996 New Zealand Music AwardsNew Zealand Music Awards
The New Zealand Music Awards show, is a major annual New Zealand music event where musical acts and singers are awarded each year. It has occurred every year since 1965 to outstanding New Zealand musicians and groups....
. It was also featured on Nature's Best 2
Nature's Best 2
Nature's Best 2 is a two-disc compilation album of 35 New Zealand popular music songs, numbers 31-65 on the APRA 75th Anniversary Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time...
, as the 34th greatest New Zealand song of all time as voted by members of the Australasian Performing Rights Association in 2001.
In 2002, "How Bizarre" was named as the 71st greatest one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
of all time on a VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
countdown hosted by William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
.
Most recently, in 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
ranked the song at #66 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "There's lots of weird things in this wild world of ours," and that the song being on the list is "not bizarre in the least."
Chart performance
How Bizarre topped the South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n and U.S. airplay charts and was #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The single was a chart hit in many countries and spent multiple weeks at number one in several countries, reaching the top for two weeks in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, three weeks in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, three weeks in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and five weeks in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. On 9 February 2010, the song re-entered the New Zealand charts at number 40 after Fuemana's death.
| Chart (1996 – 1997) |
Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
1 |
| German Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
14 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Wallonia) |
32 |
| Canadian RPM Singles RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
11 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
16 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
4 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
5 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 20 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
40 |
Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
| New Zealand | Triple Platinum |
Cover & parodies
A parody of the song, "Stole My Car" was created by then-Rock 99FMThe Rock (New Zealand)
The Rock is a New Zealand rock music radio station. It currently holds the #1 ratings spot out of the music stations nationwide. The station is known to broadcast material of a controversial nature, and The Rock has in the past had some issues with the Broadcasting Standards Authority with a number...
Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
announcer Dene Young in 1996. The radio station went off-air later that year. The song was later released to other radio stations around New Zealand and was included on Stables Label Volume 3 (an album released by ZM
ZM (New Zealand)
ZM is a New Zealand contemporary hit radio network owned by The Radio Network. It broadcasts 19 markets throughout mainland New Zealand via terrestrial FM, and worldwide via the Internet. The network targets the 15–39 demographic specialises in a chart-music playlist of pop, rock, hip hop and dance...
) in 2003.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--g2dmYDUEs There was also "I Bit His Ear" a parody song about the Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
ear biting incident.
A cover of this song was performed by a Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
band called The Diskettes.