Usher found himself at a crossroads as the first decade of the new millennium ended, and the album he released in 2010 reflected some of that turmoil. Yet the song that made the most impact off that album, at least when it came to the pop charts, was the good-time dance anthem “OMG,” which rolled off the pen of reliable hitmaker will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas.
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What did will.i.am have in mind when writing this song? What made it stand out from the album containing it? And why was it such an important song in Usher’s illustrious career? Answers lie ahead as we look at this roof-raising smash.
The House of Usher on Shaky Ground
Starting with the 1997 album My Way, Usher Raymond occupied rarefied air among R&B artists of that era in terms of his ability to stay true to the roots of the genre and still attract the widest possible audience. My Way served as the ignition, but his 2004 album Confessions sent him skyrocketing to the absolute pinnacle of the music world, as it contained an incredible total of four No. 1 hits.
It’s not unusual for a follow-up from a big seller to drop off a bit, but the performance of the 2008 Usher album Here I Stand paled in a major way compared to its predecessor. In addition, that time period was fraught with controversy and tumult for the superstar, as he dealt with the demise of a short-lived marriage, the death of his father, and a professional fallout with his mother.
As a result, all eyes were on him when he returned relatively quickly with the 2010 album Raymond v. Raymond. The title suggested a guy both and entrenched in a kind of self-conflict. On the record, Usher delivered soul-baring laments similar to those that were found on Confessions. Threading the needle with that kind of material to make it score on the charts is never an easy task, which is perhaps why will.i.am. received a call with a very specific request from the Usher camp.
We Need a Hit
“They called me one day and was like, ‘Yo we need a hit,'” he explained in the Uproxx video series Fresh Pair. “I’m like, ‘What type of hit?’ ‘Cause that’s a very vague thing. ‘You know, international. We need an international smash.’ ‘I Got a Feeling’ was massive and I was hunting for an ‘I Got a Feeling.’ I’m like, ‘Yo man, I need a song like freaking Kool & The Gang ‘Celebrate’ that plays everywhere, at every birthday party, every Bar Mitzvah, every freaking football game. I need a song like that.”
will.i.am responded with a track not unlike some of his Black Eyed Peas productions, one that delivered intense momentum without any let-up. To seal the deal on the kind of stadium-sized sound he was seeking, he utilized a sample of a crowd chanting at a Black Eyed Peas concert in France.
What is “OMG” About?
Say what you will about will.i.am’s songwriting technique, but you can’t deny that the man has a way with giant hooks and timely phrases. When “OMG” arrived in 2010, it rode the wave of the dramatic rise in texting that was taking place in society, which meant that listeners instantly recognized and gravitated to the shorthand for Oh my God or, as Usher sings in the song, Oh my gosh. (There’s also a ton of Auto-Tune in the song, since that was also a hot fad at the time.)
Usher and will.i.am use the repetition of phrases and sounds to both mimic the beat and to capture the kind of dumbfounded reaction one might have upon immediately getting blown away by someone’s looks. You don’t need to seek out any deep meaning in “OMG.” It’s all about instant attraction, when visceral reactions win out over deep thoughts. Never ever has a lady hit me on first sight, Usher testifies. This was something special, this was just like dynamite.
Dynamite actually is as good a word as any to describe this song’s success, since it did indeed blow up and land at the top of the charts. It helped Usher achieve some impressive milestones, including having at least one chart-topper on five straight albums and in three straight decades. The album containing it dug pretty deep. But “OMG” keeps it simple, surface-level and sizzling, and it’s why it can still reliably coax folks out of their seats with stunning efficiency.
(Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
