OMI finally reaches No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100. Thanks in part to the new Friday global release date for albums which led to a change in Nielsen Music and Billboard's chart tracking cycle, the Jamaican singer's catchy hit single "Cheerleader" rises to the top of the all-genre chart, ending the 12-week reign of Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" featuring Charlie Puth.
"Cheerleader" was originally released in 2012, but it charted only in OMI's native country. A new version, a remix by Felix Jaehn, arrived earlier this year and it has been receiving lots of airplay on radio stations and steadily climbing the charts since then.
With the song at Hot 100's No. 1, OMI becomes the first Jamaican artist to top the chart since Sean Kingston did so in 2007 with his "Beautiful Girls". Billboard additionally notes that with just three characters, OMI whose real name is Omar Samuel Pasley is the shortest name for an artist in a lead role to top the chart in nine years, following D4L's "Laffy Taffy" (2006).
"The hard work does pay off. I wouldn't trade the journey for the world," OMI responded to the success of "Cheerleader" in an interview with 92.3 AMP Radio. Of the song being one of only four tracks to have landed at No. 1 on Hot 100 in 2015, he added, "It's a pretty exciting time for everybody, but for me, this is just the beginning. It's time for me to really be focused."
© AceShowbiz.com
OMI BIO
From the rural Jamaican parish of Clarendon, OMI (born Omar Samuel Pasley) has made his name known in the U.S. and several European countries through his music. The singer/songwriter, who was born September 3, 1986, says he got art and music imprinted on him by his father who passed away when he was 9. "My father did both. He passed away when I was 9, but imprinted on me the lessons and tools for a lifetime," he shares. "I think it was genetically encrypted. I started writing music when I was 14, always interested in words. The poetry side of the music artist fascinated me." » more