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music
BTS with Omi

Written by

flaunt

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High above the Los Angeles skyline and tucked away in the San Gabriel Mountains, I find myself on set of Omi’s newest music video. As I am chatting over blueberries with Ultra Music representatives and foreign models, I can’t help but reminisce about Omi’s legacy - his chart-topping, remixed single, ‘Cheerleader,’ that reigned the summer of 2015. It was the summer jam that was trapped in our minds and played on an endless loop on every radio station.  Following the release of ‘Cheerleader’, we weren't left with much from the Jamaican artist. I even considered him to fall victim to the curse of “one-hit-wonders”. But, to my ignorance, I shortly discovered how wrong I was. I went into this interview very curious about what Omi has achieved within the past few years. To my delightful surprise, not only is Omi a genuine and charismatic human being, but he also has a lot to say about his time under the radar, meeting Felix Jaehn for the first time and his imminent return to the music scene. **FLAUNT: It’s been three years since we heard from you following your summer smash hit, “Cheeleader’. What have you been working on since then?** Omi: I’ve still been recording and I’ve toured during that period as well. But mostly I’ve been in the studio and taking a lot of family time as well. It’s very important. It kind of helps you to calibrate your mind and brain to get ready for the next segment of your career. I use the time wisely. **‘Cheerleader’ was originally a roots influenced, locally curated single that was remixed into an international sensation. What was your reaction to that and how did it shape your career?** Music comprises of many different elements to make it what it is. There’s the lyrics or the song, there’s the topic, there’s the instrumental and then there’s the arrangement. If we get a collective effort from people who are good at what they do, then you’re only going to have a better song. You get what I’m sayin’? So with that being said, I appreciated the cultural exchange culmination that manifested in this song so beautifully. **What was the experience like going back to Jamaica after your song blew up? Were they playing it as much there?** Yes, yes they were. There was the original version that was released in Jamaica in 2012 and it was kind of a ska-rock steady vibe which is indigenous to Jamaica. It’s pretty laid back and chill reggae-ska kind of vibe. Felix did a wonderful job and he also put a different perspective to the song in general and that was just an amazing experience. **Is there any pressure you feel as an artist following up a number one single?** Yeah, listen. The attention of the consumer is very short and the sooner you realize that, the better you are able to deal with things like this. At the end of the day you have to do it because you love it, because you’re passionate about it. It is a very tedious business to be in. Not just on the body, but on the mind. You have to condition your mind to adapt to the environment and appreciate it for what it is. Coming back after all this time, for those who were paying attention, we had another follow up single which was ‘Hula Hoop’ and that went multiple platinum as well. And then the album was released and that went gold in the U.S. So for your first single to go multiple platinum, number one in every single country and your second single going multiple platinum and then your following album going gold, that’s a lot to be thankful for. At the end of the day, success is relative to everybody. There’s different levels to it. I did one meaningful thing, one thing that made such a huge impact and left such an impression that I have to compete with myself. The fact that I made a song that made a huge impact, that’s a huge honor. IMG\_7216.jpg ![IMG_7216.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56c346b607eaa09d9189a870/1532542081404-DQAKIG4EXEITYIFBAZ2H/IMG_7216.jpg) **You recently met** **Felix Jaehn for the first time after he remixed your chart-topping single and have been working with him since. How has the creation process been like?** Yeah, so for the first time we met, that was so crazy. We talked about it for over an hour. Afterwards we were like, “Yo, dude, can you believe we did something so great?” and we were just meeting for the first time. We did arrange it because now we are working on this new single we are about to release. We also worked on this one together so we wanted it to be a little more different. It’s always a different experience when you’re able to bounce ideas off each other, like being in the same space, so to speak. It’s a different experience rather than me recording something and then sending it to him. The vibe is different, the chemistry is different. Magic is happening. **Are you sticking to your Caribbean roots in your music?** I’ve been known for the level of diversity that is in my music. It’s kind of multicultural in a sense because a lot of people weren’t able to guess immediately where I was from and I think that’s a beautiful thing, because as an artist it’s good to maintain some amount of mystery about yourself because it leaves people wondering and wanting more. It’s good to use that to your advantage. It’s all a strategy.   **What can we expect differently from your last album in comparison to your second album?** A lot. It’s not a matter of switching genres per-se, but as an artist you want people to see the growth and development, especially if you’ve been off the scene for a little bit. On your return you kind of want people to see growth and development while at the same time staying true to yourself. I’m really in love with it. I think that the producers who worked on this album are doing a great job so far. As well as the entire team. They’ve been rooting for me like a family. It’s like a second chapter in your life, literally. **How are you planning to promote your second album?** You know what, it’s so funny because at this point, starting the second segment is just like the first. So it’s all over again. Everything you did before, you’re going to have to do it all over again. It’s exciting because you are having a second run. It’s kind of like being in a relationship. You gotta keep it fresh and reinvent yourself and keep it interesting. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. But I feel that there’s a balance. You want absence to make the heart grow fonder, but you gotta be careful with that absence cause if its overdone then it puts a little more pressure on you. IMG\_7255.jpg ![IMG_7255.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56c346b607eaa09d9189a870/1532542192181-E8GA51K8UVV403G1X7IQ/IMG_7255.jpg) * * * Written by: Allyson Borunda Photographed by: Meagan Rafferty