This was the song of the summer 24 years ago, when it was inescapable on radio and MTV. Despite never being released as a single, it topped Billboard’s airplay chart in summer 1997, after reaching No. 1 first in the group’s native New Zealand, then in Australia and several European countries.
OMC was started as a large collective of musicians in 1992 by producer Phil Fuemana, older brother of lead singer Pauly Fuemana, as the Otara Millionaires Club (it was named for their Auckland neighborhood, one of the city’s poorest). After they disbanded in 1995 Pauly kept the name, shortening it to OMC, and perfected his lounge-lizard look. He soon hooked up with a local producer named Alan Jansson and together they wrote the single and subsequent album.
“How Bizarre” came out of a Down Under musical trend of the time known as Urban Pasifika, which supplemented Polynesian guitar strumming with rap and rock elements, though in this song those mariachi horns and accordion set the tone, and Fuemana’s rapping is enhanced by a singer Jansson had previously produced named Sina Saipaia (Sister Sina in the video).
The tune found new life earlier this year on TikTok, where users react to various situations by lip-synching the chorus to the song. The verses tell the story of a run-in Fuemana had with police, and apparently they don’t tell the half of it.
Fuemana chose the name Otara Millionaires Club ironically, but this song — ironically — made them actual millionaires. But they never had another hit outside New Zealand, and Pauly had to declare bankruptcy 10 years later. Both brothers died tragically young — Phil in 2005 of a heart attack at 41, Pauly at just 40 years old in 2010 of a rare auto-immune disorder. How bizarre.